Diversity, equity and inclusion policies are becoming more and more important within organisations and technology can help improve their effectiveness.

More than ever, diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is becoming a measure by which companies are judged and many are beginning to take more initiative in this area.

It is certainly more commonplace for organisations to talk openly about DE&I policies, and even embed them into their employee and organisational strategies.

How best to do that is often the million-dollar question and data insight and technology tools are being used to help. In fact, if used properly they can be the difference between an effective DE&I policy and one that falls short.

Identifying DE&I issues and measuring the effectiveness of policies and practices set up to tackle them requires a lot of work  –  often more than humans can manage with spreadsheets alone. New technology can drive, support and maintain a more diverse and inclusive work environment.

Analytics –  a numbers game

Employee data is crucial to shaping policy, strategy and general philosophy. Without it we are often blindfolded in our efforts to recruit and retain a diverse talent pool. The data can often be found within the payroll and/or HR system, but it needs to be interrogated and stored in a way that makes it useful. This is where new technology tools come in.

By using market and internal salary data we can identify discrepancies around pay, bonuses and benefits. This information can be vital when it comes to identifying and mitigating employee disputes or simply when assessing pay against employee profiles.

This kind of data can also help pre-empt problems by allowing companies to address issues in advance of an equal pay claim and often avoid it. Using sector-based market data for specific roles can also be used to benchmark salaries across a whole organisation to identify any gaps and discrepancies.

Job evaluation/levelling

A robust job evaluation or leveling tool can give HR teams the ability and confidence to assess roles fairly and consistently and create a strong foundation on which to build a company. It can also enable them to map out an entire organisational design strategy.

In-built intelligence can quickly and easily identify roles of equal value or with similar attributes.

Analytics and reporting can engage managers in new ways and create whole new levels of clarity around roles, expectations and discrepancies, re-defining value to the company and return on investment.

Employee engagement

Assuming every employee can be captured within this data, not only can policy and strategy be enhanced through fairness, but employee engagement can also skyrocket. With clever integration, the data can be used to support recognition schemes, manage benefits and discounts, collate feedback and create total reward statements.

Streamlining all of this should also foster an environment where employees feel more valued and listened to, with smart communication options also available to help employees with disabilities.

Learning and development

Learning and development platforms are often overlooked, but opportunities for learning and educating can benefit all employees. HR and business leaders need to ensure that courses are available and accessible to everyone, and the topics covered should align with DE&I for both managers and employees.

To further safeguard against DE&I deficit, managers can also be sent on training courses specialising in recognising and dealing with unconscious bias in work settings. These can cover key aspects such as recruitment and developing job adverts, maintaining a healthy working environment and appreciating diverse cultures, religions, and disabilities.

Management information is key to monitoring which workers have undertaken training and measuring success.

Artificial intelligence

With AI currently gaining traction, algorithms behind computer learning are able to analyse unthinkably large datasets, identify patterns and anomalies and even predict and pre-empt future issues.

In the context of DE&I, the only risk is that the computer learning could be based on biased information, so it’s vital to still be mindful of any preset bias.

DE&I technology can help organisations create a more diverse and inclusive work environment, but technology alone can never be a substitute for strong, creative leadership and robust management.

Senior leadership teams and boards need to embrace all that this technology can provide, but they must also commit to creating cultures of inclusion and implementing policies and procedures that promote equity and fairness in the workplace.

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