Firms struggling to achieve DE&I goals despite good intentions

Although organisations across all industries, sizes and geographies have good intentions around closing inequity gaps, many are struggling to achieve their diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) goals, according to a new study.

In fact, less than 2% of HR leaders surveyed confidently said that they were actually achieving their DE&I goals, according to Salary.com’s latest report. The commitment is there, but resources are lacking, noted the study. The research analyses the gaps between HR professionals’ intentions to make progress on DE&I matters, and the actions they are actually taking as a community to close those gaps. 

Many respondents indicated that while their organisation intends for their DE&I leader to have access to senior leadership and financial resources, they are “not yet there”. Also, many felt they can have little impact on the diversification of their Board of Directors. On the plus side, there was strong alignment on both intentions and actions on the statement, “My CEO and senior leadership team intends to be committed to building diversity into the organisation’s core value”.

DELIVERING ON DE&I PRIORITIES

According to the study, companies are prioritising and focusing on the need for employees to feel supported and free to speak up. However, there was a 13% gap between that intention and the current reality faced by their employees. Also high on the DE&I list was “emphasising diversity as a central mission/strategy”. However, there was an 8% gap in resulting actions to date.

HR also believes that providing DE&I training at all levels is critical. However, there was a 13% gap between organisations intending to offer DE&I training/mentorship to all levels of management; and those currently offering that DE&I training/mentorship.

“As with other cultural and economic movements in our country’s past, the concrete actions taken are lagging behind the good intentions of corporate leadership and HR teams,” stated Chris Fusco, Senior Vice President of Compensation at Salary.com. “The positive takeaway from Salary.com’s data is that good intentions lead to more action, so companies stand to make significant progress before the year is out.”

ADVANCING & MEASURING DE&I GOALS

Interestingly, only 6% of the surveyed organisations are holding themselves accountable by tracking their progress towards measurable, specific goals for diversifying the workforce; though many are looking at metrics to hold themselves accountable for the success of their initiatives. Affirmative action and internal equity analysis were the most popular metrics.

A third of organisations cite having a dedicated Diversity Leader or Diversity Committee as the most important mechanism towards making progress on DE&I initiatives. Many said it was important “to hire a DE&I director in the next 90 days”. This syncs with LinkedIn data that showed a dip in the number of DE&I jobs posted immediately after the Covid-19 lockdowns; but an enormous upward spike since the Black Lives Matter movement took to the streets in late May and early June of 2020.

Most of the surveyed HR professionals are depending on sourcing diverse candidate pools as the way to make progress toward organisational DE&I initiatives. “This is a good start, however, these companies will need to determine how to develop, retain and advance these new hires,” said Fusco.

TOP DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION GOALS

The most cited DE&I goals were to:

• Launch community outreach efforts.
• Meet affirmative action metrics set by their organisation.
• Abide by regulatory compliance.

Other goals mentioned were more aspirational, such as “to treat everyone with dignity, respect and fairness“. Companies also view introducing conversations and discussions around race and cultural diversity as a good way to start building awareness. About 18% of HR leaders said their companies are engaging a third-party to assist them in the conduct of a DE&I internal audit; plus the development of a strategy and goals for which to track progress against their strategy.

Another recent survey, revealed that tracking DE&I progress is actually one of the biggest challenges that HR is grappling with right now. Click here to read more.