Today’s workplace is evolving. Diversity and inclusion (D&I) have grown so much from mere box ticking or training events. D&I is now an essential part of an organization’s sustainable company culture, employee wellbeing, and even its profitability. But how do you know when your internal D&I efforts are falling short, and it is time to consult with a professional? Enter Diversity and Inclusion Consulting.
Here are eight signs it might be time to consider engaging with external D&I consulting support.
1. You Don’t Even Know Where To Start
Many organizations understand the importance of diversity but have no clear idea how to begin their structured, sustainable D&I strategy. If your organization’s D&I efforts stop at high-level commitments or one-time workshops, it may be time to engage with professionals like DimenZion3, who can provide organization-specific tailored strategies, based on real-world experience and data.
2. Your Workforce Lacks Diversity
If your leadership team or workforce lacks diversity across gender, ethnicity, disability, or background, this is a signal that your recruitment, hiring, and promotions processes are entrenched with bias, likely without your knowledge. An outside D&I consultant can assess your hiring funnels, your hiring practices, and ultimately build inclusive practices for your organization from the ground up.
3. There’s Low Employee Engagement or High Employee Turnover
When employees feel they are not included, or are undervalued, engagement drops and retention suffers. Diversity and Inclusion Consulting professionals can help you dig into the real reasons for low morale through employee sentiment analysis, employee engagement surveys, and employee focus groups. Once you understand the reasons behind low morale and trust, they can help you rebuild trust in the workplace and, ultimately, increase retention.
4. There Are Regular Workplace Incidents or Microaggressions
Unresolved biases can result in confusion, misunderstandings, microaggressions, or even conflicts. If HR is frequently attempting to mediate cultural clashes or complaints from employees it is time to get an outside perspective. Consultants provide neutral ground and normalize proven strategies for resolving conflicts and training staff on how to be empathic, actively listen, and be culturally aware.
5. Your Policies Are Years Old
D&I is not just about people; it is also about the systems. You could be unintentionally excluding groups of people because your policy is no longer relevant. Outdated policies regarding parental leave, flexible working, or recognition of holiday time could have a disinclusive effect. External consultants can review, amend, and re-design your policies so that they better reflect inclusive practices and applicable laws.
6. You Don’t Have a Measurement System
Are you effectively and efficiently driving D&I? It is impossible to know if the work that is done is effective if you do not track metrics of inclusion, including promotion rates, pay equity; belonging scores, or representation. Experts like DimenZion help organizations articulate and track meaningful KPIs that connect inclusion with business outcomes.
7. Lack of Executive Leadership Buy-in
D&I initiatives are rarely successful without any buy-in from leadership. Should your C-suite struggle to understand the value of D&I, a consultant can demonstrate the value of D&I to your Leadership team through executive sessions, data-driven business cases, and leadership alignment programs.
8. Your Name Could Use Some Damage Control
If your organization has been publicly shamed for a perceived lack of representation or inclusion, as with any reputation, public perception matters. D&I consultants can provide you with some reputation repair advice, and will help you to communicate transparently while making legitimate, impactful changes internally.
Acknowledging that your in-house team cannot accomplish everything is not conceding weakness, it is being pragmatic. Engaging professional Diversity and Inclusion Consulting experts, like DimenZion3 will ultimately accelerate your change process, eliminate blind spots, and cultivate a culture of true inclusion. If you’re looking for a trusted partner to take the journey with you, DimenZion3 provides the skill, compassion, and customized approach your organization requires.
