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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a cornerstone of successful organizations.
Integrating DEI principles in the workplace can help foster a more inclusive and supportive work environment — and encourage greater innovation, productivity, and employee satisfaction.
If you’re looking to start your own DEI programs, keep reading.
In this article, we’re reviewing seven best practices you can use to start developing DEI programs in the workplace.
Set goals for your DEI programs
What does your organization hope to achieve by implementing DEI programs?
Reduce unconscious hiring bias? Improving your leadership development initiatives? Creating a more inclusive workplace?
By clearly defining your goals, you can effectively measure your progress and success in driving meaningful change.
Be sure to also align your DEI goals with your organization’s overarching objectives. Consider how diversity, equity, and inclusion contribute to your business’s overall success and sustainability.
By integrating DEI goals with broader organizational goals, you demonstrate a commitment to embedding these principles into the fabric of your company culture. This alignment also ensures that your DEI initiatives are prioritized and supported across all levels of the organization — leading to more impactful outcomes and lasting positive change.
Audit current DEI concerns in the workplace
Assess the current state of diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization.
Take a comprehensive look at:
- Equitable policies and practices you currently have
- The demographic composition of your workforce
- Representation in leadership roles
Identify areas for improvement and potential barriers to DEI by examining data, conducting interviews, and engaging in open dialogue with employees. Look for patterns or disparities that may indicate areas where your organization falls short in fostering an inclusive environment.
Be sure to also collect feedback from employees through QR code surveys, focus groups, or interviews to learn about their perspectives on DEI efforts.
Employee surveys are a great way to identify patterns and take action because they give you a large pool of data to work with.
Look through their answers to identify common pain points and implement feedback.
For instance, you may learn that economic stress affects many of your employees, and they would benefit from learning how to make a budget wisely. With this in mind, you could arrange financial training seminars or partner with financial advisors to offer practical solutions.
Remove unconscious bias with redaction tools and global hiring
Unconscious bias in recruitment and hiring processes can inadvertently lead to discriminatory practices, affecting marginalized groups, such as Black employees, workers with disabilities, and Hispanic workers.
These biases can also lead to preferences based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, influencing decisions at various stages of the hiring process — from resume screening to interview selection.
To address this issue, consider using resume field redaction tools. These automatically remove identifying information, such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and other personal details, from resumes.
By anonymizing candidate profiles, you can help mitigate the impact of unconscious bias so recruiters and hiring managers focus solely on evaluating candidates based on their qualifications.
You might also consider hiring international contractors and employees. This can help diversify your organization's talent pool and cultural perspectives.
Your company can also benefit from a broader range of skills and insights, which can lead to more innovative solutions and a more dynamic work environment.
Holger Sindbaek, serial entrepreneur and the founder of Online Solitaire, says, "In facing the challenge of unconscious bias in recruitment, we adopted redaction tools to ensure a fair evaluation process.
By anonymizing applications, we focused purely on each candidate's skills and potential, effectively sidestepping personal biases. Complementing this, our global hiring strategy broadened our talent pool, bringing diverse perspectives to our team.
This combination has strengthened our commitment to equity and enriched our collaborative environment, leading to innovative solutions and a more inclusive culture that reflects the varied needs of our global user base."
Create employee cohorts
Give employees places to feel seen and heard by creating employee cohorts.
This involves grouping team members based on shared characteristics, interests, or goals to foster, support, and develop their professional skills.
These cohorts can take the form of employee resource groups (ERGs), affinity groups, or task-oriented teams. By creating spaces for open dialogue and collaboration, cohorts encourage mutual understanding among members, leading to a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture.
Some strategies for forming diverse and inclusive cohorts include:
- Ensuring that leadership positions within the cohorts reflect the diversity of the organization
- Actively recruiting members from underrepresented groups
- Providing opportunities for networking and mentorship
Be sure to establish clear goals and guidelines for each cohort so each group aligns with your organization’s broader DEI initiatives.
Place an extra focus on inclusion
Inclusive workplaces look beyond diversity numbers.
They focus on cultivating an environment where every individual feels valued and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and talents. They also support employees with equal opportunities for growth, development, and advancement, regardless of their background or identity.
That’s why it’s vital to integrate inclusion efforts at every level within your organization. While this may not always look straightforward, one of the best measures you can take is training company leaders on the importance of fostering open communication and dialogue.
During training sessions, managers need to learn:
- How to spot employees that are ready to advance to higher roles based on their qualifications and experience
- How to encourage the team to include one another during corporate meetings, projects, and discussions
- How to encourage team members to contribute to important conversations
- How to actively involve employees in decision-making processes
- What an inclusion program looks like and how to implement it
- About unconscious bias and microaggressions
- What defines fair treatment and how to apply it
And speaking of DEI training …
Implement DEI training for all team members and managers
To maximize DEI impact, make sure all individuals who work at your organization attend DEI training.
Consider tailoring employee training programs by team and role within your organization.
Since different departments and job functions may have unique challenges and opportunities, customized training can help participants gain actionable insights relevant to their work, thus impacting on and improving productivity.
Leadership buy-in and participation are also critical. When leaders actively engage in training sessions and apply the lessons learned to their management style, they send a powerful message to employees about the organization’s values and priorities.
Leaders also play a key role in modeling inclusive behaviors, driving cultural change, and holding others accountable for creating an inclusive environment.
Employees also play a pivotal role.
During training, encourage employees to become allies and advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Help them understand their role in supporting underrepresented colleagues, challenging favoritism and discrimination, and promoting inclusive behaviors. Let them know they have the freedom to speak up against injustice or inequality, even if it feels uncomfortable.
Ensure there’ll be no consequences for standing up for another colleague, as long as they’re being respectful.
It’s also important to evaluate the effectiveness of your DEI training sessions. Gather feedback from participants about their learning experiences and track key metrics, such as employee engagement, retention, and diversity representation.
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By incorporating feedback and metrics into the evaluation process, you can ensure that your DEI training remains relevant and aligns with your broader diversity and inclusion goals.
Embed DEI principles into policies and practices
Integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into all aspects of organizational policies, practices, and decision-making processes.
This may include:
- Revising recruitment and hiring practices to ensure equitable access to opportunities
- Establishing policies that promote work-life balance and accommodate diverse needs and perspectives
- Reviewing performance evaluation criteria and promotion processes to ensure they’re fair, transparent, and free from bias
- Implementing inclusive leadership development programs for all team members
- Ensuring that facilities, technology, and communication materials are accessible to employees with disabilities
- Implementing supplier diversity programs that prioritize working with diverse-owned businesses, including those owned by women, minorities, veterans, and LGBTQ+ individuals
- Establishing mentorship programs that pair employees from underrepresented groups with experienced mentors who can provide guidance, support, and advocacy for career advancement
- Working with the HR department to evaluate benefits packages and employee resources to make sure they align with your employees’ needs
It’s also pivotal to add DEI expectations to your company handbook. When new managers, employees, or customers ask about DEI, you’ll have something you can reference immediately.
Go the extra mile by giving team members and leaders reminders about DEI expectations during meetings and company announcements.
Wrap up
Ready to create your DEIB programs?
In this guide, we explored the essential components of successful DEI programs and their profound impact on organizational culture and performance.
We also highlighted the importance of setting clear goals, fostering inclusion, implementing training, and embedding DEI principles into all aspects of organizational policies and practices.
However, the most important thing to remember is that DEI efforts aren’t a one-time initiative. They’re an ongoing journey toward growth and company evolution.
Continuous improvement is key to ensuring your organization remains responsive to changing needs and dynamics. Set up systems that help you track the effectiveness of your programs, like surveying employees every quarter and tracking KPIs.
It’s also vital to let your team members contribute to your DEI efforts. Ask them what they expect from DEI programs, what their goals are, and why they value them. You can also encourage team members to share lived experiences about how DEI initiatives have positively impacted their career journeys.
Consider using Together Software for an effective mentoring program that employees will enjoy. This mentorship platform enables your organization to enhance performance by fostering relationships. Get started by booking a demo or taking a self-guided tour.
That’s it for now.
