Whether your business is building on existing company policies, or you are creating an entirely new EDI strategy, it can be difficult to know exactly where to start. GKR has put together some useful tips that might help you and your team begin to develop a more equitable, inclusive and diverse company culture.
Step 1 – Identify your EDI Leadership Representative/s
The most important step towards your EDI journey is identifying who will be responsible for developing, implementing, and leading your EDI strategy. If not by an employed or outsourced EDI specialist, this typically falls under the remit of HR or the company Director’s; in these instances, it is recommended to form an internal committee/team to share the responsibility as it is important that the individuals are able to continually drive and support the implementation of new initiatives and goals company-wide.
Companies can also work with consultancies such as Inventum Group, whom GKR is working closely with to deliver company-wide training.
Step 2 – Understand your EDI challenges
This crucial step to reflect and take stock of your current and ongoing EDI challenges will allow you to develop and set tangible goals to improve your company’s long-term strategy. This conversation should not be restricted to senior leadership teams but should be had across the entirety of your business. We strongly recommend speaking to your employees on a one-on-one basis, in teams, or perhaps sending an anonymous survey to gain a wider perspective of individual perceived challenges. The benefit of sending this anonymously might help to make participants feel more comfortable expressing themselves honestly, and the data will represent a larger group of diverse opinions.
Step 3 – Set your company EDI goals
Once you have understood your challenges, you can establish your company goals and objectives. Your strategy should be outcome-orientated, detailing what the business is aiming to achieve through change and transparency. We recommend setting some short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals to work towards. Your EDI Leadership representative/s will be tasked with tracking the progress of these objectives, obtaining ongoing feedback, and identifying additional needs. Your goals should be easily measurable or quantifiable against data; there are lots of technology solutions available as well as easily accessible equal opportunities questionnaire templates or interview scoring cards to help you standardise your recruitment process, reduce unconscious bias and encourage inclusivity.
GKR London is passionate about equity, diversity, and inclusion. We seek individuals from the widest talent pool and encourage underrepresented talent to apply for vacancies with us. We are committed to recruitment processes that are fair to all, regardless of background and personal characteristics.
Contact our team today if we can support you with your EDI and recruitment strategy.
