Leading with Data: People Analytics in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (Part 1 of 9)

It is inevitable that in a workplace, there will always be people working together that have different beliefs, cultures, and upbringing in life. In an organization, there will always be a group or team that has diverse backgrounds. Hence, it is important that we know how to deal with employees with the intention of avoiding a serious issue that might occur in the future due to their differences. Recently, the emergence of diversity training programs is increasing significantly in which it tackles raising cognizance concerning diversity and inclusion, wherein most of the minority groups are the ones involved.?

Last November 9, 2021, we were given the opportunity to have an insightful conversation with Shujaat Ahmad, Garvita Chaturvedi, and Nicholas Garbis. They discussed the importance and dynamic partnership between People Analytics and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB).

In order to promote a healthy and safe working environment, this is where the role of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) takes place. DEI is considered to be a fundamental facet that is requisite to establish and maintain a successful workplace. Another important repercussion of the DEIB is that it allows an individual to further develop personally and professionally.

More than that, It is important that we talk about the right data and how we acquire data in the right format in front of the decision-makers. We have so much data but those data are not owned by the people who need that information. Hence, one of the problems that need to be primarily addressed is how data would be attainable and simple for people who make daily decisions. The connection between data and people seems to be missing, thus, results in the lack of numbers and big picture to envision.?

On one hand, it was pointed out that the biggest challenges within Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is how we are going to measure them. Hence, it is necessary that we begin with determining the consistency in the approaches towards the questions and belonging with an intention of escaping from the gender and ethnic group metrics. By doing so, this phenomenon enables them to seek and pursue their greatest opportunities. Moreover, he also emphasized on bias detection in connection with identifying the processes that are in place and utilizing the premise of data science to determine if there are biases apparent in that data. Subsequently, it is imperative that we come up with strategies and solutions that would eradicate bias so that people in the community can continue to make a lot of headway.

Some of the challenges such as the unclear ‘why’ for organizations were also addressed. There is a lack of bias literacy in an organization and understanding how you catch your biases. DEIB is vital in the workplace in order to become a high-performing team. It is because diverse teams when they operate with psychological safety, are most likely to win.?

As the topic moves further, we will now dig deeper into the dynamic partnership between people analytics and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). That being said, the focus areas in DEIB are also a vital factor that compels and shape people's analytics strategies such as providing a focus on your data quality and presenting the data in the manner that it needs to be easily understood by people.

It is indeed a fact that the business sector has the authority to modify and contribute to a much more diversified and inclusive society. With a pivotal purpose of attaining growth and success, many companies have shifted their focus on utilizing DEIB initiatives. With that, there are specific competencies that must be developed within the people analytics function in order to best support these initiatives.?

According to the panelists, one of the competencies that must be given precedence is literacy bias. The ability to identify and understand what bias is something that needs to be practiced. Another indicator that was mentioned is that data needs to be simple, salient, and comparable. You need to understand what the data is all about by digging deeper and figuring out the synthesis. As a result of this, you will be able to present the data in a manner that makes the process of decision-making easier. More so, it also specified that there is a need for people who are experts and have specialized knowledge in some of the methods used to gather data such as surveys and focus group discussions.?

Undeniably, implementing DEIB initiatives is beneficial for the development of the business, company, or organization as it administers genuine business value; acquires skilled talents; also establishes innovative results. Over and above that, successful DEIB strategies and measures that are interconnected with the organizational performance are revealed not only in increasing the working productivity, but also in the overall brand perception, customer satisfaction, and corporate objectives of the business.

Effective DEIB initiatives lead to forming a work culture that promotes creativity, empathy, and even innovation -- wherein both the employers and employees can benefit from.

Furthermore, data suggests that establishing diversity and inclusion should be an integral part of the workplace culture, rather than considering it only as a nice thing to do out of formal and moral reasons. With that, it is a must that the company learns to discern the significance of DEIB initiatives and turn them into tangible outcomes. Not to mention, that a group of people working together who have diverse backgrounds, has actually the most potential to positively impact the entire organization.

Indeed, having a diverse group of people in the organization is esteemed to be the answer that could resolve business, formulate innovative concepts, and even positively impact the employees’ working performance. Henceforth, if the company really aims to become globally successful, one of the things that they need to prioritize is investing in a wide variety of people, who have complex and diverse knowledge, experiences, and even expertise that when combined, would be able to catch up with the international market.

You can watch the full video of the panel here!