Our current political moment may make DEI seem like an issue uniquely able to drive controversy. But, at their core, many of the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs adopted in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd are something much more commonplace: culture change initiatives.
Effective change management takes sustained, intentional effort to establish buy-in and support. In the rush to demonstrate that they were doing something for historically underrepresented employees, customers, and community members, many organizations and leaders skipped several steps and failed to demonstrate DEI programs’ effectiveness and return on investment and, in turn, convert employees and stakeholders into advocates for the programs.
The process of culture change is “hard. It’s long. It takes money,” observes DEI consultant and strategist Lily Zheng. Instead, many organizations opted for “performative things where they really want to show that they’re doing something with the minimum possible spend, the minimum possible commitment, and the minimum possible effort.”
Not only did many of these DEI efforts fail to produce meaningful change, the approach also leaves DEI as a whole more vulnerable to attacks today. Now, in the absence of long-term culture change, some companies are bowing to external critics and bringing the same hastiness to their rollbacks, gutting DEI teams and cutting programs across the board. That affects both the surface-level, window-dressing programs and many of the effective, legal, and popular initiatives.
The good news is that it’s not too late. Successful change management efforts sometimes take years, and multiple pushes. For example, 10 years after Microsoft launched a cultural shift to focus on a growth mindset, leaders found that they needed to revisit the project, launching a second listening tour and re-grounding employees in the value of such an approach through internal education and awareness campaigns. The effort updated the way Microsoft’s employees thought and talked about a growth mindset in light of artificial intelligence advances. And it introduced new employees to the practices at the core of Microsoft’s approach.
With Microsoft, the end goal was not necessarily that everyone have a growth mindset, but rather that doing so ultimately unlocked business results. There’s a parallel to successful DEI, which is about helping workers thrive and ultimately enabling them to deliver the greatest value to the business.
Now, at a moment when so many companies are re-evaluating their own approach to DEI, there’s an opportunity to infuse programs with the change-management best practices that can help them achieve organizational goals. Here’s where to start:
Start by defining shared language and overall strategy.
Workers and other stakeholders should have a clear understanding of what your DEI policies are, the purpose driving them, and how you’re evaluating what is worth your organization’s time and effort. Whether or not you choose to continue using the term DEI, your internal communications should be clear about what your culture and talent policies are, with succinct definitions and descriptions of the programs within your strategy. At some organizations, it may also be worth laying out what is not DEI—such as racial or gender quotas—to minimize the chance of attacks that mischaracterize what your programs actually are.
Not only does language clarity focus your efforts, it can also establish buy-in within your workforce. While 61% of Americans support workplace DEI programs in the abstract, that number rises to 69% when pollsters added a crisp definition of DEI programs, according to a 2024 poll from Ipsos and The Washington Post. Even more, research shows that having a shared workplace vocabulary improves intra-team communication and workers’ willingness to collaborate.
Measure success with rigorous metrics.
When it comes to DEI and other human-centric policies, “we need more CEOs talking about how they’re measuring this and then giving it the same rigor that they would give any other aspect of the business,” says Dr. Angela Jackson, founder of Future Forward Strategies and author of The Win-Win Workplace, which comes out next month.
Start by defining success: How will you measure impact, and how does that impact contribute to overall business goals? Like any business objectives, these goals should be achievable, measurable, and right-sized. One company’s talent policies are never going to eliminate structural inequality, but they can ensure that all applicants, employees, and stakeholders receive fair consideration, recognition, and support, regardless of background. (Experts from the NYU Law Meltzer Center have also pointed out that messaging around DEI programs and goals can help you minimize legal risks.)
Many of these metrics required to evaluate successful DEI programs are already bread and butter for people leaders, including belonging, engagement, and turnover figures. Other data points worth tracking may include perceptions of psychological safety, measures of worker voice, and access to career advancement opportunities—all of which contribute to long-term organizational stability and success.
Leaders can then use DEI as a lens to understand any disparities in the data based on demographics, levels, and departments—and a tool to reach parity, even when it might be counterintuitive. “I’ve worked with organizations where women have better outcomes than men. In that situation, how can we make this organization work better for people of all genders?” Zheng says.
Communicate proactively and transparently.
As you continue to evolve your DEI strategy with the input and feedback from workers and stakeholders, make sure you show your work. A majority of American workers say they would not want to work in an organization without DEI policies, yet three-fifths of them have not received any communication about changes to DEI in their own organizations during the past six months, according to a recent survey from employee experience and engagement company Perceptyx.
Instead, be transparent about how you’re making decisions around DEI—and the data and stories that are informing your approach. Share both the setbacks and the wins. For example, launch a storytelling campaign using employee testimonials on how hiring and promotion policies, inclusive benefits, or other initiatives have positively affected their experiences to add color to data readouts. Research has shown that emphasizing even minor victories—moving to the next phase of a project, or gaining a new insight—is among the most powerful factors in motivating workers for organizational change.
Build a shared sense of responsibility by engaging both supporters and detractors.
Employee buy-in for any change is greater when people feel like they’ve had some influence over what that change looks like. In a 2021 McKinsey study of workplaces that had gone through major transformations, the most successful change efforts were at the organizations where workers said they’d been more involved in the process. That effect was especially pronounced for workers lower down in the organizational hierarchy.
Create opportunities for people to weigh in on and act as advocates for your DEI programs. For example, invite employees across the organization to learn about the legal landscape around DEI, a tactic that can boost legal literacy and build employees’ confidence in your DEI strategy, empowering them to act as advocates for the programs, no matter their functional area or level.
“People are nervous within the organization, even if they are, say, a mid-level manager. They’re nervous about championing DEI or getting involved in certain DEI programs. They don’t know what they can and can’t say.” David Glasgow, executive director of NYU Law’s Meltzer Center, told us. “When you have enough of an understanding of the basics of what that law says… you have the ability to thoughtfully and in an informed way engage.”
Engaging detractors within your organization can also strengthen your programs in the long term. Use listening sessions, surveys, and other feedback channels to identify your workers’ biggest doubts about DEI, whether it’s worries about legal risks, skepticism about the return on investment, or misconceptions about unfair advantages for certain groups.
Then, use your data, storytelling, and relationships to address the concerns and build trust in your strategy across your organization. With those tactics, leaders can make a strong case that DEI initiatives change cultures to be more meritocratic, not less; help employees work more effectively together, rather than drive them apart; and direct energy towards improving business outcomes instead of distracting workers from them.