In today’s diverse and interconnected world, organizations are well aware of the importance of recognizing and celebrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as a driving force in business success, social justice, and company culture.

Companies have embraced DEI in the workplace, but many are still faced with the challenge of understanding which DEI metrics should be tracked as priorities.

This article will examine the 9 most important DEI metrics and reveal how to track them and measure their impact on the company culture. 

9 Key DEI Metrics to Track

1. Retention across Employee Groups 

Every DEI-centered HR department understands the importance of retention rates across different groups of employees.

Tracking this metric allows organizations to understand which specific groups are more likely to leave, and most importantly, what are the reasons for their departure.

This is critical for identifying underlying cultural problems that are causing diverse talent to leave the organization.

According to the Tech Leavers study, an analysis of voluntary turnover in the tech sector published by the Kapor Center for Social Impact, women, people of color, and Hispanic and Native American professionals are vastly underrepresented across all occupations in the tech sector.

For instance, women make up 50% of the U.S. population but comprise only 25% of the tech workforce.

The study found that the technology sector is more seen as a revolving door for diverse employees than as long-term employers. By tracking retention across different employee groups, companies can identify which experiences are perceived as negative, influence poor turnover results, and create specific programs to create a more diverse, welcoming environment. 

2. Equal Pay and Equity 

Pay equity is a central aspect of any company’s DEI standing. More importantly, it’s a bounding principle that ensures all employees are paid equally and fairly for work of equal or comparable value, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other personal characteristics. 

The key elements of pay equity are:

1. Equal pay for equal work
2. No discrimination policy compliance
3. Addressing unexplained pay disparities
4. Promoting transparency about pay structures 
5. Equal opportunity for advancement

Although pay equity is considered a professional standard in the majority of organizations, it requires continuous effort and dedication on the level of the entire organization.

The goal of pay equity is to identify and address any pay disparities that may exist, and by doing so, create a more inclusive and equitable workplace. Tracking equity involves analysing large volumes of compensation and performance data to ensure all employees are fairly compensated for their work.

Enterprises and large organizations rely on their HCM system and proactive HR policies to be successful in ensuring equity. 

3. Diverse Employee Net Promotor Score 

It’s well known that talented individuals from diverse backgrounds frequently consider employer review websites before applying for positions, which also includes checking the state of DEI practices.

Employee Net Promoter Scores are survey-based metrics that reveal employee satisfaction with their organizations. They are used to understand the overall organizational health and how likely employees are to recommend their workspace to other potential hires.

In the context of DEI, Diverse eNPS reveal if employees truly feel welcome and appreciated at their companies. Additionally, this DEI metric helps organizations see if their efforts toward creating inclusive corporate cultures and positive workplaces are bearing fruit. 

4. Diversity of Partners and Vendors 

Diversity of partners and vendors is a crucial aspect of DEI policies because it signifies the willingness and commitment of organizations to do business with diverse companies, so they can build wealth together.

The Harvard Business Review defined diverse suppliers as businesses that are at least 51% owned and operated by individuals and groups of traditionally underrepresented groups.

Promoting equity in the supply chain contributes to the cause of equal distribution of wealth, especially for groups that have been underserved. General Motors was one of the first organizations that led the charge for supplier diversity.

The company introduced supplier diversity back in 1968 and many organizations have since followed suit. Besides ethical and moral incentives, having diverse suppliers has significant economic merit.

The National Minority Supplier Diversity Council reported that certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) created $400 billion in economic output and created or preserved 2.2 million U.S. jobs. The economic activity contributed to $49 billion in tax money for local, state, and federal authorities.

Therefore, more companies should actively track the diversity of their partners and vendors and adopt programs that will support cooperation with diverse suppliers. 

5. Diverse Employee Promotion Rate 

One of the core missions of DEI is to ensure that all employees have equitable opportunities, regardless of their gender, disability status, or background, which may be cultural, ethnic, racial, or other.

Taking an active stance on tracking the number of diverse employees who are promoted and moving up the corporate ladder is the epitome of a DEI-centred business.

If organizations promote only traditionally overrepresented talent, their diverse employees might be facing developmental challenges and the gap between employee equity is only widening.

These points are important to consider when tracking promotion rates of diverse employees:

1. Promotion rates by demographic groups; tracking promotion rates for different groups separately (for example, male and. female employees, Caucasian and. POC, able-bodied and disabled employees) to compare promotion opportunities across different groups 
2. Promotion rates by job/seniority levels; analysing promotion rates at different job levels to understand if there are promotion barriers once a certain seniority status has been reached
3. Time-to-promotion; examining the time it takes for diverse employees to be promoted and discovering if there are disparities in company progression speed compared to other employees
4. DEI initiative impact on promotion; evaluating the impact of specific DEI practices on the promotion of diverse employees    

6. Leadership Representation

Truly equitable companies understand the importance of equal representation in leadership positions.

As all professionals know, management and leadership positions come with more responsibility, authority, and compensation.

In a fair society, these should be split equally.

Leadership representation is a cornerstone of DEI metrics because it reveals whether or not all employees are represented. Historically, leadership representation has been linked to the lack of female employees in leadership positions.

At the moment, women hold 35% of senior leadership positions, compared to 65% of male professionals, although female workers account for over half of the entire U.S. workforce. Without active encouragement and DEI policies, the leadership representation of other employee groups is not likely to improve. Every company should track its leadership representation of underrepresented employees and create opportunities for them to advance to leading positions.

7. Workforce Diversity 

One of the central DEI metrics to track is workforce diversity.

Workforce diversity simply refers to the percentage of employees coming from different backgrounds, including but not limited to race, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities, age, or religion.

Measuring workforce diversity provides critical insight into the inclusivity and treatment of different groups during hiring and retention. 

Olsen, Hoskin and Harcourt, a leading DEI consulting firm have reported that as many as 74% of Fortune 1000 companies have been tracking workforce diversity as a key DEI metric in 2022.

Race and gender remain the most commonly measured demographic categories.

While companies are trying hard to achieve greater diversity and representation at all segments, from entry-level jobs to C-level positions, it’s important to understand that measuring workforce diversity is just the beginning of DEI efforts. Creating a company culture where diverse professionals feel welcome and respected requires proactive policies.

Many organizations still need to move beyond collecting data and embrace actionable strategies to remove disparities from their culture. 

8. Candidate Demographics 

It stands to reason that hiring diverse candidates today creates a diverse workforce tomorrow.

However, when organizations do not track candidate demographics, they risk staying oblivious to possible hiring biases that keep diverse prospects from becoming employees.

The practice of collecting candidate demographics as key DEI metrics to track begins with gathering and analysing data of applicants through the hiring process, identifying potential biases, and taking proactive measures to ensure a fair recruitment process.

For instance, if an organization adds blind resume screening to their recruitment process, i.e. removing identifying information from resumes to reduce biases, they can measure its effectiveness by analysing the demographics of candidates who advance to later stages in the hiring process.

Thankfully, there is growing recognition among organizations about the importance of understanding diversity in their candidate pool.

A 2022 study from SHRM found that approximately 72% of U.S. companies track applicant demographics as a core part of their DEI policies. The same report cites that 65% of the respondents say DEI is a high strategic priority. Change is coming, but there is still a long way to go.

9. Employee Feedback and Reporting Mechanisms 

Feedback and reporting mechanisms are essential DEI components that have to be tracked diligently.

They provide a structured way for diverse employees to voice their concerns, give improvement suggestions, and share experiences regarded to diversity, equality, and inclusion in the organization.

Creating a safe communication channel for employee voices gives HR valuable insights into the cultural dynamics of the company and helps them identify areas of possible improvement. By tracking the number of reports and collecting employee feedback from diverse employees, companies gain a better foothold in their DEI standing.

SHRM reported that in 2022 approximately 86% of U.S. companies have implemented some form of an employee feedback mechanism with the intent of collecting data on employee experiences.

Tracking employee feedback and reports and being vocal about it encourages diverse employees to speak up about how they’re treated and constantly improve existing DEI practices. More importantly, the increased adoption of employee listening solutions shows that employers are taking a more active stance on creating positive workplace cultures. 

Tracking Company Culture Effectively 

One of the biggest challenges with key DEI metrics to track is seeing how the company’s DEI policies translate to tangible cultural gains. Managing company culture for large companies and enterprises is nearly impossible without dedicated solutions for culture intelligence. 

Enter JobPts, the best-of-breed solution for employee recognition and rewards that transforms company culture. JobPts is built to provide organizations with culture intelligence, so they can measure the cultural impact of all their workforce initiatives, from recognizing and rewarding their efforts to adjacent DEI practices. With the latest update, JobPts has a Culture Intelligence Dashboard that contains reports on Employee tenure, Retention data, DEI, Employee engagement, and Manager Efficiency trends. 

 

The platform provides its users with actionable insights, so they can apply the data right away instead of having to manually analyse heaps of cultural data. With its culture intelligence dashboards, HR and leaders can understand the state of recognition across multiple levels of the company and see the impact of recognition practices on the employee experience. 

Specifically, the Diversity and Inclusivity tab provides invaluable metric reports that are directly connected to the state of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

For instance, managers can track how represented are different demographic groups and access DEI-related feedback metrics. In addition, reports show engagement and distribution of rewards to, female, male (or other) employees and managers over a set period of time.

With JobPts, companies have a go-to solution that can consolidate their DEI efforts and complement their current recognition practices, so that employees can truly enjoy a positive culture.  

Conclusion 

Embracing DEI policies is not just a moral imperative.

It’s a strategic advantage that increases organizations’ talent pools attracts skilled, diverse candidates, and ensures that current talented employees feel equal and appreciated for who they are.

By acknowledging different perspectives, cultures, backgrounds, and differences, and celebrating their uniqueness, organizations can elevate their cultures to soaring new heights. The journey towards inclusive workplaces doesn’t merely start with good intentions; it requires data-driven insights and commitment to tracking key DEI metrics.

Lucky for employees and their organizations, enterprise-ready solutions are here to help transform culture and usher in a new professional standard for equality.