Diversity & Equity Assessment

The Stage I Diversity & Equity Assessment is unique because of our multidisciplinary approach, equipping us to identify the root cause of underlying workforce equity concerns. Our partnerships and knowledge cross the spaces of Industrial/Organization Psychology, legal expertise, compliance and equal opportunity analytics, affirmative action program and plan development, and proactive diversity measurements. We will perform a holistic organizational diagnostic, which utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research methods. 

The Team - Two departments will partner for this proactive evaluation: Workforce Equity and Selection & Assessment. Our Workforce Equity department provides consulting services in the space of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The team identifies barriers and provides solutions to help our clients advance workforce equity. Our Selection & Assessment team has expertise in the development, validation, and evaluation of employment practices including employee selection, performance management, and promotions. As such, we are well equipped to evaluate policies, procedures, outreach and recruitment, performance, advancement, retention, and other critical employment outcomes from a DEI lens.

Discovery -We will utilize this first assessment stage to discover what is working well and learn about the pain points in the client's outcomes and processes. We will collaborate with the client to gain access to a variety of materials and review of actions taken to date. This will include a review of:

• Policies/Practices related to the lifecycle of employees (e.g., standard operating procedures)
• Training materials or resources
• Internal analytical studies
• People data (e.g., roster, applicant, promotion, termination)
• Performance outcomes
• Survey results
• Communications
• Exit interview information
• Internal complaint investigations

DCI will provide detailed data and information request appropriate for the scope of work in this phase.

Research - We will perform further review and fill in gaps to understand the workforce barrier through measurements identified during the Discovery portion. A project plan will be created which commonly includes both a quantitative and qualitative investigative effort by DCI. This practice supplements or refutes preliminary findings from the Discovery portion and it may include activities such as:

• Conducting additional analytical studies on critical employment outcomes (e.g., performance, pay, selection, turnover)
• Conducting peer comparison reviews of the workforce population to identify diversity achievements and gaps
• Moderating focus group discussions with key stakeholders governing policies/procedures
• Moderating focus group discussions with hiring managers, recruiters, and employees
• Identifying evidence-based practices and solutions
• Engaging in other useful benchmarking opportunities

We will synthesize our findings and create a roadmap of interventions to consider, prioritize, or adopt.