DEI encompasses any efforts by an organization to make all team members feel like they belong. This could involve creating employee resource groups, conducting diversity and inclusion training or instituting family-friendly policies.
Companies that prioritize DEI often have policies in place and widely communicated that outline how the organization will promote inclusion for employees, such as unconscious bias training and mentoring programs.
1. Workday
Workday has developed a suite of tools to assist businesses in driving their diversity equity and inclusion efforts, including VIBE Central dashboard and an indicator metric called VIBE Index. With these two measures organizations can assess belonging, parity and equity across a wide variety of dimensions such as race/ethnicity/age/sexual orientation/ability/disability socioeconomic status religious beliefs veteran status etc.
As well as providing best practices content and reporting, this tool assists companies with identifying gaps in areas like leadership, hiring, and promotion. Furthermore, its dashboard and VIBE Index make it easier for companies to focus on diversity and inclusion goals by gathering their data in one location.
Goal setting and communication is of the utmost importance in any DEI initiative. Companies should set ambitious but attainable goals that make the employees feel like part of the journey. By sharing updates about progress made towards these goals and celebrating any wins, employees will become engaged with the cause and feel like an important contributor to its success.
McKinsey & Company research suggests that organizations which prioritize DEI tend to be more successful. Such businesses are better at recruiting and retaining talent, encouraging innovation, and creating more inclusive cultures. While DEI initiatives may take more work upfront, their return is well worth it in the end.
Companies looking to develop an effective Diversity and Inclusion strategy must first assess their ‘why’: it’s essential that organizations understand why having diverse workplaces benefits them as an organization, allowing them to identify gaps in current efforts or set new goals more easily.
No matter their goal may be, whether that be increasing women in leadership roles or diversifying the board membership. Companies have set ambitious goals and taken concrete steps towards meeting them – creating more diverse and inclusive workforces by prioritizing employee needs and focusing on what matters to employees most. The key lies in keeping it simple yet impactful while linking it back to their mission statement of the business.
2. Target
Target actively fosters an inclusive culture while offering equal opportunities to its employees, such as equal pay for men and women, flexible work options, support for employees experiencing health issues or caring for a family member, which help attract and retain top talent which is critical for business success. Target also encourages employee activism through its Take Action initiative which allows staff members to volunteer at community-based organisations of their choosing.
Effective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) statements require starting by outlining your company’s goals with clarity and conciseness. Next, add an actionable call-to-action that is both measurable and achievable, along with an outlined timeline to achieve these goals. This will allow leadership team members to better appreciate DEI initiatives while also increasing buy-in to such efforts.
An effective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement must also include a list of resources and additional information that can help support its initiative, such as documents on employee representation and pay, racial equity strategies or employee testimonials demonstrating real world results. Some companies even include these testimonials directly on their DEI statements to further bolster their message and demonstrate tangible outcomes.
Another way to strengthen your DEI statement is by making it easily accessible. This means displaying it across all social media channels and making sure it adheres to accessibility standards.
Finally, regularly communicate your DEI goals and metrics to employees so they are aware of any progress being made – this will keep employees engaged and motivated to continue making improvements.
Notably, the most successful diversity and inclusion plans focus on equity and belonging rather than mere diversity alone. Equity refers to creating an atmosphere in the workplace which welcomes and supports all members regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or age – this allows employees to work more collaboratively while supporting innovation with fresh solutions.
3. LEGO Group
As one of the world’s foremost toy companies, LEGO Group must ensure they foster an inclusive community within their company and across their products. This includes the Adult Fan of LEGO (AFOL) community, the Lego Movie and their other creative content, including social media posts. Furthermore, it is imperative for them to remain inclusive for children all around the globe. They recently introduced a new generation of LEGO Friends dolls featuring multiple genders, races, abilities and cultures. These characters were developed with input from extensive global kid testing and research, an ongoing partnership with Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, as well as guidance from letters sent in from children like Sophia who shared her experience about having limb differences.
An effective diversity and inclusion statement will convey your organization’s stance on DEIB to employees, candidates, clients, business partners and all other individuals interacting with it. A good diversity and inclusion statement should clearly state your organization’s commitment to DEIB while listing initiatives, goals and policies dedicated to this area. Furthermore, such a statement should provide any data available that show progress made towards attaining diversity goals; this data can serve as proof that your dedication towards these efforts.
As part of this, it’s also vital that a diversity and inclusion statement has an attention-grabbing title that’s succinct and straightforward, which can draw readers in easily when they first come across your organization online. Furthermore, including a call to action at the end can encourage people to get involved with your efforts by signing petitions or attending events hosted by your organization – this can strengthen impact by making an immediate difference!
4. KPMG
KPMG understands that diversity equity and inclusion isn’t a simple one-size-fits-all approach, which is why its focus lies on various initiatives. One such initiative relates to gender bias as an issue in the workplace – this commitment led them to launch their gender equality initiative and commit to meeting UN Women’s Empowerment Declaration goals. They’re also working toward having women comprise 50% of partner and MD roles by 2025.
KPMG is also working hard to ensure its workforce is welcoming of LGBTQ individuals, for which purpose they have developed close ties with AuthentiCity, an organization which hosts career fairs for students from the LGBTQ community, as well as working closely with UK universities to establish pathways into KPMG for graduates and apprentice joiners from these programs. Their efforts have resulted in an ever-increasing number of LGBTQ employees at KPMG.
KPMG takes steps to further its culture through People Networks, strategic inclusion partners that give employees an opportunity to connect, build awareness and allyship, experience belonging, and feel empowered by being part of KPMG’s culture. People Networks have enabled new inclusive benefits at KPMG such as mental health support benefit, family leave program, Indigenous wellness benefit and gender affirmation policy – as well as new programs such as learning opportunities, community outreach efforts and intersectional events – through new inclusive benefits or activities introduced as a result of People Networks participation.
KPMG has also implemented its Diversity Profile Tool (DPT), an automated process allowing employees to share demographic data and identify any areas of concern that they see in themselves or those around them. DPT has been integrated into orientation/onboarding procedures, and KPMG leaders use its data to address and correct any identified issues.
KPMG’s D&E initiatives include its partnership with WCD, a non-profit organization that assists companies in finding female board directors. Furthermore, it offers career development opportunities to underrepresented groups, sets meaningful diversity metrics through its Diversity Advisory Board and leverages technology for remote workforce diversity including virtual meetings which have proven more efficient than face-to-face meetings.