Today’s organizations are embracing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) programs as they know it attracts and helps them retain the best, diverse talent, which fosters a culture of inclusivity and innovation that drives company growth.
Organizations are creating strategies and plans that harness the value and competitive advantage of a diverse workforce. Some are starting the journey from scratch, brainstorming new initiatives, or reviewing their overall mission, while others are doubling down on existing programs to maximize impact.
No matter where your organization is on the journey, an effective and sustainable DE&I strategy requires strong program leadership to move from ideation to a results-driven implementation.
Leverage these 5 Program Leadership tactics to implement an effective DE&I strategy.
1. Find Your Champions
To make an impact and create sustainable change in your organization, it is essential to have DE&I Champions in both senior leadership and mid-level management roles. Decisions will need to be made about prioritization, resources, and costs. A strong network of champions will provide that “final word” to accelerate and complete key pieces of work. Before making decisions about workstreams or plans, align with leaders who are passionate about making the organization a more inclusive and diverse environment for all.
2. Think Short and Long Term
As you are developing your program’s roadmap, identify both short- and long-term goals. The quick wins achieved via short-term goals will provide momentum and garner support, while the long-term goals will motivate and provide a strong, strategic framework to achieve lasting change. Break long-term goals into tactical, measurable actions that drive results. For example, use a 30-60-90 Day plan to break down multi-year goals.
3. Ensure Clear Ownership and Accountability
There may be a long list of items on your DE&I “wish list,” but without clear ownership to drive or complete the work, it will not get done. Identify your main areas of work (ex: Learning & Development, Talent Acquisition, IT, etc.) and assign workstream leads for accountability. Ensure leaders have a clear understanding of their DE&I goals and targets and take ownership of their implementation.
4. Prioritize & Sequence Initiatives
Work with your Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Workstream Leads to identify the sequencing and prioritization of initiatives based on the organization’s vision, values and strategic objectives. Factor in any resource constraints, such as capacity, cost, value, regional or global holidays, company-wide events, and trainings. Align with other workstreams and leaders to avoid initiative or communication fatigue.
5. What Gets Measured Gets Done
Identify what “success” looks like for each initiative and find a way to measure progress and impact – is it a specific representation goal? Or a number of DE&I Trainings completed in a given year? What does a successful initiative look like? Once those measurements are identified, ensure there are resources to track, consolidate, or flag data as available. Depending on the sensitivity and desired visibility, incorporate measurements into a company-wide newsletter or scorecard – because what gets measured, gets done.
Throughout it all, ensure you’re making diversity, equity and inclusion a priority in the program leadership journey itself – ask for different opinions, solicit advice or best practices from outside organizations, include diverse staff, involve employee resource groups, read articles and current news on the topic, or invite us to consult.
How We Can Help
We serve medium to large sized organizations from various industries with their DE&I efforts, with a ton of heart and a ton of hustle! Our three phased approach is tailored to your organization’s specific needs and circumstances.
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Strategize and Align
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Develop and Plan
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Execute and Sustain
With our approach, you will benefit from a successful, measurable, and impactful initiative that drives DE&I throughout your organization, organized and detailed plans with risk, issues, mitigations, and decisions documented, and a seamless transition to your team upon project completion.
