Your Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion
You will need to clarify exactly how diversity supports your business strategy and what results you expect it to deliver. To build your case, you will be answering the following kinds of questions:
- What precipitated discussion of D&I issues in your organization?
- What visible “symptoms” or problems does your organization have if any?
- What opportunities do you see?
- How do you compare to other employers of choice in your business? In your region(s)?
Guidelines:
- Reflects your companies language and style
- Umbrella statement broad enough to link to all current and future D&I goals and activities
- Short enough to be an elevator pitch
Elements of a Strong D&I Mission Statement:
- Reflects your organization’s inspirational values
- Connects D&I as “HOW” to achieve your organization’s vision & business goals
- Answer: Why is D&I important to our business?
Identify which elements of the competitive advantage of D&I best align with your business priorities.
Identify which values are organically connected to the competitive advantage of D&I and have the potential to inspire.
With the competitive advantage of D&I in mind, answer the question: How is D&I going to help achieve your organization’s vision?
Use the responses to steps 1–3, to create a short statement about the import of D&I to your overall business.
Create a pre & post business case survey to discover if your employees understand why your organization is strategically focused on D&I.
- Is D&I a topic clearly visible as a strategic priority in my organization?
- I am familiar with my organization’s D&I goals?
- I am exposed to the actions that my organization is taking to meet our D&I goals.
- The leaders of my organization role model inclusive behaviors, in-line with our D&I goals.
Now more than ever, it’s imperative to clearly articulate the value and benefits of investing in Diversity and Inclusion and I hope this provides you with valuable guidance. Be well and don’t hesitate to connect with me, Dr.Tolonda Tolbert, or contact the Eskalera team if you need a partner in this journey.
Originally published at https://eskalera.com on May 12, 2020.
