DEI – Your Gamechanger in 2023

by Surbhi Rastogi

Is DEI just a buzzword being used by organisations? What does Diversity, Equity and Inclusion really mean? Why is it relevant for organisations of the future? How can we effectively implement DEI strategies in the current market scenario? Council Member Surbhi Rastogi addresses these pertinent questions and tells us why it makes sense for businesses to embrace DEI initiatives.

Before we begin, a note about the author:

Surbhi Rastogi is a globally experienced talent professional with experience in the conceptualisation and implementation of total reward policies and people experience strategies. She has worked for organisations such as Deloitte Consulting, Coca-Cola Inc., GE Capital Europe and Infosys Technologies. Currently, she is the Global Total Rewards Lead for Allcargo Group. She enjoys penning down her thoughts on the changing face of the talent landscape, and an occasional story.

To practise DEI, first it is important to understand what it really means. Diversity in the workplace means that an organisation employs a diverse team of people that’s reflective of the society in which it exists and operates. This diversity can exist in form of age, race, ethnicity, gender, colour, abilities, religion, and socioeconomic background. Taking an overtly simplistic example, suppose I like ‘rajma-chawal’ and you like ‘rasam-rice’, our friend likes ‘fish curry-rice’ and another teammate likes ‘chicken biryani’. This is diversity. When we have people in the team who look, speak, think differently than us, we have diversity. Such diversity is proven to make communities and workplaces more productive, tolerant and welcoming.

Now, what is equity? Equity is the practice of providing fair opportunities to people based on their individual needs, thus aiming to ‘level the playing field’ by considering the different starting points of different individuals. Note that ‘equity’ is different from ‘equality’. Equality would mean giving equal opportunity to all. But this is not always fair, as the starting point for different individuals may not be the same. For example: a child from a better socioeconomic background may fair better in school, making her eligible for better colleges and hence better job opportunities in future. Equity is about compensating for this difference by making some accommodation for the groups that might have been discriminated against historically and in the present day. This might mean reserving some university seats for students with poor socioeconomic background. Or, in case of organisations, mothers returning to work being given benefits like creche at the workplace or flexible work arrangements to ease them back into the workforce.

Diversity and equity cannot work without Inclusion. Inclusion is the practice of providing everyone with equal access to opportunities and resources so that each individual feels understood and respected. Inclusion efforts in the workplace help to give traditionally marginalised groups — like those based on gender, race, or disabilities — a means for them to feel equal in the workplace. They get an equal say in important decision making. Continuing with our simplistic example, when I sit in the office cafeteria, I should feel safe and accepted whatever the choice of my food may be, whether it is rajma-rice or chicken biryani. My colleagues should not leave the table or stop the conversation just because I have come with my food. This makes me feel invited, accepted and respected. Our differences are celebrated, and creativity is rewarded.

Given this, what are the effective measures that can be taken to ensure DEI efforts in your organisation are successful?

1.     Support Employee Resource Groups: ERGs can be created where employees can communicate about common interests safely. These can be groups like Women in Tech, LGBTQIA+ groups, groups for the differently abled, which can host company-wide talks about topics relevant to them without feeling prejudiced. Employees can be open about their issues and learn from each other in a non-judgemental environment.

2.     Every leader is a DEI leader: Ensure you have the support of senior leadership to become inclusive leaders and culture carriers before undertaking any initiative. Once they are in, have the leadership undergo upskilling in unconscious bias and active listening. This is important to ensure that DEI efforts do not fizzle out a few months in and it does not become the responsibility of the DEI Leader or HR alone.

3.     Do proactive outreach: Diversity begins by keeping it central in your recruiting efforts. Be proactive and explore candidate pipelines beyond the traditional talent pools like veterans, return-to-work mothers, differently abled, refugee populations etc. Also, train the managers to avoid unconscious bias during screening and interview process.

4.     Measure your DEI efforts: Include specific DEI questions on employee engagement surveys and listen to the feedback from employees around the initiatives. Also, monitor the numbers in the organisation like percentage of women in senior leadership, percentage of diversity hires, pay parity among diverse populations, etc.

5.     Ensure DEI-focused coaching: Coaching should be designed to help leaders build inclusive and equitable teams. It should give leaders an opportunity to address their own biases and work towards enabling them with tools to tackle complex issues and help them deliver on DEI strategies.

Now that we understand what DEI is and how we can ensure effective implementation of its strategies, the question remains, is it worth the effort in the current market scenario where each organisation is looking to maximise returns on dollar spent?

Currently, studies show that DEI makes business sense. Numbers speak for themselves:

1.     Increased profitability: Companies with more ethnically diverse executive teams are 36% more likely to outperform on profitability, and companies with gender diverse executive teams are 25% more likely.

2.     Enhanced innovation: According to Forbes Insights, 85% of Fortune 500 CEOs believe ‘a diverse and inclusive workforce is crucial to encouraging different perspectives and ideas that drive innovation’ — and another study showed an 83% increase in innovation when employees simply believe their organisation is committed to diversity.

3.     Better talent retention: Glassdoor found that 76% of employees and jobseekers consider diversity an important element of their workplace, which affects recruitment and retention. Candidates are more likely to apply to companies committed to diversity and employees have better chance of staying in the workplace.

4.     New customer base: Diverse companies are 70% more likely to capture a new market audience. Diverse teams are more likely to come up with innovative solutions as they represent the market they are catering to. This enables solutions for a wider customer base which leads to higher revenues.

5.     Amplified engagement: Employees who say they have strong allies at work report being 86% more likely to recommend their company and 53% less likely to consider leaving. They are also more likely to be happy with their jobs and less likely to be burned out.

This data shows that DEI is no longer just a catchphrase but a strategic business priority.

How will you be implementing DEI programs in your organisation this year?