The smart way to set diversity goals.

Intrinsic motivation is what drives our goals. Goals outline the difference between the current state and our desired future and focus efforts in that direction. Achieving balanced representation of different groups at all levels of your organisation is possible when you set diversity goals. Diversity objectives are hard to attain. Do you have any trouble balancing ambitious aspirations with practical realities? Is it like choosing figures out of nothing? These are common barriers that can be overcome. Goal must be real, explicit, motivating and inclusive for personal identification and work orientation.

In this post, we will explain to you how to start with a goal-setting framework and how data can be used to develop context-specific objectives for your organisation. This post is just part one of a series we’ll publish in the near future. The next few posts will provide guidance on how you can hold managers accountable for achieving your goals as well as ways to link up the entire group with goals created by top leaders. So let’s get this party started!

Steps:

• Think about what areas of diversity you would like to enhance and where you want to end up.
• Benchmarking your company’s composition will offer insight into whether or not your goals are right.
• Have clearly defined measurable aspiration relevant time bound diversity goals.

Consider who works for your organisation.

Getting good feedback requires careful consideration before setting goals. Goals must be specific but if the numbers appear arbitrary, they may be difficult to achieve later on. Targets should stimulate those involved so much that they desire putting in effort toward them. If things become too easy then nothing will happen. Many individuals feel set up when they become too difficult.

Setting such targets might require some research or investigation so that these targets can be reasonable and clear enough however using established industry norms or community based representation helps determine what “good” looks like (DeFranco 2013). Well it gives one an idea of what others have achieved and what they should be aiming at (DeFranco 2013). Once you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve; you already have all the ingredients for setting goals.

What are your diversity objectives?

Now that you have collected data, you will have a good idea of where you would like to head to and how much diversification you wish to get. Although it is important to aim high in relation to diversity, these goals need focus. Take some hours with the people who count and just let them think about anything within your goals.There are a number of things that need consideration including the following:

What is our core competency as an organization?

In setting out guidelines, it is very important to look at what needs alteration. Think about this simple new year’s resolution “I want to be healthier”. This could mean a lot, such as going earlier bed time, eating salads/vegetables, exercising more… You can even run marathons but still put 5 sugars in your tea. It’s better not to focus on the delicious things that are currently working well but those areas which require change.

When you realise the differences in your abilities, you can work on what you have done well while addressing your weak spots. The best possible path to take as benchmarking will give an accurate birds-eye view of where to focus, however, an audit provides a more detailed examination of what you do well as a company. In short, this involves Fair HQ scrutinising your people, processes and practices so that it can give you a holistic picture of how you are doing in terms of diversity, equality and inclusion and also highlight areas where improvements need to be made.

What needs improvement?

Look at the numbers carefully. While there is a lot of diversity at the lower levels it seems to disappear as one goes further up the ladder. This may mean having gender balance throughout the organisation whilst African Americans are underrepresented within management ranks. Clearly defining diversity objectives targeted at those aspects that still require development can significantly increase their potency.

Where are we headed?

Imagine how you would like the organisation to look in the future? What key diversity metrics do you want? Most discussions on diversity tend to revolve around race or sex. Don’t forget subjective measures such as disability, neurodiversity level of education and maternity among others. Staring too far ahead into the future may be daunting: if young companies try to predict just how much change will happen over next few years it can become difficult; for instance – if you are working with a start-up that’s only one year old then looking towards one year ahead is good advice; scale-ups should consider next twenty-four months; mid-sized firms might want to visualise three years from now. Set forth specific diversity goals for yourself.

Now think about how exactly are we going to achieve this goal?

Make sure goals are SMART (specific measurable attainable relevant time-bound) If all items above were checked off successfully, no ambiguity would persist and by doing this, the main objective is brought closer.

Let’s take some examples and create a SMART diversity goal step by step:

Specific

How about the goals you have for yourself? For instance, you might say “read 20 books this year” but that seems ambitious. “Read two novels per month sounds more doable, don’t you think?” Chunking down the goals is what makes them easier to achieve. Let’s rephrase it as diversification: From ‘We will increase diversity in our organisation.’ to ‘We will enhance women representation in management.’

Measurable

If it can’t be measured, then you cannot manage it. Append specific figures to your objective so that it can be quantified. Otherwise, your objectives would seem like a dead end road. Setting measurable goals help you keep track of progress and define what success looks like. From ‘We will recruit more women into our organisation.’ To ‘We will reach 40% female management representation.’

Attainable

There are factors beyond us here. Use data to set an achievable target for your organisation. Referencing benchmarks within your goals makes them feel real. When individuals know that your intentions are well thought through they will trust the process and follow with dedication on their part if needed. From ‘We’ll hire 25% more females next year’. To ‘We will reach 40% female representation in management; London currently has 38.8% women holding managerial roles thus we can aspire to meet such statistics’.

Relevant

Goals must be fully linked with objectives of your company for them to work effectively. Goals that people can relate both personal and organisational achievements are often good motivators towards achievement People may ask why is diversity important within my firm and what does this bring about? Ensure that these answers are included in your objectives.’’ “This corporation lacks gender balance hence we’ll increase the number of women in executive positions.” versus A variety of teams are more innovative, better at solving problems and look at projects from different angles.’’ That’s why we’re striving for gender parity in the executive ranks.

Time-bound

Set a deadline for when you want your project to be completed. Make sure you have milestones along the way so that your goal never appears too far off. It will help to prioritise work and keep things moving. From ‘We intend to attain 40% female representation in administration in the long run.’ to “By 2025, we will reach 40% female participation in management.” Between 13% and 20%, this figure should have increased by year-end.’

This is only one method of developing diversity goals but it provides a solid framework for overcoming all typical stumbling blocks that organisations face.

How will you achieve your objectives?

Diversity goals are not about ticking boxes. You should develop strong hiring and promotion practices which goes beyond past performance evaluations on an individual’s abilities. Hiring with regard to diversity helps broaden your applicant pool and eventually leads to selecting the best person for the job through fair processes of hiring.