Structure follows strategy: The what, why and how to conduct an inclusion and diversity assessment

By Shirley Engelmeier, Founder and CEO, InclusionINC

A wise friend of mine has a saying: “Structure Follows Strategy” - meaning that one should build a solution to deliver a desired business outcome. But after more years in the Inclusion and Diversity field than I care to admit to, I am still intrigued that this basic tenet is commonly overlooked.

Now I hope that you’re thinking, “Yes, this does sound dismal, but how can this scenario be avoided?” 

Because the answer is straightforward: Before implementing, recommending, or budgeting for any solutions in the Inclusion and Diversity arena, perform an Assessment. 

The following overview is designed to address the three main questions I run into regarding an Assessment:
   
1. What is an Assessment? 
2. How is an Assessment Conducted?
3. Why is an Assessment Important to the Success of an Inclusion and Diversity Program?

Plus, I’ve included a few client case summaries at the end to help bring some real-world application to the concepts.

What is an Assessment?

An Assessment is the process of gathering and analyzing critical data necessary for identifying a company's specific Inclusion and Diversity strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, which in turn lead to the development of the primary strategies to support the company business goals. 

I highly encourage the use of an outside consultancy to perform the assessment to avoid any internal bias.  Consultants tend to produce unbiased results because they don’t fall victim to group think or corporate culture (You can’t ask that!) and the employee understands that the consultant doesn’t know their boss and won’t be running into them in the lunch room (I can‘t believe you feel that way about Mark! Does he know you feel that way?  Do you want me to talk with him?).

How is an Assessment Conducted?

At InclusionINC, our Assessment Teams use sophisticated methodology and a variety of collection tools, customizing the assessment to fully evaluate the client’s current business practices in relation to its business objectives.  In other words, it depends on the client.  Each client is unique; however, we find the following tactics to be generally useful:

Client Audit
We review applicable business practices, policies, and procedures, and we complete comparative industry research and analysis.

Focus Groups/Interviews
Leading focus groups and performing either phone or in-person interviews provides the specific qualitative data necessary for a thorough assessment.

Web-Based Assessment
Our web-based assessment is unique among Inclusion and Diversity consultants, using cutting-edge, customized surveys to invite a broad range of employees to participate in the assessment process.

Occupational Demographic Analysis
Our Assessment Teams identify and sort demographic and employment information by work levels and major organizational divisions for internal and external benchmarking purposes. This phase may involve:

1. Analyzing work levels, organizational divisions, or major departments by race, gender, disability, and age
2. Creating and customizing work levels to fit the nature of the organization
3. Comparing the percentages of minorities and women to external occupational industry information                
4. Producing a +/- report
5. Look at job families and development patterns           
6. Determining appropriate benchmarks for areas of improvement

Data Analysis

The collected data is analyzed, revealing organizational strengths and challenges in the form of metrics.  These results typically lead clients from the Assessment phase to the Consulting phase, where tactical Inclusion and Diversity solutions are defined to bring the organization into alignment with its stated business objectives.

Why is an Assessment Important to the Success of Your Inclusion and Diversity Program?

An Assessment leads to the enhanced success of your Inclusion and Diversity initiative in three significant ways:

1. Metrics are established and progress is measurable, fostering improved executive support for Inclusion and Diversity initiatives
2. Gap analysis defines the organization’s strategic needs, allowing for a customized solution
3. Resources can be prioritized to address the specific areas within the organization needed to bring the organization into alignment with its business objectives

Benchmarking Metrics

As I mentioned, the results of data analysis reveal gaps in the organization between its current state and its desired state.  These metrics establish a point-in-time benchmark against which progress can be measured over time.  The ability to track and report progress lends credibility to the Inclusion and Diversity initiatives within an organization, and credible programs that can demonstrate a measurable impact on the organization are more likely to get funded, especially in recessionary times when funds are tight.
 
Customized Solutions

Like any challenge to be overcome, there are many potential solutions.  Not all, or even most, of those potential solutions may be required or adequate to support your organization’s needs, so how do you choose? 

The results of the Assessment will provide a valuable guide to which strategic initiatives to recommend to truly move the needle in your organization.  You’ll know how the company measures up to its own goals, as well as industry standards, and be able to counter those gaps with targeted action plans.  The resulting recommendations reflect focused execution and decidedly less “flavor-of-the-month”.

Resource Allocation

Now, the Assessment results guide the tactical implementation.  For example, if the results indicate that the largest gap among plant-level employees in the Eastern region, which is a key strategic area for your organization, you may choose to initiate your Inclusion and Diversity program in this region first. Or you may decide to implement a pilot program company-wide with your front-line supervisors (identified as the occupational group with the largest gap in your Assessment) and log an early success before a company-wide launch. 

With the strategy and tactical recommendations in place and supported by metrics, you are ready to create the resource request to close the gaps.  Only the squeaky wheel is going to get the grease, and at the end of the implementation phase you’ll have a well-oiled machine for a fraction of the cost.  That’s a win-win in everyone’s book!