SHRM: Most Employers Dedicate ‘little to no resources’ to DEI
Diversity, equity, and inclusion(DEI) is essential to creating and maintaining a successful workplace, one founded on the principle that all people can thrive personally and professionally. Bringing together people of various backgrounds leads to new and creative ideas and decision-making. More importantly, a DEI strategic plan aligned with the overall business strategy contributes to a culture where all employees feel they have intrinsic worth, not in spite of their differences but because of their differences.
While nearly two-thirds of employers (65%) surveyed said diversity, equity, and inclusion matters, nearly just as many (63%) said their organization allocated “little to no resources” to DEI, according to research released in October 2022 by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Boston College School of Social Work.
- Notably, one-fifth of the HR pros surveyed said their organization’s policies were “not at all fair” or “only somewhat fair.”
- What’s more, between 26 percent and 28 percent of organizations say their employees have experienced certain types of bias within the past two years:
- About 27 percent of organizations’ employees have experienced racial bias within the past two years.
- 26 percent of organizations say their employees have experienced bias against older workers within the past two years.
- It was also found that over a quarter of U.S. organizations (28 percent) say their employees have experienced gender bias within the past two years
A DEI Strategy Matters To Employees and Job Candidates
DEI has grown in popularity among your current employees and job candidates. In fact, three-fourths of job seekers and employees treat DEI as a major factor when weighing job offers and companies. Candidates recognize the positive effects of an environment that welcomes a range of diverse backgrounds and want to join and stay in this kind of space. However, employees aren’t the only ones who should be pushing for more diverse and inclusive cultures. Company executives and managers, inspired by CHRO’s and their teams initiative, must also make the effort to implement DEI policies. There are plenty of incentives for businesses to get started as soon as possible.
HR’s Role in Implementing a DEI Strategy and Culture
If diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) aren’t at the top of an HR team’s priorities for 2023, the function may be setting itself up for any number of unwanted difficulties both this year and in the future. DEI continues to jump up spots on Human Resources (HR’s) top priorities this year, according to SHRM and Gartner research. (The top three – recruiting, developing leaders and controlling labor costs – stayed the same because they’re always at the top of the list of priorities.) The responsibility of HR has been rapidly expanding. One of these increased responsibility areas for HR has been to advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace and implement inclusive HR practices. This comes as no surprise; recent studies show that DEI is becoming increasingly important to current and potential employees (Washington Post, 2021; Glassdoor, 2020, Gartner 2023). DEI is not just a “nice-to-have” but a critical business imperative for organizations to be able to attract and retain today’s and tomorrow’s diverse talent.
HR Can Assess the Current State of DEI
HR can assess the current state of DEI in critical areas, for example, through survey data and facilitated discussions (focus groups). DEI data can consist of e.g. employee demographics data, inclusion data, or e.g. reviewing existing policies or processes. Remember that assessing the current state is not only about numbers and data, but also equally important to open up the dialogue to discuss the topics inside your organization and create safe spaces to share experiences and different perspectives on topics such as racism.
CHRO’s Can Educate and Empower Their HR Teams To Drive DEI Results
In response to multiple requests from HR senior executives, Inclusive Leaders Group developed DEIB Accelerator, a leadership development bootcamp, a virtual facilitator-led learning experience for CHRO’s and their direct reports and key team members.
DEIB Accelerator Course for HR
When a CHRO and their team are considering initiating a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) strategy to enhance the employee experience and workplace culture, the entire HR and Talent Management leadership engagement is required, not only at the beginning but throughout every step of the DEIB journey.
Most HR team members want to demonstrate their expertise and commitment to DEIB as role models and ambassadors but struggle with articulating that aspiration into day-to-day leadership actions. The DEIB Acceleration Course is targeted for CHROs, Vice Presidents of HR, Heads of Talent Management, and their direct reports. This course aligns the strategic direction of the DEIB initiative, with the implementation of committed behaviors and actions from the entire HR/Talent Management team.
At the end of DEIB Strategy Accelerator Course, HR team members will be able to:
- ARTICULATE THE BUSINESS CASE FOR DEIB AS A HR LEADER OR HR BUSINESS PARTNER
- TRANSFORM DEIB ACTIVITY FROM PROGRAMMATIC TO STRATEGIC
- EFFECTIVELY INTEGRATE DEIB THROUGHOUT THE TALENT LIFECYCLE
- SPONSOR AND SUPPORT EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS (ERGs)
- PLAN TO EXECUTE AN ORGANIZATIONAL DIVERSITY & INCLUSION ASSESSMENT
- PREPARE TO EFFECTIVELY AND COLLABORATIVELY DEVELOP A DEIB STRATEGIC PLAN
Learn more about Inclusive Leaders Group’s client relationship approach and our DEIB Accelerator For HR and other flagship strategy development offerings.
Book a call to learn more
Additional resources for HR leaders include:
- Download the FREE E-book: The CHRO’s Guide to Advancing Workplace DEIB: A Human Resource Leader’s Guide to Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging in the Workplace. DOWNLOAD HERE
- Join the Inclusive Leaders Group community for regular updates and DEI best practices tips. SIGN UP HERE
Inclusive Leaders Group, LLC: A Strategic Consulting Firm Specializing in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) as a Business Strategy.
At Inclusive Leaders Group, we help leaders create safe, inclusive spaces that elevate employee engagement and performance to improve the business results and the communities they serve. Our clients rank among the top five markets with 98% action plan completion using our proven process to enhance and sustain results.
Inclusive Leaders Groups’ diverse SMEs will guide you through the development of progressive, evidence-based, business-driven DEI strategies to retain the best talent and increase employee engagement by 30% and overall satisfaction by 10% in one year.
ILG is a Certified Woman-Owned & Minority-Owned Business. Don’t go it alone with your DEI strategy. Go with the experts. VISIT US
As CEO and Principal Consultant of Inclusive Leaders Group, LLC, Charlotte Hughes MS, CDP, SHRBP, CPLP brings a diverse background as an accomplished Workforce and Organizational Development and Diversity & Inclusion global thought leader and practitioner for several major Fortune 100 companies and one of the largest health systems in the U.S. Charlotte delivers more than 60 speeches and facilitates roughly the same number of training workshops each year.
