Data-Driven DEI

Introduction

DEI is a journey, not a destination.

DEI can be measured and managed.

When I first met Steve, he and his organization were in a very difficult situation. Steve had been long criticized for his lack of leadership, particularly with women and people of color, while he maintained that his management style was an effective one. His team was dysfunctional and lacked cohesion and trust. Moreover, while Steve's team bore some diversity, he was a member of the organization's senior leadership team, which bore little to no diversity. In stark comparison, their employee base and the communities surrounding their office locations reflected the full range of societal diversity. Like many organizations, while they had good intentions to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), their efforts had largely failed due to a lack of acknowledgment and agreement about the issues they were facing, and the impact was severe. Employee engagement was low. They were losing people of color, particularly in middle management. They were under significant pressure from employees to diversify their senior ranks and create a more inclusive culture. Steve knew that he and his organization desperately needed help, and he lobbied to hire my firm, BCT Partners, to help his organization improve their DEI.

After engaging in several conversations with leaders about their mission and vision for DEI, our next step was to conduct several assessments: an implicit bias and cultural competence assessment ...