By Claude Werder, Vice President and Principal HCM Analyst, Brandon Hall Group
As I mentioned in the previous post on our upcoming Women in Leadership Summit, Diversity and Inclusion is a hot issue for most organizations. About 70% of organizations see D&I as an important business objective and want to improve.
We’re analyzing the data from our just-completed D&I research, but one fact is abundantly clear: If you want to excel at Diversity and Inclusion, make sure one person — ideally, a Chief Diversity Officer or senior leader — owns it.
The best results of a D&I program — by far — come when a CDO is in charge. Only 20% of organizations have one, according to the 2019 Brandon Hall Group Diversity and Inclusion Study.
But those that do are far more likely than other employers to have:
- Diverse recruiting practices
- Organizational awareness programs, such as unconscious-bias training
- Advancement strategies and programs for diverse employees and emerging leaders
Among organizations without a CDO:
- 40% have no clear or dedicated owner
- 34% have a dedicated program leader who reports to a senior executive
- 26% run D&I with a staff member who has other, non-D&I responsibilities and priorities
Let’s look at just a few of the comparative stats:
“We have programs in place to recruit diverse job candidates”
| Percentage of organizations | |
| We have a CDO | 72% |
| We have a dedicated senior D&I leader who is not a CDO | 61% |
| A staff member with other responsibilities heads D&I | 52% |
| We have no clear D&I leader | 30% |
“We have programs that focus on recognizing and overcoming unconscious bias”
| Percentage of organizations | |
| We have a CDO | 73% |
| We have a dedicated senior D&I leader who is not a CDO | 59% |
| A staff member with other responsibilities heads D&I | 43% |
| We have no clear D&I leader | 27% |
“We have programs that teach leaders how to manage diverse populations”
| Percentage of organizations | |
| We have a CDO | 67% |
| We have a dedicated senior D&I leader who is not a CDO | 31% |
| A staff member with other responsibilities heads D&I | 17% |
| We have no clear D&I leader | 16% |
“Leaders are tasked with specific D&I goals”
| Percentage of organizations | |
| We have a CDO | 40% |
| We have a dedicated senior D&I leader who is not a CDO | 15% |
| A staff member with other responsibilities heads D&I | 7% |
| We have no clear D&I leader | 5% |
Obviously, since only one in five organizations has a CDO, most employers do not think the importance of D&I rises to the level of a C-Suite position. But consider this: 70% of organizations see D&I as a potential business driver. Now take the sales function: 90% of organizations think increasing sales and improving the customer experience are critical business priorities. Name a company without a Chief Sales Officer or other senior leader whose sole focus is sales. Struggling? It’s likely that fewer than one in five organizations don’t have a dedicated sales leader.
If inclusion is a business objective, treat it like one.
A dedicated senior leader who understands the goals, systems and operations of the organization can integrate Inclusion and Diversity and build an infrastructure to support initiatives that can lead to better business results.
The D&I leader must understand the corporate culture and have the ear of other senior leaders to drive change in ways that resonate with stakeholders and gain support. Sales organizations would never delegate global sales strategy to a line manager or individual contributor. But that’s exactly what happens with Diversity and Inclusion in many companies.
Here is a graphic overview of some of the initial research findings. If you want more details and get our advice on how to improve your approach to Inclusion and Diversity, contact me and let’s set up a time to talk.
In the meantime, it’s not too late to register for our Women in Leadership Summit in Fort Lauderdale, FL, May 1-2. See you there!
–Claude Werder, Vice President and Principal HCM Analyst, Brandon Hall Group
Click here for a free download of the KnowledgeGraphic, How To Make Inclusion a Competitive Advantage
Claude Werder is Brandon Hall Group’s Vice President and Principal HCM Analyst. He focuses on Leadership Development and Talent Management. Brandon Hall Group is a leading research and analyst firm with Practices in Learning & Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition and Workforce Management/Core HR.
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