Conversation to Action: A Comprehensive Guide for a High Impact DEI Audit

Despite the growing resistance to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the USA, organisations in my home country of Australia are increasingly prioritising DEI as crucial for business success.

The executives in the organisations I work with recognise that DEI is integral to their social license to operate. A robust DEI strategy will reassure employees, stakeholders, and the community that the way the business is managed and operated is acceptable and that the company sees compliance as the minimum standard.

So, how do organisations move from conversation to action for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive culture?  

The first step is to understand where they are right now—to establish the status quo.

When I start an engagement with a client organisation, I strongly recommend we begin with an audit to create a shared understanding of the current state.

I will outline the steps and provide a playbook if you like so you can undertake an effective DEI audit regardless of your organisation's type.

Why undertake an audit?

Conducting a DEI audit means that when developing the strategy and implementation plan, it will focus on areas that need the most improvement and draw from existing best practices. An audit will identify the good, the bad, and the just-ok elements in how your organisation does business and guarantee that (usually limited and always finite) resources for DEI implementation are directed to the right areas and used effectively.

Step 1: Establish a Clear Purpose and Scope

Before hurtling into a DEI audit, it is essential to establish a clear purpose and scope for the assessment. Determine what aspects of DEI you want to evaluate, such as recruitment and hiring practices, employee development and retention, workplace culture, policies, and leadership representation. Define the desired outcomes and goals of the audit to guide the process effectively.

Step 2: Gather Data

Collecting relevant data is a critical aspect of conducting a DEI audit. Start by examining demographic data, such as employee profiles, promotion and turnover rates, and remuneration disparities. Review employee feedback, engagement surveys, and complaints to understand the employee experience and identify potential issues. Additionally, external benchmarking data and industry standards should be considered to provide context for the findings.

Step 3: Engage Stakeholders

Ensure that input and perspectives from diverse stakeholders in the organisation are sought, as they are crucial to the success of the audit and the ongoing DEI work. This includes employees from different levels and departments and representatives from various demographic groups. Engage senior leadership, human resources, employee resource groups, and DEI committees to gather insights and perspectives on DEI initiatives and challenges.

Step 4: Assess Policies and Practices

Evaluate existing policies and practices to determine if they are helping or hindering DEI goals. Review recruitment and selection procedures, performance evaluation criteria, training and development programs, and promotion and remuneration practices. Assess if these policies are equitable and unbiased or if they inadvertently create barriers for underrepresented groups. Identify areas where policies and practices can be enhanced.

Step 5: Evaluate Organisational Culture

Analyse the prevailing organisational culture to gauge its impact on DEI efforts. Examine communication channels, decision-making processes, and the overall climate within the organisation. Assess if the culture supports open dialogue, diversity of thought, and psychological safety. Consider conducting employee surveys, focus groups, or interviews to gather qualitative data on experiences related to DEI.

Step 6: Identify Gaps and Opportunities

Based on the data collected and analysed, identify gaps and opportunities for improvement in DEI efforts. Look for patterns, trends, and discrepancies in the data to pinpoint areas where the organisation can enhance diversity, and/or equity, and/or inclusion. Assess the impact of identified gaps on employee experience, engagement, and advancement opportunities. This step serves as the foundation for developing actionable strategies.

Step 7: Develop an Action Plan

Create an action plan that outlines specific steps, goals, and timelines for implementing changes. In this step, it is critical to undertake a co-design model and involve key stakeholders in the plan's development to ensure their buy-in and support. Every initiative must pass the desirable, feasible, and viability test. Use the DVF tool from IDEO to help. Ensure that clear accountability is assigned and the initiatives are set up for success with the necessary resources allocated (time, money, people!)

Step 8: Monitor and Evaluate Progress

Monitor and evaluate the progress of DEI initiatives regularly. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure the effectiveness of implemented changes. Continuously assess the impact of policies, practices, and programs on DEI within the organisation. Proactively gather feedback from employees and stakeholders to gauge their perception of the changes and identify potential barriers or unintended consequences.

How to Start Your DEI Audit

When auditing an organisation's DEI status quo, I use Impacter to provide my client with actionable insights based on quantitative and qualitative auditing. Impacter helps my client organisations and me identify, continuously monitor,  benchmark, and report on DEI focus areas. Impacter then enables business leaders to track the efficacy and impact of DEI investment and decisions, keep up to date with emerging trends and insights on DEI and gender equality, and maintain their social license to operate.  

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The bottom line is that my clients know that DEI creates a competitive advantage that is hard to ignore. So trust me when I say that you must audit the organisation so that together, we can move DEI from conversation to action.

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