There’s no shortage of aspirational narratives around the whys and wherefores of workplace DEI in 2023 and beyond. In fact, the Harvard Business Review recently referenced a Gartner survey, revealing that use of metrics to set goals and measure DEI are key criteria for businesses. Both people analytics and DEI analytics and initiatives continue as growth areas for businesses.
After all, the benefits of cultivating a diverse workplace are many and varied. What organization doesn’t thirst for benefits such as:
- Heightened productivity levels
- Increased scope of business opportunities
- Supercharged employer branding
- Minimized litigation risk
It’s no wonder DEI continues to be an increasingly important aspect of an organization’s HR strategy, regardless of specific motivations.
But best laid plans can get a little nondescript if they’re all hat and no cattle! And truthfully, this is all too often the case if you’re keen to embrace DEI, but lack the tools and the know-how to shift beyond good intentions.
As the Harvard Business Review explained: “…measuring workforce representation is a challenge unto itself”, concluding that, “Even once you have that demographic information, it’s hard to know what mark you’re trying to hit: What does “good” look like, in terms of representation?”
Great question!
With more and more organizations seeking ways to track and leverage DEI, the need for cognizance and transparency is paramount. It calls for a proactive and intentional approach to DEI, though a lens that encapsulates your evolving people situation and business objectives.
But if you don’t know where you’re headed, how do you know how to get there, or when you’ve arrived?
How & Where to Start with DEI Metrics?
Just like with any strategy, you need to understand your starting point to gauge your destination and plan your route. In the case of a DEI strategy, this means getting crystal clear around factors such as:
- What your current DEI challenges are
- How your current challenges are manifesting themselves
- What’s causing them
- What needs to be done to resolve them
The thing is, unearthing the answers to these and more questions can be tough at best and almost impossible at worst! This is especially the case when the information you need is buried in multiple ATS, HRIS, HCM and even manual systems, across multiple stakeholders, and in different formats.
So, what’s the work around for unlocking and transforming these mountains of non-integrated and largely transactional data? HR analytics.
The Ultimate Solution to Unleashing Your Untapped Data Sets
It’s super frustrating to feel like you’re rendered powerless by static and unaligned data. It contains everything you need. But it’s largely unworkable.
Ok, so you might be able to generate statistics, for example, about your number of employees by department at any given time. You might be able to track the number of employees recruited by agency or by job board. But it gets a whole lot trickier to then slice and dice these numbers down by under-represented groups.
In fact, it’s like piecing together broken chains that became detached the moment a candidate in your ATS morphed into an employee in your HRIS. Not to mention any other systems and places you use to store key information, such as:
- KPI / Performance
- LMS (Learning Management System)
- Payroll
Herein lies a grisly obstacle to understanding, identifying and implementing strategic DEI programs that support and promote your overall business objectives. Because when all is said and done, an all-encompassing and engaging picture can only emerge as a result of combining the data from all these sources.
But the great news is HR analytics make light work of a previously monumental task. And even better still, it’s safer and more compliant that risking unintentional data breaches, purely because you’ve amassed so much uncontrolled data in multiple places!
Extract. Process. Analyze. The Untapped Potential in Your Data
Being able to mine, combine and crunch all this HR data from your disparate systems equips you to:
- Fully understand your people situation
- Use it to inform your DEI strategy
- Measure the success of your DEI initiatives
You see, it’s essential to dig deeper than the fundamental basics that don’t justify the considerable effort you invest in producing them. Otherwise, it’s a touch call to stop being fluffy and start being intentional and impactful around workplace DEI, no matter how enterprising you are.
In addition to the preliminary metrics, you also need more advanced data around key factors such as:
- Compensation
- Performance
- Learning and development
- Promotion and other opportunities
- Recruitment versus hiring
- Hiring versus turnover
- Succession planning
It’s like joining up the dots between hidden connections, identifying gaps and implementing relevant DEI initiatives that:
- Match where your business is right now
- Guide the way ahead
At HireRoad, our change enabling PeopleInsight by HireRoad tools give you spectacular overviews of your people situation, through multiple lenses. With previously unimaginable analytics at your fingertips, you’ve never been so well-placed to implement progressive and impactful DEI programs that align with your business objectives, whilst also being quick and hassle-free to measure.
Do you feel like you could and should be leveraging DEI in your business? But you’re not sure how, or where to start? This is what you’ve been waiting for. Get in touch with us, for a non-obligatory demo that could reinforce and transform your business.