A new year is right around the corner, and now is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and set your organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals for 2023. Setting tangible DEI goals each year will help your firm spot areas for improvement and achieve growth. In this article, we will provide you with steps to create your DEI goals.

Looking back to look ahead

Begin by reflecting on any growth that happened in 2022. When measuring growth or setting new DEI goals, you can use specific metrics, depending on what areas of DEI you want to track. DEI goals should never be an afterthought, and these metrics can help you assess the current situation:

• Representation metrics include the percentage of employees in a specific group vs. the total firm. This number can show if certain groups are underrepresented in your firm compared to others in your company or the current industry standard.
• Metrics related to recruitment may reveal barriers to entry or biased efforts for groups of people. Look at the groups applying for opportunities at your organization and how many are being interviewed and hired. Based on the total number, are you reaching a diverse group?
• Numbers around promotions can identify bias during assessment and selection. Does it take one group of employees longer to get promoted than another?
• Pay metrics can reveal bias in compensation. Is one group of employees being financially rewarded more than another group?
• Employee engagement metrics can show which groups of staff members are more engaged than others. Significant differences in scores could reveal a bias in the company.

Types of DEI metrics

DEI encompasses several different aspects of a company. What you want to track will depend on your organization’s DEI goals. For example, you may consider monitoring:

• Primary metrics such as race, gender, age, and sexual orientation.
• Secondary metrics include marital status, educational background, parental status, and religious beliefs.
• Workplace metrics include a person’s years with the company or job level.
• Style metrics include their leadership style, how they communicate, or work habits.

Consistently track the areas you want to improve within your company. For example, if you want to see more racial and gender diversity in leadership, track the related primary and workplace metrics.

Setting DEI Goals

Once you’ve reviewed the growth and areas of deficit, you can start setting goals for the new year. It’s best to create a mix of short-term and long-term goals. All long-term goals should be broken into quarterly or monthly goals and put on your calendar to hold yourself accountable.

Make sure you’re setting goals with tangible markers. Instead of broad goals, such as “Increase DEI,” make them measurable, such as “Hire a DEI coach” or “Ensure 50% of new hires come from diverse backgrounds.”

Once you figure out your goals for the new year, you can determine which metrics you need to measure. For example, if your goal is to spend a certain amount on the firm’s DEI program, you’ll track related spending. If the goal is to increase participation in DEI training, track how many activities are offered and the number of employees who attend each training.

Revisiting these goals

Once you’ve set the goals for the new year, please make a note to review them regularly at specific times. Depending on the goal, you should check its progress quarterly, monthly, or even weekly to ensure you’re on track. And by adding reminders to your calendar, you’re more likely to have success sticking with your scheduled plan.

For example, if a goal is for an entire year, checking in on the progress every quarter or each month gives you time to adjust any related plans for achieving it. Checking in each week is likely best if it’s a shorter-term goal.

No matter the goal’s time frame, checking in on goals at regular intervals is a good habit to create. Whether you’re part of a financial advisory firm looking to improve or create DEI benchmarks for the first time, there are ways to make measurable goals for the coming year. Now’s the time to reflect on the last year and set your company up for future success.

If you’re an organization interested in attracting more diversity to your company, please reach out to us at diversitas@diversitasfp.org. We’d love to hear from you!