Staying Focused: Recession-proof Your DEI Efforts.

• Author: Holland, Florence

As organizations continue to watch for a potential recession, many may be wondering what might be sacrificed, hailed or changed over the coming months as companies tighten their belts in anticipation of what seems to be an inevitable slowdown.

While diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies are gaining significance and focus in the workplace, some might view these efforts as "nice to have" rather than essential to their businesses. To ensure that your DEI efforts are recession-proof, you must be able to show the importance of these efforts in producing organizational change. How do you do that?

Use Data

Effective DEI measurements ensure you are using factual evidence and not relying on any bias to evaluate your programs. The adage of "what gets measured, gets done" reinforces that DEI should be data-driven and strategic, with success metrics clearly-defined. Collect a variety of metrics from diversity demographic data over time and inclusion data to show how well individuals feel they belong, as well as equity, retention and programmatic data. Focusing on robust evaluation collection and thoughtful interpretation of that data enables you to speak to the business case for your specific organization to show progress.

Communicate Success Stories

Where you make improvements and enhance your DEI efforts both quantitively and qualitatively) be sure to share those successes! You want to arm as many champions as possible within your organization to be able to speak to the success and impact that a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion has had on your organization's culture. Why is this so important? According to Harvard Business Review, "high belonging" is linked to a whopping 56 percent increase in job performance, a 50 percent drop in turnover risk and a 75 percent reduction in sick days. For a 10,000-person organization, this translates to annual savings of more than $52 million.

Calculate Your ROI

The key to assessing the return on investment for your DEI program is related to how you link your goals to performance measures. As you collect baseline data, you will need to monitor it at regular intervals. Assuming you're gathering the right data and that your programs are leading to positive change, data analysis should reveal positive correlations between your findings and your business success.

According to Diversity Best Practices, leading ROI...