Since the events of 2020, the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has grown exponentially. A recent Forbes article estimated the global investment in DEI reached $7.5B in 2020 and is expected to double by 2026. Our inboxes are often flooded with statements of support from organizations or the latest update on their diversity efforts. The focus on DEI is substantial, yet the results generally are lackluster. According to the 2023 Work in America survey, one in five employees does not feel like they belong at work and close to one-third feel their workplace does not support them because of some aspect of their identity. So, why are we not seeing the impact we had hoped for? Part of the issue is the lack of consistent inclusive feedback from the intended target audience.
While stakeholders are often consulted during the initial phases of DEI work, they are less often involved postimplementation. The research consistently shows that being inclusive of stakeholders at all stages is critical to this work. It is almost painfully obvious, right? In fact, as scholar Bernando Ferdman argues, practices can only be considered inclusive if they are experienced as inclusive. Consider this example: An institution creates a new parental leave policy in accordance with input from employees on what they want; however, the institution fails to check back with employees to learn what impact the change has had on them. The policy may well seem excellent, but what is the employee experience? When conceptualized in this way, it becomes clear that evaluative feedback is essential to this work.
So, why is this feedback often missing? Sometimes, it is simply a matter of bandwidth. As Curtis Hoover, Interim Associate Dean for Student Services and Engagement at CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College, explains, “We often don’t have the right staffing in the first place for DEI work. An evaluation at the end of an initiative is often what falls off the plate.” Another common issue is having to act on information that comes to light and may be challenging to address. As Dr. Anju Rupchandani, Executive Director of Zone 126, explains, “Management is afraid of how to respond, so they don’t want to necessarily ask the questions of their employees. Management has many things to consider, including possible liability.”
In addition, after doing the hard work of identifying a need, consulting with stakeholders, launching an initiative and seeing it to fruition, we are ready to claim victory. We likely even have data that demonstrates some success. In the above example of parental leave, imagine that all parents at the institution are taking advantage of the new policy. It is a very positive step. Still, if the experience of the employees themselves has not been part of the assessment, there may be a crucial disconnect.
We won’t know unless we ask.
There are many tools to learn about the employee experience. Campus climate surveys are a great way to gauge the overall atmosphere, attitude and perceptions within an organization. These surveys, which are often made up of 50 to 100 questions, have the advantage of being comprehensive and providing data along several dimensions. However, they can be cumbersome for employees to complete and for institutions to analyze. The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) recommends that campus climate surveys be administered every two to three years.
Focus groups are another excellent form of feedback that allow for deeper engagement with stakeholders. The medium is a great way to get context and texture around employees’ lived experience. Dr. Rupchandani likes to create safe discussion spaces around a timely topic for staff members and finds that they are best to start an open dialogue. It’s important to consider that the small size of focus groups limits their reach and applicability to the entire institution.
A feedback loop we are particularly fond of is the pulse survey. Pulse surveys typically ask between five and 20 questions and take five minutes for respondents to complete. They allow for an easier and faster entry point into getting feedback on a specific topic than climate surveys. Because the questions asked ideally focus on participants’ subjective feelings, they give the institution a pulse of employee sentiment in real time. At a recent workshop on equity audits, which we delivered at The Fund for the City of New York, a participant volunteered that information gathered from a pulse survey would be valuable for his organization’s board of trustees, as it would provide a window into what was happening on the ground.
Often, institutions will conduct pulse surveys at regular intervals, which can help to create an engaging dialogue between the institution and the employees. And while they are, by definition, not comprehensive, we believe that their short length and the relative ease of administering them make them an excellent tool for achieving what should be a central component of all equity work: including the voices of those we wish to impact.
Dr. Felipe Henao, Dean of Students at NYIT (New York Institute of Technology), a current higher education leader who has conducted pulse surveys in relation to student satisfaction with a new food pantry initiative, discovered an additional bonus to asking students about their experience. He and his team learned that they had a sizable Jewish population utilizing the pantry services and were able to advocate for adding kosher meals to the options available for their population.
The work of diversity, equity and inclusion is not easy and never finished. It requires ongoing commitment. So far, prioritizing this work and investing in resources has yielded less than satisfying results. While there is no silver bullet, we offer that one place of disconnect is in the feedback opportunities available to stakeholders to evaluate the work being done. Asking the employees themselves for their critical input once initiatives have been implemented allows institutions to get one step closer to unlocking the potential of a workforce that truly feels included. As Dr. Henao says, “Surveying people lets them know that we believe they are important enough for us to delve more deeply into their experience.”
You Might Also Like
