Dylan could tell Pat was feeling down. He quickly said, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, Pat! Don’t be discouraged—building a strong DEI culture is a journey that takes time and, quite frankly, a journey that’s never ending. While you’ve had the standard compliance and sensitivity trainings available for years, your recent investments to strengthen your DEI initiatives will not be reflected throughout the organization overnight and you’ll always be striving to achieve more as you understand more.”
Pat thought about what Dylan just said. Dylan knew what the organization was up against—that the real DEI cultural change was just beginning. Dylan had worked with other companies that hadn’t actively worked towards refining their approach to diversity. Those companies tended to focus on the diversity or performance rating do’s and don’ts that are easy to understand and defend.
Dylan knew that helping an organization more fully engage in solving the DEI problem and encouraging social accountability💡 are proven ways to help change an organization’s DEI sensitivity and culture for the better, but change is not something that happens overnight.
“Remind me, what’s most important when addressing the need for a strong DEI culture?” Dylan asked.
Pat responded confidently, “Leadership consensus that there is a problem.”
“And have you achieved that consensus?” asked Dylan.
“Yes. There may be a few stragglers, but we have achieved critical mass.” Pat replied.
Not long ago, Pat and Dylan were designing the organization’s DEI future. They agreed one of the foundational tenets should be involving managers from the start. This approach helps ensure the program being developed fits into the way managers already work. Dylan explained to Pat that involving managers in the design process can increase buy-in and smooth implementation.
Dylan remembered how he and Pat created a DEI leadership task force (Task Force) to support program design, deployment protocols and drive the DEI implementation kickoff. The Task Force was a group of leaders that would usher other leaders along—a DEI governing body if you will. They help leaders roll out new initiatives, as well as hold office hours for leader questions and concerns. Giving leaders a safe space💡 to understand the DEI changes and their importance avoids the feeling of having something thrown on them. The Task Force conducts weekly surveys to track leader engagement and leader comfort with the impending DEI changes. The most recent survey garnered an 87% culture change readiness💡 score.
“Pat, I would ask you to remember how long it has taken to gain leadership consensus when you receive an email that might frustrate you and make you wonder about the impact within the DEI space at this company. The organization is still conditioning itself to understand what the problem is and where it comes from. That is okay! The organizational culture💡 will be more apt to empathize with underrepresented groups and work to make change happen as they become better conditioned. Your eagerness to move the organization through the DEI journey is important, but your ability to bring your employees along with you is more important,” Dylan said.
“You’re right. I know cultural changes are hard. Not to mention we continue to refine our diversity data collection and goal-setting approach,” Pat replied.
“Good point. Not only does the culture take time to adjust, but the framework we are building to guide those adjustments is still being refined. As you just mentioned, collecting the right data to examine the right changes over time is proving a bit more difficult than anticipated—but no less important,” said Dylan.
Pat asked, “In your experience, how long does it take an organization to change?”
Dylan smiled slightly, “Forever! Pat, the organization is off to a good start—that should be your focus right now. You’re still in the beginning of laying a DEI foundation that will achieve two broad goals; implement DEI systems that really work and build a culture that understands the importance of evolving those systems moving forward.”
“And remember,” Dylan added, “as the famous quote from business management guru Peter Drucker goes, ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’.”
Key considerations:
Start with your organization’s leadership when having conversations about DEI strategy.
When implementing DEI initiatives, remember there is no one size that fits all.
DEI organizational change takes time and doesn’t happen overnight!
Want additional resources to learn more about the DEI topics discussed in this path?
⚙ Are you a TriNet customer? Learn about DEI Training, click here
📖 Read about setting up your diversity program up for success. https://hbr.org/2016/07/why-diversity-programs-fail
📖 Learn more about proven pillars of DEI efforts. https://hbr.org/2020/05/diversity-and-inclusion-efforts-that-really-work
📖 Get leadership tips to proactively promote equality at work. https://hbr.org/2020/09/how-to-promote-racial-equity-in-the-workplace
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