Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. For a time, these words have simply identified metrics to follow. The depth of their meaning reflects the fullness of our humanity, and priority conversations in C-suites are breathing life into their companies by making these organization-wide priorities. As the tide changes from DE&I simply as talent acquisition buzz words to substantive initiatives, what does that mean for our brands?

We discussed exactly this on a recent TBA member call. Here are some points to ponder as you guide conversations, activities, and practices that shape your organization.

• Talent branding plays a key role in candid and effective communication about the company’s approach to and journey toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce.

• Notable successes with DE&I practices require company-wide accountability.

  • Ask: How can talent brand team members use their role and cross-functional relationships to foster accountability across the organization? How do we develop the story of what is going on?

What We Covered

Through open dialogue, members garnered insights and learnings that are helping us grow and evolve in our practices. We discussed

• Recruiting processes

• Tactics to enable from a change management perspective

• Partnership with communications teams to make sure internal and external messages match

• Matching the employee experience with our messaging

• How to incorporate DE&I into recruitment marketing efforts

What are best practices?

• When we look at our employee feedback, how do we measure these and make improvements?

• How do you measure and influence the feeling of belonging?

Applications/hires aren’t a good answer so they are relegated/ defaulted to a portion of the employee survey

Organizational partnerships

Connecting with specialty companies to showcase diversity and tell the story of what it’s like to work at your company can connect you with audiences who may not initially consider your organization.

• Some organizations naturally skew male. A member who works in the realm of sports noted that their applications trend male. They’ve partnered with female organization SKEW to network and highlight their organization. Partnering with workforce development centers can connect you with nonprofits focused on diversity that can collaborate with your brand.

Job descriptions/updating imagery and video

These can provide the first real insight into your company and the role.

• Is language gender-neutral?

• Does language echo your candidate experience and tie to your company’s DE&I experience?

• Do your elements in social / comms showcase diversity as part of your identity?

If there are inconsistencies, candidates will expose them. Watch for feedback on review sites to make sure everything aligns.

Employee Resource Groups

ERGs can provide content, speakers, and education for materials that employer branding can use externally. Creating this allows them to have a seat at the table to enable and change the employee experience for the better.

What do you wish you had known before you started down this journey?

The volume of stakeholders with individual goals and points of view (POV)

• How is the company tracking SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals and RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed)?

  • What are the goals we want to pursue? What does success look like?

  • What are good leading measures?

  • When executing on DE&I measures, it can get complicated because different business units have different goals/targets. Sometimes the BU’s goals can be presented to leadership as a current state so they can pull forward what is important to them. Additionally, you can use workforce data to show if goals are even obtainable. If you can’t use workforce data, citydata.com could help with a benchmark of your audience.

• Gain executive buy-in through a certain and clear understanding of leadership’s POV.

  • Is it proactive vs. reactive?

• Consider how to navigate silos.

  • Everyone has an opinion on how we bring people into an organization. Harvard Business Review’s/Partnerships/Attraction, but it all falls to recruiting. Get everyone focused and going in the same direction.

  • Because everyone is so passionate about it, how do we coordinate so we don’t look like different companies (and confuse employee ambassadors)?

  • Apply rules (congruent, applicable, measurable) to make sure the passion doesn’t make people “build their own theory or rules” in the talent acquisition

Pitfalls to Avoid

Stay authentic; don’t be too generic in DE&I content.

• We don’t want the content to look like it’s fulfilling a tick box. Don’t appear to be “not listening” or pandering.

• Don’t suddenly become diverse! Tell the story about bridging the gap to how the org got there.

• Be open and honest in the approach to the audience. How can we do this?

  • Education, change management with leadership and finding content that connects.

• Watch what resonates, and use that as a plan for how to dive deeper into content creation.

Many companies make the mistake of not understanding the needs of underrepresented people (URP).

Consider the value exchange for URPs. They may not apply for jobs very often; what are their triggers for needing new work?

• How do they understand employment as a category?

• Do you understand what they value? Do they need time, growth, new skills, flexibility?

• What do we give, and what do they get?

• How do we position our EB as a solution to this?

How do you foster companywide accountability?

• Training

• Stakeholders across department

• Identify intersect point

  • Show stakeholders how the goals work for the benefit of the company.

  • Build a foundation. Perhaps start with a DE&I council, build ERG foundations, then look for intersections with these and leadership’s goals. Next, ask, “How can we identify goals and share with locations to help everyone see points of intersection?”

Resources

• 5 Effective Strategies for Cultivating an Inclusive Workplace Now (LinkedIn Talent Blog)

• Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man (also a book by Emmanuel Acho)

• Information Pack on Counterspeech Labs (Institute for Strategic Dialogue)

• Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters (McKinsey & Company)

• Diversity & Inclusion Starter Kit (Culture Amp)

Looking for more opportunities to learn about Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion? Join us for the Summit discussion on Equitable Content Creation 4/20/21

About Our TBA Members: Elizabeth Lembke and Jackie Fogas

Elizabeth Lembke is Chief Talent Navigator at Transforming Talent, a globally active consultancy specializing in people and culture solutions for organizational transformations. Originally from Oregon (go Ducks), Elizabeth has made her home in Stuttgart, Germany - and jawohl, she speaks the local dialect of Swabian.

Jackie Fogas works at UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group) as a Customer Communications Specialist; she assists other companies with employer brand projects on the side. Her career journey started at a lifestyle magazine, meandered through the nonprofit world, and veered into recruiting where her passion for people and stories connected her with employer branding. Outside of work, she’s currently reviving her high school interest in tennis.