Are You Seeing a Return on Your DEI Investment?

Are you seeing a return on your investment for DEI trainings and workshop sessions? If you're feeling frustrated because your answer is no, it's essential to reassess your company's approach to this work. Companies are often unwilling to spend time and funds on DEI training workshops and instead think of training as a "one and done" solution. DEI is an incredibly dynamic field, and progress requires a deeply rooted cultural change, stretching across thinking, feeling, and behavior. Companies doing the difficult work of continuously re-evaluating and improving their beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions are aware that they are on a journey. Yet, striking the proper tone to educate, implement, and invest in DEI remains a challenge in today's corporate environment.

Holistic Inclusion Consulting works with clients to overcome their struggles and develop DEI models that pave the way for successful business structures. Fruitful DEI roadmaps come with a significant investment because they require customized strategies to address your unique business needs. We ensure a real return for your investment because we address the root of your organization's DEI struggles and create plans that implement system-wide institutional change.

So ask yourself, are you seeing a return on your investment for DEI training?

Let's talk about the Don'ts.

First, companies should not assume conducting one training for the entire organization will lead to an immediate return on their investment.

Second, selecting employees to conduct these sessions when they don't have the expertise will not lead to a quick investment return.

Third, organizations cannot hire a DEI leader simply because it is more cost-effective. They need to not support them with the team or funding needed to drive impact.

Now, let's talk about the Dos.

How are you addressing systemically exclusionary practices? How are you avoiding your employees becoming disengaged or unmoved by your DEI initiatives? Holistic Inclusion Consulting is here to recommend strategies and best practices for creating actual shifts in the workplace. The key to impactful change in your organization requires buy-in from all employees. The following are the "do's" that can help get you started.

• Embed trainings into your onboarding process to ensure a shared vision and cultivate buy-in for all employees.
• Produce weekly micro-learnings to normalize DEI education and use a business communication platform to elaborate on these topics.
• Utilize online trainings that have quizzes and conduct live virtual workshops that are interactive and thought-provoking.
• Make DEI part of performance evaluation to ensure accountability and to promote equitable promotional opportunities.
• Insert DEI discussions into teams' weekly meetings and focus on learnings presented earlier in the week
• Hire an external DEI expert to lead monthly intimate team workshops to unpack bias and oppressive practices.
• Conduct a detailed quarterly audit reinforcing and implementing the best DEI practices.
• Encourage managers to invest budget quarterly towards DEI.

These steps ensure everyone in your organization has a role in DEI and has an opportunity to understand the information and its importance to the organization. Holistic Inclusion Consulting offers a range of services that have a proven track record of evolving organizations and offer strategies to help you measure the impact of your investment. Let's begin building your organization's comprehensive DEI plan today. What are you waiting for?

Looking for more? Check out last month's blog about implementing DEI tools, and tune in next month to dive into how DEI can provide your company a competitive advantage in each function.

About Netta Jenkins & Holistic Inclusion Consulting (HIC):

Netta Jenkins is leading voice in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion field whose soaring audience engagement was doubtless a key factor in Forbes naming her as one of the top 7 anti-racism consultants in the world. Netta was featured in CIO Views publication as “The Top 10 Most Influential Black Women in Business to Follow in 2021”.  An acclaimed author with a deep background in communications, leadership, and behavioral psychology, Netta has been advising corporations and audiences of all kinds for more than 15 years on the most effective DEI strategies to address systemic racism, its traumatic impact, and the path to social justice.

Netta’s 80,000+ followers on LinkedIn draw on her knowledge and insights on key DEI concerns such as corporate accountability, leadership authenticity, product inclusiveness, history and policy of structural racism, and career strategy through her main feed, interactive LinkedIn Live conversations, and her monthly LinkedIn newsletter that garnered approximately 1,000 subscribers in one day alone after launch. Her website, NettaJenkins.com, sees 8,000 visitors each month who read and take advantage of the guidance she provides. Through Dipper, a data technology platform Netta co-founded, professionals of color find a digital safe-place where they can share experiences and find advice on their path to a better workplace one review at a time, whether good, bad or indifferent. 

Netta’s greatest impact is perhaps in the corporate workspace, especially in tech. Currently, Netta is VP, Global Inclusion for leading tech company, Unqork, and is an advisory board member for Betterment, an online investment company looking to expand opportunities for untapped investors. Prior to Unqork, Netta created and executed strategy for five years as Vice President, Global Inclusion for IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IAC) tech and media brands with her research data driven knowledge. Under Netta’s charge, Google said “IAC is a star example of a company pushing towards gender equality as well as overall cultural equality.” While Netta was at IAC, it was named one of a 2018 Top Company Worldwide for Millennial Women by Mogul, and she was honored with a 2017 Profiles in Diversity Journal Excellence Award Winner. 

Netta founded Holistic Inclusion Consulting LLC and offers diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism sessions to companies seeking change and to gain understanding of systemic racism, employee equity and fairness, and managing through trauma. For clients and the general public alike – including in her online courses – Netta trains, teaches, and coaches on Bold Allyship, Driving Impact through Privilege and Power Change, Understanding and Battling Microaggressions, and much more. She designs and helps companies implement DEI-driven recruiting, promotion paths, performance plans, and management paradigms.

Head to www.holisticinclusion.com and become an HIC member to receive exclusive content and to learn about upcoming events.