Over recent years, developing a diverse and inclusive workforce has emerged as a significant undertaking for numerous companies, with considerable investments dedicated to enhancing diversity efforts.
Despite these efforts, statistics indicate a discrepancy between the perceptions of HR leaders and employees regarding the effectiveness of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives. While 97% of HR leaders believe their organisations have implemented changes that enhanced DEI, only 37% of employees strongly agree with this assessment.
In this article, we’ll walk through proven ways to track inclusiveness, spot trouble areas, and pinpoint steps to build a workplace where everyone can thrive.
Why Measuring Inclusivity Matters for an Insurance Workforce
When a company cultivates an environment of inclusivity, employees not only feel valued and respected but also contribute significantly to innovation, productivity, and customer satisfaction. This is underpinned by data from McKinsey, which reveals that employees who experience a sense of inclusion are three times as likely to be engaged and dedicated to their company’s mission than those who do not. Research also points to a number of other benefits, including:
Increased Innovation
Inclusive companies that value diverse perspectives tend to be more innovative. When employees feel comfortable sharing unique viewpoints, insurance companies can develop products and services that meet the diverse needs of customers. An inclusive culture also helps attract and retain top talent.
Boosting Employee Satisfaction
Employees who feel included and valued tend to be more satisfied and engaged. This leads to lower turnover and higher productivity. For insurance companies, an engaged workforce results in better customer service and policyholder retention.
Enhancing Customer Engagement
In today’s global marketplace, insurance companies need to understand and meet the needs of customers from all backgrounds. A diverse, inclusive workforce helps build cultural competency and nurtures empathy for customers from all walks of life. This results in marketing, products and services that genuinely engage customers.
The Gartner Inclusion Index
The Gartner Inclusion Index serves as a comprehensive metric for organisations to appraise and enhance inclusivity. This tool benchmarks organisational inclusivity across seven key dimensions: fairness, differences, decision-making, psychological safety, trust, belonging, and organisational diversity.
Implementing the Gartner Inclusion Index necessitates an evaluation of current organisational practices against established standards. This process involves data collection on DEI aspects, scrutinising this information to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, and executing strategic interventions to bridge any disparities. Moreover, it encourages the development of accountability structures and the incorporation of inclusive practices into broader talent management, promoting continuous improvement.
A concise way to frame the Gartner Inclusion Index’s function is through a series of reimagined statements indicative of an inclusive culture:
- Fairness: Those contributing to strategic goals receive just rewards.
- Differences: Diverse viewpoints are honoured in my workplace.
- Decision-making: Our team evaluates each other’s contributions impartially.
- Psychological safety: My workplace is a safe space for authentic expression.
- Trust: We trust in the candour of messages from our leaders.
- Belonging: I am valued and cared for by my colleagues.
- Organisational Diversity: The diversity within our management mirrors that of our staff.
The essence of these principles is that an organisation’s inclusivity is directly proportional to its affirmation by the employees. The Gartner Inclusion Index acknowledges both the breadth of inclusivity and the significance of diversity by allocating a distinct category to evaluate employee perspectives on representation.
4 Practical Steps for Measuring Inclusion
- Conduct Employee Surveys
Surveying your employees is one of the best ways to gauge how inclusive your organisation really is. Use anonymous surveys to gather honest feedback about their experiences and perceptions. Ask questions about whether they feel respected, valued, and heard. Look for potential barriers to advancement or gaps in opportunity. Survey results will identify areas you’re excelling in, as well as point out opportunities for improvement.
- Examine Workforce Data
Take a close look at metrics like hiring, promotion, and retention rates across gender, ethnicity, age, and other factors. Are there any significant disparities? If certain groups seem underrepresented in leadership or higher-paying roles, that may indicate problems with your inclusion initiatives. Tracking this data over time will also show you whether new policies and programs are making a difference.
- Monitor Recruitment and Promotion
Review how positions are filled in your organisation. Look for unintended biases in job listings, screening, interviewing, and selection processes. See if there are any patterns in who gets promoted and who does not. Promotion and pay inequities are a major sign of lack of inclusion. Address them through transparent policies, anti-bias training, and by broadening candidate pools.
- Create a Feedback Loop
Keep the conversation going. Set up ways for employees to provide ongoing, anonymous feedback about their experiences and act on that feedback. Let employees know about changes being made as a result of their input. When people feel like their voices are heard and can see the impact, they will be more engaged and committed to inclusion initiatives.
Challenges and Pitfalls to Avoid When Measuring Inclusivity
Successfully measuring inclusion at your company requires navigating several potential stumbling blocks. Be aware of these challenges and pitfalls to get the most accurate view of your organisation’s inclusivity.
Avoiding Bias in Feedback
When soliciting feedback on inclusion, carefully craft questions and surveys to minimise bias. For example, avoid asking direct questions about specific demographic groups, as this can provoke socially desirable responses. Instead, frame questions around behaviours and experiences. You might ask “Do you feel your unique perspectives and talents are valued?” rather than “Does this company value women?”
Preventing Survey Fatigue
While surveys are useful tools, over-surveying employees can lead to lacklustre response rates and less thoughtful feedback. Limit inclusion surveys to once per quarter or twice per year at most. Keep surveys as concise as possible while still collecting meaningful data. You might survey different groups at different times, such as doing an initial baseline survey of all employees, followed by pulse surveys of employee resource groups.
Looking Beyond Metrics
Metrics like promotion rates, hiring rates and retention rates for diverse groups are helpful but limited. Relying solely on metrics fails to capture the human experiences that truly make up an inclusive culture. Qualitative feedback, such as focus groups, interviews, and open-ended survey questions, provides context around what employees value and where they see room for improvement. A combination of metrics and stories paints the most complete picture.
Conclusion
If you’ve begun measuring inclusion in your workplace, congratulations! That’s an important first step. But the work doesn’t stop there. Regularly reviewing your metrics, refining your strategies, and making ongoing improvements will be key to creating a truly inclusive environment.
Of course, there will also be challenges along the way. When initiatives don’t go as planned or metrics show little progress, look for the lessons. Meet with your inclusion council or employee resource groups to evaluate what worked and what didn’t. Over time, you’ll get better at developing and implementing successful inclusion programs. It’s important to remember that an inclusive workplace is a continuous work in progress.