9 Ways to Measure and Set DEI Goals for Organisational Success

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Representation matters, especially in the workplace.

According to studies done by Pew Research, 56% of employees think workplace inclusivity is important and only 16% outright disagree.

Differing opinions drive innovation, and innovation drives progress, growth, and ultimately success.

So how can organisations harness the power of diversity and inclusion?

In this article, we’ll discuss how creating and measuring DEI goals can help organisations create a working environment that prioritises inclusivity and empowers marginalised voices.

What Are DEI Goals?

DEI stands for: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

DEI goals aim to improve workplace diversity, creating a more equitable and inclusive environment for employees of all genders, sexualities, races, and disabilities.

Everyone should have access to the same opportunities and growth, regardless of their background. Creating inclusivity in the workplace goes a long way towards improving employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity.

How Important Are DEI Goals?

The World Economic Forum’s 2023 insight report on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusivity concluded that ethnically diverse companies are 36% more likely to financially outperform their less diverse competitors. Gender diverse companies outperformed by 25%.

Most organisations aim to innovate, grow their audience, increase profits, help more people, and function better. Homogeny is a detriment to growth in an increasingly blended world that places more importance on inclusivity. Everyone deserves representation, and even those who don’t need it are more likely to care.

Like any push for organisational change, metrics are important. Goals should be set and metrics should be implemented to measure if those goals are being hit.

DEI goals should be measurable and transparent, with visible results towards organisational change.

9 Ways to Measure and Set DEI Goals for Organisational Success

1. Assess your organisation

Before setting your DEI goals, assess the makeup of your organisation. Look at every level of your organisation and determine if your workforce reflects the labour market.

You can prioritise your DEI goals based on where your organisation falls short.

2. Create KPIs

Once you understand where your organisation needs work, you can create key performance indicators to measure your DEI goals.

Each organisation will have its own unique KPIs, but it’s worth considering:
• Recruitment metrics
• Employee retention
• Employee satisfaction scores
• Workplace incidents
• Internal promotions
• Leadership positions

We’ll discuss some of these KPIs in more detail below. What’s important is that you know your goals and can set metrics by which to measure them.

3. Create DEI policies

Creating a more inclusive workplace means getting everyone on board, and the best way to do this is to bake DEI goals into the structure of your organisation.

Create policies that include DEI goals and introduce them during employee onboarding.

Educate existing employees about discrimination in all its forms, from outright hatred to microaggressions. And when all else fails, have a strong anti-bullying policy that promises real consequences for people who continuously display bigoted behaviour.

4. Recruitment

Organisations fall short of DEI goals for many reasons, and recruitment is the first hurdle.

Ask yourself: Are diverse candidates getting a fair shot at being hired?

Certain metrics can help when analysing your recruitment strategies.

• The language used in job postings–look for language that excludes women, racial minorities, those with disabilities, and older people from applying.
• The number of diverse applicants–low numbers might indicate exclusive language in job postings.
• The sentiments of recruiters–look for both conscious and unconscious bias, and work towards eliminating inherent personal attributes from consideration.
• How many diverse applicants are getting through the process compared–if a job posting has a lot of diverse applicants but none are making it through the selection process, it’s an indicator of recruiter bias.

Utilising diverse recruitment gives your organisation a competitive edge. You’ll attract talent that might be overlooked by other, less DEI-focused companies.

5. Leadership

DEI works best as a top-down approach.

Your entry-level employees might be brimming with diversity but if leadership doesn’t reflect that, your organisation can’t fully commit to its DEI goals.

Look at your organisation’s leadership and determine if it reflects your workplace, your audience, and your wider environment. Is your leadership on board with DEI goals? Or are they just paying lip service?

Hitting DEI goals is a lot easier when leadership genuinely values diversity, equity, and inclusion.

6. Retention

Employee retention reflects employee satisfaction, which makes it a good metric to measure DEI goals.

If your organisation has a high turnover of its most diverse employees, those employees might be telling you without words that your workplace is hostile towards them.

7. Feedback

Qualitative feedback is as important as quantitative data. Gather feedback from your employees in the form of surveys, interviews, and employee resource groups (ERGs).

Employees might not be 100% honest with you, but you can present questions like “do you feel included at work?” as manageable stepping stones to better understanding.

Sometimes, the lack of feedback can tell you a story. For example, if employees are afraid to report incidents of bigotry, that can tell you something about your workplace.

Workplace feedback can help you determine employee satisfaction scores, which you can use to measure your DEI goals.

8. Attendance of DEI initiatives

DEI initiatives include mentorship programmes, training sessions, meetings, ERGs, and DEI events.

If your organisation takes DEI goals seriously at every level, these initiatives will be popular and well-attended.

If leadership isn’t attending, it might be a sign that the higher-ups aren’t taking these programs seriously. They might be underfunded, underutilised, or even scoffed at. These issues can trickle down and leave employees feeling discouraged or disempowered.

Getting everyone within an organisation on board is vital to hitting those DEI goals.

9. Pay equity

Pay equity is still a problem in many organisations. It is, however, an easy metric to measure.

As of December 2022, the UK gender pay gap is still disappointingly high. Men earn, on average, 14.9% more than women.

Consider if certain demographics in your workplace earn less than others, and then look at what you can do to fix that.

Make DEI a Core Part of Your Organisation

DEI goals are important to attracting top talent, retaining skilled employees, improving profits, and creating a better working environment for everyone.

Measuring DEI goals using social awareness and KPIs like recruitment, retention, and employee satisfaction can help you reach those goals, leading to greater organisational success.

Inclusivity is a process and in time, it can become a core and worthwhile part of your organisation.

Author Bio

Natasha Thakkar brings over a decade of marketing expertise to her role as Content Marketing Manager at Oleeo, a recruitment tech company that specialises in producing software solutions. Skilled in lead generation and communication, Natasha shapes content that enhances Oleeo's brand and resonates with audiences. With experience handling global campaigns and an approach rooted in innovation and engagement, she excels in strategic campaigns, skillfully adapting to trends and connecting with audiences to optimise visibility.