Taking an evidence-based approach to DEI

What is evidence-based decision-making and why is it so important?

Within the current political and corporate landscape of increased scrutiny of diversity and inclusion, taking an evidence-based approach to inclusion and fairness becomes ever more critical. This approach supports an organisation’s strategic intention, using data as a catalyst for change. There are a number of key benefits to this approach, including:

1. Data can uncover hidden inequity: Data, both qualitative and quantitative, when collected and analysed using robust intersectional frameworks, can uncover previously hidden organisational trends and patterns. These patterns can be useful to spotlight both good practice, as well as hidden structural biases, such as those in hiring or promotions, or in perceptions amongst diverse colleagues regarding the culture in which they work. Data collection is also critical for pay-gap analysis and establishing bias in work allocation decisions and reward decisions. Without forensic data analysis, bias, as well as good practice, remains in the shadows.
2. Data insights drive leadership accountability: Without data, it’s difficult for business stakeholders – HR, D&I, L&D, etc – to spotlight areas that need greater focus and organisational resources, whether they be human capital or financial. Trend analysis from data supported with active leadership engagement supports inclusive decision-making, prioritisation, and goal setting. Once goals, KPIs and other success measures have been set, leaders can then build accountability frameworks to track agreed actions over time.
3. Data drives trust-based relationships: Taking a data-driven approach to inclusion and fairness assists with removing some of the emotion out of the current debates. It can assist with avoiding the ‘what about me?’ politics of diversity-driven programmes that are too often based on assumptions and self-interest over fact-based information. This approach fosters employee engagement within the process, resulting in higher levels of employee-organisational trust.

Of course, there is always the complexity of data collection:

• Do organisations have the right categories?
• How is data collection influenced, helpfully or otherwise, by local and global legal frameworks and cultural attitudes?
• Once systems are built, how do we ensure that data collection exercises are undertaken in such a way that builds trust and confidence in the system?

A key theme here is not only quantitative data collection, based on protected characteristics, but just as critically, perception and employee experience-based data.

At FAIRER, we have undertaken significant global research that assists us in measuring the underlying drivers of inclusive leadership and inclusive cultures. Key areas include: team relationships, psychological safety, collaboration, belonging, work opportunities and trust-building. Items that help organisations to measure these areas include:

1. Team members are treated with respect.
2. Work allocation is distributed fairly.
3. Managers care about everyone equally in the team.
4. Managers invest in nurturing relationships with colleagues at all levels of the organisation.
5. Colleagues and team members can admit mistakes without fear of punishment.
6. Colleagues are open about their professional limitations.
7. Managers’ behaviours generally align with stated organisational values.
8. Challenging bias is openly encouraged in the team.

Our framework is similar to the Gartner Inclusion Index, which measures seven key dimensions:

1. Fair treatment: Employees at the organisation, who help the organisation achieve its strategic objectives, are rewarded and recognised fairly.
2. Integrating differences: Employees at the organisation respect and value each other’s opinions.
3. Decision-making: Team members fairly consider ideas and suggestions offered by other team members.
4. Psychological safety: Employees feel welcome to express their true feelings at work.
5. Trust: Communication received from the organisation is honest and open.
6. Belonging: Employees feel that people in the organisation care about them.
7. Diversity: Managers at the organisation are as diverse as the broader workforce.
   
   

Data supports culture change

Any effective inclusion and fairness at work goals will clearly be aligned with leadership ambitions covering strategy and culture. Data collection assists with the ‘mending and bending’ of culture. Like inclusive leadership, data, when analysed and used in the right way, can be a positive culture shaper.

Together with other leadership and culture change models, I often use the ADKAR change-management framework when working with clients. Supported by other models and overlaid with our FAIRER framework, this can be an effective method for supporting evidence-based decision-making and change.

The ADKAR Model

ADKAR is an acronym of the five components:

• Awareness: Clearly, data and evidence help with creating awareness patterns on why change is necessary and where the change process needs to start. For instance, within a recruitment context, quantitative data may be highly effective in attracting diverse candidates, but may become a blockage at shortlisting or interviewing stages. Qualitative data, on the other hand, may highlight strong scores around positive team relationships, while also revealing that more needs to be done to promote a sense of fairness in work allocation, employee wellbeing, or LMX (leader-team member exchange) relationships. This approach helps us to understand why intervention or change is needed and the risks of sticking with the status quo.
• Desire: A key factor here is individuals – leaders, managers, HR colleagues, etc – making a personal and committed decision to support the change we are seeking to make. Data, both quantitative and qualitative, often tells a story, and storytelling can be a powerful method for evoking emotions, which stimulates personal motivation and commitment. After all, what kind of leader would be happy to hear of perceptions of isolation or feelings of othering?
• Knowledge: This means, knowing how to change. What are the tools that we have in our fairness and inclusion toolkit that supports that change process? At FAIRER we draw extensively on global best practice to support our clients to lead inclusively and to develop systems, frameworks and cultures that actively drive fair outcomes. We leverage behavioural science, and the ‘what works’ principles supported by Iris Bohnet’s work at Harvard. Knowledge often includes tools such as training and coaching – it supports new ways of thinking and new behaviour patterns to support the change process. This is a key element of the process; it’s a bridge builder between positive intention and meaningful and sustained action.
• Ability: Ability is the skill to lead. It’s the confidence and competence of driving inclusive change. Ability is supported by regular practice and habits. This could include leaders practicing inclusive leadership in everyday conversation and in team meetings. It could include supporting hiring managers through nudging and debiasing interview frameworks, or using the ‘devil’s advocate’ process, as recommended by behavioural psychologists such as Daniel Kahneman. This element of the process is about practice. The mantra here is ‘practice makes, if not perfect, then good enough’. One of the critical success measures of ability and wider evidence-based approaches is the development of continued learning and feedback loops.
• Reinforcement: This final aspect of the model is one of the most important aspects of change. We know from theories of habit – see Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit, that reinforcement, recognition and reward is a critical element of the habit cycle. Positive affirmations act as a reward mechanism that supports the new habit and change process, thus helping to shift the intention into a new and established way of working. Once established, check and monitor new trends through feedback loops for positive shifts.

Behavioural science often stresses the importance of using checklists to drive actions. Here’s a seven-step checklist to ensure your evidence-based practice is as inclusive and impactful as it can be:

1. Know what you are capturing and why: It’s important to ensure that as a DE&I professional you have insight into both diversity and inclusion data.
2. Use data to set organisational priorities: Use data analysis to set both diversity and inclusion priorities. For instance, this could include the activities covering the employee lifecycle, such as hiring more diverse candidates, focusing on development, pay and promotional opportunities.
3. Use your data analytics to influence key business stakeholders: Data often tells a story. Use your mix of quantitative and qualitative data to engage with key business stakeholders to influence change.
4. Brief leaders regularly on risks of inaction: Highlighting key business risks (such as turnover, legal exposure or reputation damage) can often be a motivator for action and prioritisation.
5. Provide the right data to the right people: Different stakeholders will have different responsibilities. Providing colleagues with relevant data to their role and responsibilities is likely to increase engagement and action.
6. Create a benchmark and then aggregate information: Data is useful to provide organisational trends and patterns. To increase effectiveness and relevance it’s important to aggregate information by diversity groups and business units. Reviewing intersectional information also leads to deeper analysis.
7. Celebrate success: To build continuous engagement and motivation, it’s important that businesses celebrate early wins and longer-term successes as a result of evidence-based interventions. Sharing success helps to build wider organisational insight and engagement.

Let’s work together

For more information about using data to underpin your DEI strategy, watch our webinar, ‘What gets measured gets done: DEI without a perfect dataset’.

Alongside this, our cultural-change strategy programme helps organisations embed effective and data-driven DEI practices into everyday decision-making, systems and processes for fairer and long-term change.  

Alternatively, for a personalised conversation about your organisation’s specific needs, get in touch to book a complimentary one-to-one call with one of our consultants.