HR, Operations, Finance, and Marketing are essential in any DEI strategy.
In the past year, we’ve seen corporate America follow a somewhat predictable playbook with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion. There have been public declarations without action, a record number of DEI executive job postings, and millions of dollars thrown at various (vague) community initiatives. But on their own, none of these actions are enough to move the needle. Case in point, a 2021 report from Josh Bersin analysts found that nearly 76% of companies don’t have diversity or inclusion goals, and they approach it as an HR issue, not a business function[1].
Therein lies the problem – companies continuously think of DEI as an issue that can be solved through hiring and hiring alone. However, true equity can only be achieved with significant investment in four categories: Operations, Finance, Marketing, and, of course, HR.
Operations
From an operational standpoint, companies need to invest time, money, and other resources to integrate DEI into their everyday work. This means skills development and professional training for all employees, especially those in supervisory roles. This means reimagining workflows to ensure all processes are deliberately inclusive. And, this means incorporating DEI into the company mission, clarifying expectations across the board, and launching the necessary communications to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Finance
Pay equity should be front and center in any DEI plan. White women earn $0.79 for every dollar that White men make[2]; Black men take home $0.87 for every dollar White men earn[3]. A thorough pay equity analysis can uncover these deficiencies within your company. Though pay disparities often result from unconscious bias, they still exist, and they need to be corrected. If this financial work isn’t done, the internal pay gaps will breed resentment and job dissatisfaction, ultimately leading to higher turnover.
Marketing
Without question, your company’s marketing must speak to customers and potential employees from all walks of life. And this goes far beyond including people of color in an advertisement. Inclusive marketing requires that you research your audience, craft messages that are culturally resonant; reorganize your team structure, incorporate an array of perspectives in the decision-making process; and build an internal style guide that ensures consistent DEI principles across all marketing efforts.
HR
And lastly, there’s HR. This bucket tends to get the bulk of the attention, and rightfully so – it’s hard to achieve equity without diversifying your staff. Some great ways to recruit and hire more diverse candidates include standardizing your interview process, changing your focus from culture fit to culture add, establishing recruitment efforts in places where you’ll find more diverse candidates, and setting and measuring diversity hiring goals.
Like any other business goal, true equity requires a detailed and focused strategy with several categories. Hiring is certainly important, but it takes so much more to create an inclusive and productive environment for all.
[1] Estrada, Sheryl. (February 18, 2021). ‘Just going through the motions’: Employers fail to make DEI a business function, report finds. Retrieved from: https://www.hrdive.com/news/just-going-through-the-motions-employers-fail-to-make-dei-a-business-fun/595293/
[2] Bleiweis, Robin. (March 24, 2020). Quick Facts About the Gender Wage Gap. Retrieved from: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/24/482141/quick-facts-gender-wage-gap/
[3] Miller, Stephen. (June 11, 2020). Black Workers Still Earn Less than Their White Counterparts. Retrieved from: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/racial-wage-gaps-persistence-poses-challenge.aspx
