CHAPTER 51

Sustaining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Tonya Wilson

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are important to every aspect of talent development. The nature of talent development is to ensure the availability and efficacy of talent to support the needs of the organization. By refreshing our definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion, we can ensure we are aligned as we begin to understand the strategies, insights, tools, and techniques associated with sustaining DEI. The definitions in this chapter, which are also located in the glossary, were developed by the Tuskegee University DEI initiative.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion seems to be illusive for many leaders. Companies spend about $8 billion annually on diversity and inclusion training (Kirkland and Bohnet 2017). And, according to recent research by Traliant and WBR Insights, 79 percent of companies plan to allocate more budget and resources in 2022 (VB Staff 2021). Despite the significant investment in diversity and related training, however, many companies still struggle with institutionalizing DEI. The good news is that some companies, like Target, Google, and Apple, are making great strides in their DEI strategies. This chapter presents strategies, insights, tools, and techniques associated with sustaining diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Sustaining an Organizational DEI Culture

If you reflect on the science classes you took in grade school, you may recall the study of biomes and ecosystems. One of the key lessons beyond species and classifications was the fact that every element within the system had value. In addition, certain types of disruptions, neglect, or lack in those systems would result in an imbalance and a loss that influenced the entire community within the system. This is why we carefully monitor the health and viability of life within these systems (Figure 51-1).

Sustainability is about how we monitor the life and environments of systems. As we apply sustainability to DEI, we also look at the life and viability of our organizations. When we look at the DEI ecosystem within an organization, we look at how we treat our people, manage our organizations, and influence our communities. This view aligns with the perspective of the triple bottom line—commonly known as people, planet, and profit—which was first put forward in 1994 by author and sustainability pioneer John Elkington. It defines sustainable practices as:

•  At a minimum, do not harm people or the planet and at best create value for the stakeholders.

•  Focus on improving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance in the areas where the company or brand has a material environmental or social impact (operations, value chain, or customers).

Like any other sustainability effort, DEI is a long-term journey with significant benefits. Most leaders would agree that DEI is important to the viability of an organization. It is also the right thing to do for the people who are part of the organization, for the profitability of the organization, and for the customers that it serves. Without a strong commitment and action toward diverse, inclusive, and equitable environments, however, we may find ourselves with lower levels of profitability, higher levels of turnover, lower levels of engagement and commitment, smaller margins, less innovation, weaker brands, or increased healthcare costs. This is supported by several studies conducted by McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, and other well-known consulting and research firms (Hunt et al. 2020; Lorenzo et al. 2021).

Therefore, it is imperative that we look at DEI as a significant part of the overall business strategy that can contribute to growth, profitability, and innovation, thereby affecting competitive advantage and market differentiation. While DEI activities are important, sustainability is linked substantially to program outcomes. An outcome-based DEI strategy that is strongly linked to the business and people strategies for the organization will have long-term positive results. Sustainable DEI must be linked to business outcomes and profitability. Research by McKinsey also indicates that boards with diverse representation in gender and ethnicity are 21 to 33 percent more likely to outperform in profitability. As evidence of the importance of board representation, NASDAQ filed with the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2020 to adopt new listing rules related to board of director diversity for publicly held companies (Gonzalez-Sussman and Berenblat 2020).

Business leaders need to understand qualitative and quantitative data that indicate what is working and what is not. These are critical questions that will inform how resources should be allocated as the strategies for DEI continue to be executed. Most leaders will want to put their time and money in places where they will see a return on their investment. Sustaining DEI requires a look at the original business case to determine how the organization has progressed.

Organizations need to ask hard questions about success in DEI, such as:

•  What did we accomplish over the past [x amount of time]?

•  What progress have we made against our goals and objectives?

•  What does the data (qualitative and quantitative) say about our progress from the view of key stakeholders, especially those in diverse populations (including interviews and focus groups)?

•  Are we having crucial conversations?

•  Does our representation of diverse populations look different in management, leadership, and partnership than it did before we initiated our plan?

•  Does our succession plan allow us to tap into a diverse talent pipeline?

•  Have we seen changes in our EEOC actions or employee relations cases related to bias or unfair treatment?

•  What is our net promoter score with diverse groups?

•  Are our leaders and managers actively engaged in promoting a positive diversity climate?

•  Are we resourcing our diversity strategy, initiatives, and leaders for continued success?

Diversity Climate and the DEI Ecosystem

The climate of the ecosystem is particularly important in sustainability. And likewise, the diversity climate is particularly important to the organization. The Centre for Global Inclusion (GDEIB) defines diversity climate as:

GDEIB also supports a diversity climate assessment that is maintained by researchers at the University of Guelph. You can access the Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Climate Scale for free on the university’s website (see this chapter’s list of additional resources).

If we as leaders, managers, and talent development professionals treat DEI as an accessory that is optional or a check the box for compliance, it will be reflected in the overall organizational climate. If leaders want to see outcomes that positively affect their people, organizations, and communities, then they must show authentic commitment and sponsorship to DEI initiatives.

Monitoring the amount of time and resources that continue to be dedicated to DEI will be an indicator of how well the organization will sustain these programs and culture as you go forward. Leadership is often tempted to reduce the amount of resources dedicated to change initiatives within organizations once key milestones and goals are met. According to the Wall Street Journal, turnover for diversity leaders is high (Cutter and Weber 2020). Often leaders are not given the authority commensurate with the role nor do they have the proper resources to support the initiatives. There is also the challenge of role clarity, because many diversity leaders have extrarole expectations or are also charged with leading other aspects of the human resource or business functions. Unfortunately, some chief diversity officers or diversity leaders are not selected with specific competencies in mind and are not always given the opportunity to build the skills or competencies they need to drive results in this important business area.

When DEI resources are reduced, it’s almost guaranteed that these initiatives will not be fully institutionalized or ingrained in the company culture. So, make sure to include DEI as an agenda topic for all strategy meetings, business reviews, and organizational design and planning meetings. In addition, when reviewing processes and developing procedures organizations, should consider the impact all initiatives will have on their diverse populations.

Because a key objective of DEI is to influence the way of thinking and doing work daily, DEI should also be a part of any discussions around organizational changes. For example, when going through business transformation, digital transformation, mergers, acquisitions, organization redesigns, or other significant changes, it is important to watch the talent pool implications. Technological advancement (such as AI or machine learning) may challenge the dispersion of diverse populations at various levels, so it’s important to include plans for reskilling to ensure that great talent is retained. This is not only for keeping representation of diverse team members, but also to ensure inclusion in decision making and the fairness of treatment regarding access to resources.

DEI and Compliance

Compliance may be the first thing many think about, but sustaining DEI goes beyond the realm of compliance. DEI is not about establishing a quota system. It is important to realize that DEI is a part of how companies establish a culture of inclusion where people are treated fairly, which results in high performance, greater innovation, and a competitive advantage. Such a view recognizes DEI as an integral part of the corporate DNA. This gives us a view of what is being gained instead of a fear of what might be lost. However, if compliance is in jeopardy, then it’s likely that there is a fundamental problem with the strategy or operations related to integration of DEI into the organization systems.

So, what is required of compliance in the US? SHRM’s “HR Q&As” state that:

Affirmative action programs define an employer’s standard for proactively recruiting, hiring, and promoting women, minorities, disabled individuals, and veterans. Affirmative action is deemed a moral and social obligation to amend historical wrongs and eliminate the present effects of past discrimination for companies. Although an affirmative action program is intended to eradicate the effects of past discrimination in employment, it is also meant to be inclusive without regard to race, gender, disabilities, or veteran status. Historically, the support for affirmative action was instituted to achieve goals such as bridging true inequalities in employment and pay, increasing access to education, promoting diversity, and redressing apparent past wrongs, harms, or hindrances. EO 11246 also requires a statistical look at the population data from where talent is sought after to help the organization’s population mirror that of the business community.

Diversity initiatives measure acceptance of minorities by embracing cultural differences within the workplace. They are twofold in that they both value and manage diversity. The value of diversity is achieved through awareness, education, and positive recognition of the qualities, experiences, and work styles that make individuals unique within the workplace. The management of diversity frames the experience and establishes the business case for diversity that is closely aligned with an employer’s organizational goals. The combination of required or voluntary affirmative action programs and diversity initiatives is important to create opportunities for cultural inclusion, respect for differences, acceptance, and respect for all workers.

DEI Is Good Business

Diversity, equity, and inclusion is good business. The organization’s business strategy is critical to its viability, which means it would be exceedingly difficult to sustain DEI within an organization if it was not aligned with the strategy. Foundational to every business strategy are the company’s mission, vision, and values. The organization’s values are critical to its longevity because they guide the decision-making process, and a close examination will provide clues regarding how the organization values those who are different. Periodic organizational values checkups are warranted for organizations that are intent on sustaining DEI. If individual behaviors do not demonstrate value for employees, there should be consequences. For example, if a very successful sales leader sexually harasses a team member, there could a financial impact if the company loses key customers and there could also be legal consequences for the organization.

Organizations that value teamwork, respect, diverse perspectives, collaboration, innovation, people-first, trust, integrity, and fairness have set an expectation that DEI is part of the behavioral expectations. Oftentimes a strategy for growth or disruptive innovation is at the core of an organization’s future plans. The business objectives derived from the strategy should be developed with a lens to diversity, equity, and inclusion. As those objectives are aligned, they serve to inform the people or talent strategy, which also must be viewed with a lens to DEI. The ability to develop capability and enhanced capacity to support the strategy may involve building, buying, or borrowing talent with the skills and competencies needed for the work (Figure 51-2).

The business case for DEI is compelling. Studies show substantial increases in financial performance for companies with higher levels of diversity and inclusion in their employee population (Lorenzo et al. 2021; Hunt et al. 2020). Increases in EBITDA and revenue for such companies range from 9 to 21 percent (Figure 51-3). This type of performance has the potential to enhance the competitive advantage of these companies because they may outperform their competitors. Additionally, outcomes such as increased engagement, higher levels of retention, learning nimbleness, and a stronger employee value proposition bring great benefit to the organization.

And yet, diversity may not remain a priority in the business strategy if business leaders do not fully understand the return on investment for DEI. Leaders can assess DEI outcomes and ask questions such as “What is the value and benefit to our company?” “How did DEI help achieve our goals?” “How did it help our customers by providing competitive products?” “How did it help our employees perform better and be more engaged?” (Figure 51-4).

Outcome-based strategies have greater long-term positive effects than strategies solely based on DEI. These outcomes not only influence the life of the organization; they also have revenue consequences. Jack and Patti Phillips (2014), founders of the ROI Institute, have reviewed the ROI of DEI in numerous case studies, including those discussed in their Measuring ROI series.

For example, the ROI Institute has explored such questions as:

•  What is the business need that is satisfied by DEI in our organization?

•  What are the metrics that allow us to understand the impact?

•  Is the data accurate, reliable, and accessible as we consider the outcomes?

The Phillips’s view of business needs analysis and diversity scorecards is insightful to calculate the return on investment for DEI. Their ROI case study focuses on outcomes. When looking at the DEI ecosystem, we consider outcomes from the perspective of each member of the system, because they are our primary stakeholders.

Data analytics and DEI sustainability are critical. Data is necessary for decision making and resource allocation. It helps to continue to root out any bias that influences decisions that may be inequitable. For example, Target discovered that disaggregating its data and conducting a deeper analysis helped it clarify its areas of focus, make more specific commitments, and hold itself accountable for progress. The data also made it clear that there was much more work to be done. Its prior actions had not resulted in equitable outcomes for its Black team members, and it needed to do more to increase representation and advancement opportunities and reduce turnover (Target Bullseye View News 2020).

Ensure that your analysis includes continued representative items for diverse populations. Qualitative and quantitative data collection may come from various sources, such as:

•  Engagement surveys

•  Employee satisfaction or opinion surveys

•  Leadership assessment surveys

•  Change readiness surveys

•  Pulse surveys

•  Talent acquisition data

•  New team member onboarding interviews

•  Focus groups

•  External data from social sites

•  Employee relations cases

•  Legal case reviews

•  LMS completion data

•  Performance management aggregated data

•  Affirmative action reports

•  Leadership

•  Storyboards

•  Net promoter score data

•  Customer satisfaction or voice data

•  Supplier satisfaction data

•  Supplier utilization data

•  Compensation analyses

•  Exit interviews

Because most organizations do not have unlimited resources, use data to support how you prioritize the DEI initiatives or goals that will have the most impact. The data may point to many areas of opportunity, so resist the temptation to take on too many objectives. In some instances, the less is more approach makes it more likely that success and change are achieved. For example, setting three to four goals in the areas of supplier diversity, community engagement, leader/employee awareness, and succession could be aggressive but doable. Sustaining DEI has unique considerations based on individual business needs and the ability to resource initiatives. A charter for these outcome-based initiatives could set the organization up for success, resulting in buy-in and delivering real results.

An effective practice to motivate employees is to tie metrics to rewards. Using metrics focused on actions to incentivize certain behaviors will require significant coordination with the total rewards and finance. These actions are more likely to occur if the CEO demonstrates the priority to the employee population. Sustainable DEI measures will address the questions in the DEI Key Questions chart (Table 51-1).

Beyond the Business Case

There are other considerations that affect employee perceptions and opinions. The employee’s perceptions of cultural beliefs and behaviors are linked to the way individuals and leaders live their organizational values. Sustainability of DEI requires intentional pulsing of these dimensions to help focus on resources and attention to areas that will make a difference in the DEI journey.

The DEI key questions outlined in Table 51-1 can provide guidance into the development of processes and policies. When used with the Talent Wheel (Figure 51-5) we can gain insight into biases that may exist in our strategy and infrastructure. The Talent Wheel is an important visual reflecting the way that we think about the development and management of our people resources. If we were to apply the DEI Key Questions to each element of the Talent Wheel, we would be better informed about where we need to place our efforts and resources.

Surveys can be the best way to assess how well your organization is performing against objectives and demonstrating evidence of successful DEI integration. They may include engagement surveys, change surveys, leadership assessment surveys, and other types of pulse surveys that help determine the employee’s perception about specific behaviors. It is important to ensure the items included in the surveys are appropriate for the topic and have been validated. A sample of validated questions is listed in Table 51-2. A more complete list of questions for securing employee perceptions around diversity, inclusion, and justice can be found on the handbook website at ATDHandbook3.org.

As we learn more about what is working and what is not, we can assess the risk in relation to the reward. It is incumbent upon every organization to set a standard of accountability. A critical question that is often asked is “Who is responsible for DEI?” The answer is everyone. If DEI is to be sustained, there must be a sense of personal and collective responsibility. If DEI is treated as another critical business imperative, each functional and operating leader will have a designated accountability for DEI.

Sustainment requires organizations to continually monitor their environments. This may include doing risk assessments to determine opportunities to improve in areas that still have a high-risk level. You will find a risk assessment example on the handbook website at ATDHandbook3.org.

DEI Maturity

Every organization’s journey to DEI will be different. There is no one-size-fits-all approach that works for DEI. The maturity of each organization is influenced by factors such as its culture, ability to commit, vision, resourcing, leadership, and tolerance for change. Managers in diversity-mature organizations define diversity for clarity and understand the difference between inclusion, equity, and diversity. These organizations design their infrastructure, policies, environments, systems, and processes to meet these requirements, and refuse to let preferences, conveniences, political views, and traditions intervene.

In moderately diversity-mature organizations, leaders have connected diversity management adeptness with achieving mission and vision. However, in highly diversity-mature companies, leaders also live their values. They know that they must have a compelling business motive for managing diversity, which they develop and articulate by identifying strategic diversity mix while ensuring that the practices associated with their organizational infrastructure are equitable. They understand that DEI must be addressed successfully if they are to remain viable (Thomas and Woodruff 1999).

As you consider the importance of diversity in your DEI ecosystem, remember that DEI is a major change management initiative designed to bring behavioral and mindset change. Application of these fundamental change management principles will support your change environment:

•  Charter the initiatives and ensure that there is senior-level support and resourcing.

•  Form a strong cross-functional team that can develop a viable plan and excellence in execution.

•  Ensure the vision is clear from the strategy and people understand how change will affect them.

•  Engage others in cross-functional activities that support the strategic goals.

•  Perform stakeholder analysis to understand resistance and support.

•  Monitor and manage communications with great intentionality and consistency.

•  Assess and update policies, procedures, systems, and tools.

•  Evaluate progress.

Final Thoughts

DEI at its best is fully integrated into every aspect of organizational life. No single activity or aspect of DEI programming will result in sustainability. It is the interdependence of functional entities with revenue-generating units and external consumers that require healthy symbiotic relationships. Commitments to being the voice at the table that speaks for those people who are not in the room are necessary for sustainability. This requires culture change and humility.

Cultivating a culture that embraces courage, truth, and forgiveness is also important to sustaining DEI. This can be accomplished by developing a strategic road map that includes checkpoints for behavior change. Cultivating this type of culture involves going deeper and having several things in place:

•  Values that are aligned with the organization’s DEI commitment

•  Accountability for incongruent or unfair behaviors, policies, procedures, and practices

•  Safe spaces or platforms for ongoing conversations (without judgment or retaliation)

•  Training for self-advocacy, basic onboarding, and a code of conduct

•  Ongoing opportunities to learn about and experience cultural differences

•  No tolerance for invalidation of the ideas, thoughts, and presentations of others

•  A practice of “do no harm” in talent development and management

•  Encouragement and reward of allyship

Biodiversity in ecosystems is essential to the overall health of the system. The same is true of DEI. Without DEI, our organizations will be unbalanced, lack innovation, have unaddressed bias that affects practices, and be generally unhealthy. Unhealthy organisms have difficulty fulfilling their purpose, mission, and vision. On the other hand, DEI practices are good for our employees, the organization, suppliers, customers, and the community.

About the Author

Tonya Wilson, MAIOP, CPM, is president and founder of AFC Consulting Group. She is a business leader, an entrepreneur, and a consultant with expertise in organizational effectiveness, change management, and diversity. She connects people to strategy and creates capacity through change enablement. Her business background in operations, contracts, and supply chain brings a unique perspective to her clients. Tonya’s passion results in the design, development, and delivery of DEI learning modules and presentations. She has worked in manufacturing, aerospace, telecom, government markets, and healthcare, and been in leadership at McKesson, Change Healthcare, Meggitt, and AT&T. Tonya works with leaders to drive alignment between business and people strategies, leads supplier diversity initiatives, provides leadership for ERGs, and coaches leaders on diversity issues, change management, strategic action planning, organizational design, and organizational health assessments. Her mission statement is “setting you up to win.” Reach Tonya at linkedin.com/in/tonya-j-wilson-maiop-cpm-b4663898 or learn more on her website at afcconsultinggroup.com.

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Recommended Resources

Phillips, P.P. 2021. “Measuring the Success of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs.” HRDQ-U, April 9. hrdqu.com/diversity-events/measuring-the-success-of-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-programs.

Sakr, N., and L.S. Hing. n.d. “Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Climate Scale.” Department of Psychology, University of Guelph. uoguelph.ca/psychology/page/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion-climate-scale.

“The Centre for Global Inclusion.” centreforglobalinclusion.org/gdib.