Some time ago, a recruiter pulled aside Christina Tymony to ask her why recruiting from top universities was so problematic in terms of diversity goals. Tymony is the senior manager of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) at SeekOut, an HR company that helps clients find, nurture, and retain talent, with an emphasis on finding diverse candidates. “He said that if we say we want the best, we should go where the best are. I had to walk them through things related to access, cost, legacy students, being able to afford to move across states or countries, and nepotism that allows some people to get into those universities not based on merit, but on those other factors.”

It wasn’t an easy conversation, Tymony said, but in the end, that recruiter became a diversity champion. The day that recruiter left the company, they thanked Tymony for taking the time to have those difficult conversations. “They said they could take that wherever they would go. And that’s what we are trying to do–to create change agents that amplify the work we do,” she said.

Often, in conversations about DEI, the focus is on tactics or strategies, but seldom on creating system-level change that lasts. In a presentation at From Day One’s November virtual conference on workforce diversity, Tymony explained key reasons why some programs never gain traction. Among them: lack of commitment at the leadership level; efforts driven by only one part of an organization or even a single person; having unrealistic goals that are either unattainable or unsustainable; and a lack of consistent action over time. The last is often driven by a lack of support, reprioritization or lack of prioritization, or frustration from a lack of goal attainment.

Have the Difficult Conversations 

Everyone comes to the conversation with different experiences and understanding about racism, sexism, and other forms of systemic repression that underrepresented communities face, she said. We have each had our own experience at home, in school, and in the wider community that impacts our belief system. “We need to spend time to educate our people. It’s not enough to say that these groups are underrepresented. We need to dig in and ensure our people understand the ‘why’ behind the work that we’re doing, how these groups became marginalized, and how they became underserved today,” Tymony said.

That understanding alone increases the likelihood they will connect with the work and develop a level of empathy for others’ experience and perspective. “Don’t shy away from emotions. Things like vulnerability, transparency, and even tears tap into how we feel, and help demonstrate how imperative and how personal this work is.”

Some people will fail to have that empathy because of the schools they went to, the town they grew up in, their parents’ beliefs, or even search algorithms that are generally curated by who you know and where you live, she said. People in your organization will have biases, both conscious and unconscious. They come to Tymony saying they don’t get it, and share the stories of the belief systems they grew up with. “Those moments, as difficult as they are, are teachable moments. That means driving them to a new way of thinking by unraveling the bias together–what it is rooted in, how it's harmful, how it’s incorrect.”

There may be people who will still not understand or value DEI efforts. That’s why the next key is so important, she said. 

Bake DEI Into Your DNA

This can’t just be about some data point in your annual report, she said. You have to care about the results. No single program, department, team or person can be the entirety of DEI. Rather, it must be part of the company’s values and the entire employee experience. “It needs to be about how you think about your organization,” Tymony said. 

Some organizations interview potential employees to see how they align with company values. Tymony asked listeners to consider: Are you including DEI in your values questions? Are you screening potential employees for inclusive behavior? 

At the manager and leadership level, she asked whether leadership is evaluated for their ability to create, develop, and retain diverse teams. Are they asked to enumerate how they create inclusive and safe teams?  

From a data perspective, do you know how the various diversity demographics advance? Are the rates equitable? “You can bring in diverse candidates, but are you growing and retaining them afterwards?” she asked. Is the company welcoming? Is the work of DEI rewarded and amplified? Do you recognize the DEI champions in your organization?

You can’t view DEI as some extracurricular activity, but a hard business objective, Tymony said. “Maybe you have created detailed reports and deployed all the tools you have available. But if no one in leadership is invested in this, it may be viewed as interesting, but not actionable. Leadership should be tied into the process, not just voicing the vision and message of DEI.”

DEI isn’t often included as an evaluation point for leaders, yet it should be woven into the responsibility of every function. “That means leaders need to be active participants, must be engaged, and must be measured. Without that, you end up with just lip service.”

Tymony said that DEI professionals don’t own much in most organizations. “You may be responsible for diverse recruiting, but you don’t own recruiting. You may be judged based on developing underrepresented talent, but you don’t own talent management. The job becomes lobbying other executives about why DEI is important. What works is when those who own profit and loss are also responsibility for DEI.” 

To Ensure Success, Measure Outcomes 

Tymony said that a lot of organizations will measure processes–the number of diverse candidates, for example–but not outcomes. Whether candidates convert into employees, whether those employees stay on and develop into effective talent and progress in their careers is just as important as trying to source those candidates, if not more so. 

She outlined several data points in two areas–recruiting and talent management–that you should aspire to measure. 

Recruiting:

•Funnel data: pipeline representation, recruiter-screen to onsite–visit ratio, and passthrough parity 

•Candidate sourcing data: demographics and success rates by source, time and cost-per-hire by source 

•Candidate feedback scores: score by demographic, demographic by organization team and level 

Talent Management:

•Engagement: engagement survey scores by demographic, ERG satisfaction and success rates 

•Growth and development: promotion rates and parity, mentorship, sponsorship and professional-development-program success rates (individually)

•Retention: attrition rates by demographic, exit surveys by demographic, management and peer feedback

Not all of this may be applicable to everyone. “Not everyone has a mentorship program, or the ability to collect all of this data right now,” Tymony said, but all of this could be aspirational. Lastly, she warned that goals for the metrics you choose have to be realistic. “If you are in Seattle it’s unrealistic for you to want your talent to be beyond what is represented in that metropolitan area. What is achievable where you are? That’s the conversation you need to have with hiring managers and leaders.”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, SeekOut, who sponsored this thought leadership spotlight.

Lisa Jaffe is a freelance writer who lives in Seattle with her son and a very needy rescue dog named Ellie Bee. She enjoys reading, long walks on the beach, and trying to get better at ceramics.