Sustaining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts: Insight to Action

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a subject that has wide-ranging implications for how organizations shape strategy and culture. But how do leaders move beyond lofty vision statements to substantively cultivate DEI values throughout the organization? Our latest Insights to Action discussion sought to address this important question, with the guidance of executives who are leading the way. 

Joffrey Wilson, Director of DEI at Mortenson, Tawnya Stewart, Chief People and Culture Officer at Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, and Tonya Hampton, Senior Vice President & Chief People and Culture Officer at Hennepin Healthcare, shared how DEI has become an integral part of strategy within their organizations. Here are five key takeaways from their conversation. 

Building cultural confidence to support DEI

The first step to building cultural confidence among your employees is to start with developing cultural competence. Tawnya Stewart noted, “If you’re not culturally competent and thinking about how you show up in meetings or over zoom, you may be missing something that is key to running your business.” In order to build cultural competence, it is essential to set up a framework that allows your leaders to develop through communication, training, and ongoing support. 

Integrating DEI into the core philosophy of the business

The key to building this framework for your leaders is to think of DEI as a strategy rather than a program. “Diversity is not accomplished with a one-and-done approach,” Tonya Hampton said. “You can make an impact through those learning experiences, but you need to be continuous to be successful.” All panelists agreed that DEI needs to be a top priority for an organization and should be included in the firm’s overall strategy. Once diversity is embedded in an organization’s strategic plan, metrics should be employed to measure against goals.

Establish accountability through assessments

Utilize DEI assessments to keep your organization accountable to your goals. Competency assessments are a great tool to ask hard questions and understand if your employees are feeling heard. At Mortensen, Joffrey Wilson has used the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), to assess the intercultural competence of his company. The key is to then take action from these assessments, not just to ask the questions.

Pay attention to the barriers by tracking diversity

Ask your applicants background questions around ethnicity, race, disability, or status during the hiring process to understand the trend of applications you’re attracting. Organizations should then use these metrics to track how much diversity is moving at each level. Unconscious bias in managers may impact decisions on who is hired. We often hire people who look like us or have similar experiences to us. It is not until we challenge the status quo that we will see changes.

DEI begins with leadership

Leaders need to have the courage to address inequities and tackle difficult problems in order to really make a difference. All three panelists believe the best way for leaders to connect with their employees is through vulnerability and sharing their own stories. The more that leaders can participate in this storytelling, the more comfortable employees will feel with that leader. Use your voice and power for good by creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable.