A couple of years ago, the business I was working in was heading into massive cost cutting and transformation. We pulled out all the stops— layoffs, limited business travel, less discretionary spend, cutting back operating budgets— the whole nine. Inevitably, you run out of levers to pull and have to change the game.
Since you can’t do more with less— you have to do less with less. So we embarked on a start/ stop/ continue exercise— essentially listing every meeting, report, project, initiative, and put them into buckets of start, stop and continue. Yes, it is as painful as it sounds.
Which leads me to today’s post. Last week, I started to contemplate the current D&I playbooks that organizations are running (particularly large ones) — and I decided to use the good ‘ole “Stop, Start, Continue” because it does a couple of things:
1) It’s a forcing function … enables you to take inventory of everything you’ve got going in your organization — the good, the bad, the ugly.
2) It allows you to observe interconnectedness … typically, many of the strategies that are employed are not independent of each other, but work in concert with each other. (or build off of each other!)
3) Help you PRIORITIZE … in the world of D&I, it REALLY doesn’t pay off (literally or figuratively) to make micro investments in many different areas. You are better off doubling down hard on a couple of interconnected (yes, #2) priorities/ strategies and take a good, sustained run at them.
These are my personal thoughts around what I think works, what doesn’t, and what is worth revisiting.
This is not a one size fits all— organizations will have to come up with their own strategy based on their culture, their values and their commitment to D&I programs.
I’ll rate it on a scale of 1-5 “waves”— 5 being the highest ROI, 1… not so much.
Off we go.
Employee Resource
Groups (3/5)
This is going to be controversial. I know it.
Employee resource groups (ERG’s) are pretty common in medium-large sized organizations these days. So why is it not a 5? I think ERG’s are outstanding vehicles for BIPOC employees to support one another.
But do I think they do the best job educating the larger population?
I really don’t. Not for lack of trying, but usually because the numbers simply aren’t there.
They are necessary for many reasons— they provide important networks on how to navigate an organization and opportunities for networking and informal/ formal mentorship. They can be very meaningful communities for BIPOC.
But to enact real change? You really need to get the majority to play. (yes, white people)— and for that reason, I am giving it a 3 because others have to get in the game.
Regular D&I Reviews Scorecards/ Metrics (1/5)
This might be surprising to you — but I loathe “scorecards” and regular metric reviews. More often than not, they are 95% success theater and 3% BS and 2% substance.
Here’s why. Employee headcount is a living thing— people join and leave organizations everyday. If you have quarterly reviews on large populations, your needle is not going to move significantly. I am not a fan of quarterly or bi-annual reviews focused on metrics because THINGS JUST DON’T CHANGE THAT FAST. Going through these reviews is like watching this:
Address the ISSUES, don’t solve for the NUMBERS.
IF your metrics change over the course of a quarter— I will bet that someone is forcing efforts and making uninformed, and potentially damaging decisions along the way.
We have taken this route time and time again because we believe it forces accountability, but it can start to undermine the real culture change that needs to happen.
I know we like to measure our efforts and pat ourselves on the back when we do a good job. But you’re solving for the wrong problem.
You don’t need more water. You need a new bucket.
Workforce & Data Analytics (5/5)
WAIT. What? Jean, you just said you don’t like to review metrics.
Correct. I don’t.
But I like data. I like data transparency, too.
It is REALLY important to understand your organizational data. From basic elements like your current demographics to more sophisticated metrics like your hiring efficiency and what stage you are losing candidates… having a solid understanding is key. It is easy enough to calculate an annualized retention rate across different BIPOC groups, but it takes it to another level with you understand at what level (early career, line managers, executives) you are having your most significant issues.
Slice it to see if certain functions are affected differently. Can you bump it up against an employee engagement survey? Anything there?
If you can narrow it down by the organizational hierarchy or even at the hiring manager level— that came be VERY powerful. Do some leaders have more success at hiring and retaining BIPOC that other leaders? Why?
There are very few organizations that excel at this … but if you are able to invest in some proper tools and get the right team to interpret & operationalize— the trend data and process of proving (or disproving!) your hypotheses can illuminate where you should focus your efforts. Spend more time upfront on your data, and you will become more aware of where your blind spots are. #measureoncecuttwice
Dedicated D&I Leader / Team
(4/5) - with some caveats!
As with anything you want to be better at, you need to put time, money and resources against it. I’d urge organizations to take the same approach to D&I as they do on NPIs. Use your D&I leadership team to define, develop and launch. Adjust. Try again.
I understand in times of cost pressure and challenging markets— this sounds like a joke. I’m not delusional.
Here’s the thing- if you get the right leader, the right team, and make the right investments— you should see and feel a bounce in both productivity and retention. But this is a long term investment. Continued, sustained progress is better than half-assed, short term efforts.
(If you are looking for instant gratification, you should go and bake something)
On the “who”… here’s what I’d be looking for if I’m a CEO or CHRO:
1) Consider NOT AN HR person. Do I need to explain this? It’s the obvious answer— and you need to find those who are not steeped in the “tried and true”, but the— “let’s try something new”. Do they need experts, advice and guidance? 200%, yes. But you want someone who can operationalize it the best— and— that may or may not be your HR leader.
2) Consider teaming up your STRONGEST, most influential (and I don’t mean best available) white male leader with this team on a full-time basis so they can immerse themselves in the journey of allyship. Give them the platform to have a voice. Give them license to be vulnerable.
3) Extend Impunity …if you’re going to have a Chief Diversity Officer— you’ve got to extend some impunity to them and their team. They are there to challenge you and your leaders. Where I see this go awry is when politics get in the way. They are employees too, and if they don’t have the political capital and freedom to operate or constructively challenge — you will have limited their opportunity to impact change. (and thus diminishing your initial investment)
Training. Anti-racism, unconscious bias, microaggressions, etc. (3/5)
I am a proponent of training, but I don’t think it solves the underlying issues of culture change. But what is does do, and can do quite well, is that it helps establish a baseline of vocabulary, actions and behaviors. Even if people are not bought in, at least it will set the stage for your organization’s expectations.
Vocabulary in particular, I think, is very important— when people start getting comfortable with the words, they can having conversations. Many non-BIPOC (and POC!) are self conscious about saying the “wrong” thing.
Do I say black or African-American?
What does BIPOC even mean?
When I see an “X”, as in LatinX - what does that mean?
Get the terminology 101 out of the way, then you can actually sit and have a meaningful exchange. And then you can get to the hard work. In summary, it’s a terrific supporting cast member. But it’s not going to win you the Oscar.
Pipeline & Development Programs (4/5)
Investment in your talent pipeline is something companies of all shapes and sizes should be doing to ensure they’ve got the right talent ready as the business evolves.
When it comes to Black and Brown talent pipelines— again, continued and sustained investment is paramount. These groups have been marginalized for so long, that a flash in the pan, a photo op is not what is needed. It is a commitment to establishing lasting relationship with schools and other organizations - and investing early and often, that is most needed.
Which leads me to below…
Community Involvement/ Outreach (4/5)
If your organization is sincere about making an effort. It has to give a damn. Not just when it is convenient or optically oportune, but all the time.
For companies that have scale and the ability to establish a long term partnership with a respected Community organization— do it.
Share money, share time— share your talent! Have you considered “lending” your own talent for a period of time? 3 months? 6 months?
Give employees the chance to REALLY put their skills to use and pay it forward. Explore ways to help break the cycle of poverty. The idea is to find different ways that people can help support to BIPOC communities.
Utilize Corporate Foundation and Social Responsibility programs to make BIG contributions, rather than spreading the peanut butter around and doing a little bit here and there. Team up with another company to double your efforts. The possibilities are endless.
Talent Acquisition/ Recruitment Strategies (4/5)
I could probably write an entire series on talent recruitment, because there is a lot of ground to cover. But I am a believer that if you have a strong talent acquisition strategy — meaning you have great team of recruiters, a strong process and shared accountability, you should naturally be ahead of the curve from a D&I perspective.
Regardless of whether you are a BIPOC or not, talent acquisition is usually the bane of any organization’s existence. How many times have I heard— “this company really sucks” at filling this job, “why is this taking so long??”
In my experience, it is because there are many failure points within the process of attracting, identifying and securing talent. There are so many touch points and players in the process- that if you have one person that is not holding up their end of the bargain, it disrupts the entire flow. And if you are looking for niche talent, that one misstep is enough to upset the apple cart. If I’m a CHRO, I’m digging into my people, processes, and tools— and asking peers who sit around the executive table to take accountability for their hiring managers.
Some other specifics I’d be looking at?
Blind Resume Screening - removing personal identifiers in resumes when screening. Studies have shown that BIPOC candidates are almost 2x likely to receive a call back when they “whiten” their resumes. YIKES. I’d say there is some room for opportunity.
Revisiting your candidate pools… where do you recruit? Are you seeking out different venues or changing the schools you go to? I once spoke to a leader who only wanted to hire mechanical engineers out of West Virginia University. No offence to the mechanical engineers @ WVU, but if you are looking to diversify your pipeline, you might need to reevaluate where you are looking and change it up.
That also leads me to the following below ….
Flexible/ Alternative Work Arrangements
(2/5)
When you are trying to fit your strategy to your current state- it’s going to be very difficult to see the universe of possibilities. When you disrupt your “normal course”— the skies will open up. Due to covid, the vast majority of office jobs have been done remotely since February/ March. Some will never go back to a conventional office. Others might not return for a long time.
Covid has shown us that we can work differently and be successful. If you open up where people can do their jobs from, you open up a broader pool. Which means more candidates, with better access to diverse cognitive and demographic backgrounds and potentially better skills and abilities. It’s math.
Increase the funnel, increase your throughput— but this is a tough one for many to get their heads around.
Award Programs … “Best Places to Work at for (insert marginalized group name)”
0 - ZERO
No. Just no. Window dressing.
If you are doing things right, your employees will evangelize for you.
I’m going to close this out and say that I’ve always thought that diversity is an OUTCOME of inclusion.
And real inclusion takes time and only when the majority is bought in AND engaged.
What I also know now— is that being POC does not exempt me from having racist thoughts or behaviors and that I can now see myself on the continuum of racism. (see last weeks’ post) It is hard to type that. REALLY HARD.
But I am also learning that the admission of racism does not make me a morally corrupt or a hateful person— It simply means I’m starting to understand the nuances. I’m building awareness.
Being Asian OR female OR an HR professional doesn’t exclude me from doing the same work that all of you are doing. I know I need to keep working everyday towards true allyship.
In the coming weeks— I’m going to create a new section on my website with resources that people have sent me, voices that I think are incredibly important to hear, articles that might shape how you think about this movement.
I hope you will all continue sharing— collectively, it will help move us forward.
Until next time, stay safe and be well.
J