HR spends just 5% of its time on D,E&I
This is despite 62% of HR professionals saying diversity and inclusion was their remit.
Why You Should Care
Diversity and inclusion is crucial for business success.
But leaders are still not fully on board, according to McLean & Company.
Learn how companies can turn words into action around diversity.
Businesses are becoming increasingly aware that diversity is good for business. However, they need to realize that diversity and inclusion go hand in hand. They can only achieve diversity business success – such as increased innovation – when employees also feel included in the workplace.
While organizations are taking actions around diversity, equity, and inclusion (D,E&I), according to McLean & Company’s 2022 report, there has been insufficient progress.
D,E&I is the fifth top priority for HR teams – this is down from fourth in 2021. While 62% of the 826 leaders surveyed by McLean & Company said diversity was part of their role, just 5% of HR’s time is actually spent on D,E&I.
Another issue is that HRs eems to be spending this time on the wrong things. McLean & Company found that employers are focusing too much on compliance with laws and regulations around diversity, rather than actually putting together a strategy to drive change in their workplaces.
There is no improvement on 2021 in clearly linking D,E&I and organizational goals or on diversity training for all employees.
In addition, there has been a worsening in inclusion’s role in performance reviews, in embedding inclusive values into company values and in addressing pay inequalities at work.
It’s time for better D,E&I strategies
McLean & Company argues that employers need to focus more on their D,E&I strategies. This is because having a strategy in place improved D,E&I successes.
Just 38% of the 826 HR professionals surveyed said their company had a diversity strategy in 2022 – this is the same as in 2021. Worryingly, only15% had a best practice strategy in place. Two in five described their organization’s strategy as only being linked to legal compliance.
Doing the bare minimum is not good enough – and it will not help companies thrive in the going war for talent dubbed the ‘Great Resignation’. For McLean & Company, actions speak louder than words.
The survey calls on companies to take action to “address deeper systemic issues and make strategic, sustainable changes to the organization’s culture of equity and inclusion are continuing to decrease.
“A particularly important example of this is identifying and addressing pay inequities: with many organizations increasing salaries this past year, inequities may be exacerbated if action is not taken to get at systemic issues.”
Success requires leadership buy-in, as well as clear accountability about whose responsibility it is to drive D,E&I progress. Quick change is needed because 58% of HR professionals told McLean & Company they didn’t have leadership buy-in for D,E&I strategies.
McLean & Company’s report concludes: “D,E&I is a journey requiring strategic, ongoing action that moves beyond diversity alone and addresses the culture of equity and inclusion.
“Without this, organizations risk their DEI initiatives coming across as performative rather than impactful.”
