Thinking of Hiring a DEI Team? Do This Instead
This article may seem controversial, but we ask you to read it with an open mind. Our experience in leading and training teams in companies of all sizes has led us to this point of view. It's important to note that we are not diminishing the need for strong and deliberate diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in any company. Research shows that diverse companies earn 2.5 times higher cash flow per employee. Also, inclusive teams are more than 35% productive.
Consistently inclusive organizations continue to flourish in times of economic uncertainty, which is essential as the threat of a recession looms. A 2020 study by Great Place to Work found that companies with inclusive cultures earned a four times annualized return compared to the S&P 500 during the economic downturn that ended in 2009.
The study did not report whether or not these companies had a dedicated DEI department but they were all classified as diverse in headcount, employee engagement, and performance. How they got there is a sign of each company's unique culture, structure, and leadership.
DEI is critical to a company's success. Yet, we believe that most companies need more than a dedicated DEI officer to be truly inclusive and diverse. DEI must be embedded in the organization's mission, purpose, values, culture, and policies. Cultivating a DEI-based culture begins with an authentic commitment from leaders to embrace diversity, achieve equity, and be inclusive, and that commitment is manifested in every aspect of the company. These leaders strengthen the commitment through training that gives managers the tools to cultivate inclusive teams and hold each other accountable.
Let's talk about the five reasons inclusive management is more productive in fostering DEI than hiring a DEI team.
1. DEI is Not One Function
When you relegate DEI to HR, you limit the scope of any DEI policy and diminish the importance of DEI. It also creates a workload burden on your HR team, who are likely not experts at DEI best practices. When leaders view DEI as an HR issue, it often becomes a project to check off a list rather than a long-term commitment.
A dedicated DEI team is limited in scope because it must depend on other department heads to implement any policies they create. Without an understanding of the goals and objectives of these policies, there is little impetus for other departments to prioritize them. As a result, the DEI team becomes ineffective before it even starts work.
DEI should be a function of every department, and every department should have DEI KPIs to which they are accountable. To be truly successful, DEI must be a part of an overall business strategy.
2. Avoid DEI Leader Burnout
While more companies have hired DEI leaders in the last couple of years, retention of those professionals is low. Russell Reynolds, an executive search and leadership advisory firm, recently reported that 60% of the chief diversity officers at S&P 500 companies resigned from their positions between 2018 and 2021. In 2021, the average tenure of chief diversity officers decreased from 3.1 to 1.8 years. Burnout is real, and despite their passion and commitment to diversity and inclusion, many DEI leaders have stepped away.
Why? Forbes offers six “umbrella causes” of DEI burnout, which supports our belief that DEI is a company issue, not a department function. They are:
Lack of resources and authority
Working in a silo
Lack of community
Lack of training
Disconnect between values and operations
Too much focus on optics over change
Often, companies set their DEI leaders and departments up for failure before they even begin. There are more productive ways to use those resources and employees.
3. Avoid Tokenism
DEI roles often fail to include any clear strategy for success, and good intentions can backfire or make a situation worse. For example, many companies don't think through the long-term plan for cultural change and hire the first person of color who applies for the position. Or, they ask the few people of color already employed with them to take part in a company DEI initiative or to be photographed for the website and marketing materials. This is tokenism.
Tokenism is "the practice of doing something (such as hiring a person who belongs to a minority group) only to prevent criticism and give the appearance that people are being treated fairly." Tokenism results from doing the bare minimum when DEI initiatives are purely symbolic. However, it can also result from leaders not understanding the need for DEI or the consequences of not putting thought and resources into them.
Tokenism harms not only employees but also the whole organization. Diverse employees often feel they were only hired or kept on because they come from a marginalized background or may feel taken advantage of. This leads to feeling even more marginalized and without a voice in the company. Low morale and toxic company culture often follow, which can reduce productivity.
Cultural change takes commitment, thought, and time. It is not achieved with a marketing photoshoot.
4. Avoid Unrealistic Expectations and Lost Focus
Even the most well-intentioned DEI program will only succeed if it includes achievable expectations and a long-term commitment. Most DEI programs fail when leaders view them as a “one-and-done” project or when they face consistent pressure to meet KPIs for hiring employees of color or implementing the ubiquitous DEI training programs rather than focusing on the human element of equity and inclusion such as making sure every employee feels seen and heard.
When unrealistic expectations are not met, DEI programs are often cut or downsized to send resources to other departments. Also, when financial downturns occur, DEI departments are often the first to lose funding and headcount. As a result, existing DEI programs are put on the back burner or abandoned altogether.
5. Avoid Pushback
There will always be a contingent of your employees who will not embrace any overt DEI program. Here are some interesting stats from Gartner:
44% of employees say that more of their colleagues are feeling alienated by their employer’s DEI efforts.
42% of employees report their peers view their company's DEI efforts as divisive.
42% say their peers resent DEI efforts.
Why do employees push back on DEI initiatives? There are two theories. Employees feel either a threat to their individual identity or their social identity. DEI initiatives can threaten an employee's sense of individual self-worth if they feel shamed or blamed for DEI issues. Others may feel that their social groups will lose power or privileges. DEI initiatives may feel like "reverse discrimination" to these employees.
Putting aside whether this pushback is warranted, it is still something that leaders should address. If you don't, you risk employees feeling alienated, disengaged, and possibly leaving your organization. You also risk a harmful cultural divide within your company.
Alternatives to the DEI Department
We’ve offered you five reasons for not establishing a DEI department or executive in your organization while maintaining that DEI is still essential to any company’s success. So, what are our suggested solutions to this conundrum?
The best solution is bringing in DEI consultants who are experts at crafting and implementing wrap-around policies and procedures that touch every corner of your organization and truly measure inclusivity, diversity, and equity. A good DEI expert can also assist your leadership team in understanding how critical DEI initiatives are to your company’s future and coach them on how to be successful at building an inclusive team. If you are looking for such an expert, we can help you find one.
Another solution is offering your leadership and management teams inclusive management training that emphasizes diversity literacy. Why? Because in a successful company with growth potential, DEI is everyone's responsibility, from top to bottom. For DEI to become part of a company's DNA, there are two steps that leaders should take: providing diversity literacy to every employee, and developing inclusive management techniques that become the basis of every manager's management philosophy.
What Do We Mean By Diversity Literacy?
Let's talk about the diversity literacy step first. People who are diversity literate value the differences in each individual, recognize the effects of differences on people's lives and understand how and when to reduce barriers that may stand in the way of inclusion and equity.
Diversity literacy gives managers the tools to equally include all employees in the workload and encourage regular one-on-one or team discussions involving active engagement about race, gender, and other DEI issues. It also gives managers the language to communicate effectively with leaders and colleagues on potential organizational problems and barriers. Managers who are diversity literate communicate candidly about difficult topics.
Almost 60% of American managers say they don’t feel prepared to talk about race with their teams. Only 41% of managers report attending a DEI training or education program for work. However, after attending a training program, a majority of managers say they feel better prepared to have those meaningful conversations.
At any organization, managers influence employee experiences more than any other company policy or initiative. It is evident that many companies are not preparing their managers in diversity literacy, and in turn, those managers perceive that DEI is not essential to their organization.
Starling Training’s Approach to Inclusive Management
Achieving real equality and inclusion in any company is not easy. Over 65% of employees say their managers do not foster an inclusive environment. Inclusive management means showing an interest in all kinds of people, embracing cultural and societal differences, and actively encouraging diversity of opinion, ideas, thoughts, and experiences.
Prioritizing an inclusive management approach focuses on creating a culture where employees feel they belong and can make a valued contribution. Inclusive managers communicate with transparency, giving employees a voice and soliciting feedback. They empower their staff to be open and honest and to feel ownership of their team’s work, not just their own. They lead by example and collaborate with their team as often as possible. They consistently support team members in a manner that is appropriate and relevant for each person. In the simplest terms, inclusive managers lead with emotional intelligence.
Starling Training's Mindful Manager Training Program is built upon an emotional intelligence framework that fosters inclusive management. We customize our training program to your company's DEI needs and goals and the experience level of your managers. We'll teach your managers how to manage their staff with intention, transparency, and equity. You'll build a strong culture built on equity and inclusion with less pushback and expended resources. Contact us today to schedule a discovery call, and we'll tell you more.
