So, your organization has decided to make diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a priority. You are not alone. The move towards DEI is great news for you, your organization, and your employees. There is significant evidence that a more diverse workforce does better work. But, now what? How do you go about prioritizing DEI? What parts of the organization need to be involved? Where do you start?
The integration of DEI programming must be strategic and aligned with existing organizational systems and processes. This level of intentionality will help improve every aspect of your organization from leadership to employee engagement to organizational culture. As your organization embarks on its diversity, equity & inclusion journey, it’s important that you have a roadmap, or framework, to help guide your path. A plan with no clear path to success is not really a workable plan.
The Six Elements of a DEI Plan
At Brighter Strategies our work entails assessing current workplace and workforce programs and practices to identify strategic opportunities. These opportunities should be developed as part of the framework, with an eye towards programming that fosters equitable and inclusive workplace practices. The actionable components of a DEI Framework will vary by organization, but one can generally break them down into six categories:
- DEI Strategic Plan
- Leadership Commitment
- Recruitment and Hiring of Diverse Talent
- Inclusive Performance Management
- Equitable and Inclusive Culture
- Marketplace and Community Impact
We’ve created a helpful visual and more thorough explanation for this framework. You can download it below. The list is not exhaustive, but will hopefully help you think about how you might explore these areas in your own organization.
Throughout this month, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into these six components of and how they influence your specific DEI strategy.
If you’re ready to work with someone to discuss your DEI plans, let us know.
A Framework for DEI Strategy
Your organization is ready to get serious about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). But what does that mean? What departments does that include? How do you start? We’ve prepared this visual tool to help you better understand what’s included in a DEI plan and where you can start.