Build a culture of action to improve diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) practices are a challenge to implement successfully -- it’s hard no matter the department, division, industry or sector. The best way to approach this work is by building a culture of action through data. Not only does acting on feedback have programmatic implications, but there are negative multiplier effects that can happen if agencies don’t take action on their data.

Why a culture of action is important

If employees go through the process to participate in DEIB initiatives, they will expect concrete action to be taken. If no action is taken or communicated, the exercise can seem forced, instead of an effort that actually improves their lived experience. Fostering a culture of action and communicating the concrete improvements that will be made will help an agency create a more authentic DEIB initiative...

...The Office of African American Affairs in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, was faced with the challenge of evaluating the effectiveness of racial equity training for county leaders. After implementing a program that required anonymous surveys following every training session, OAAA staff analyzed comments to understand the “why” (X-data) behind responses combined with statistical analysis of “what” (O-data). With those insights, the OAAA was able to increase training effectiveness and improve leadership equity efforts across departments. The efforts served almost 1 million citizens, creating a stronger DEIB training program....