Hiring your organization’s first internal DEI leader (part 4 of 4)

A few weeks ago, we started what has turned into a four part blog post series on hiring an internal DEI leader and/or consultant.

First, we asked, when is it time to hire an internal DEI leader? The short answer is - it depends, but it’s not necessarily as early as you might think.

Then we asked, how can the process of hiring a DEI consultant itself be co-creative?

Next, we talked about why DEI belongs outside HR, despite being critical to HR.

Today, we are closing out the series by discussing the process of hiring an internal DEI leader, assuming your organization has considered some of the questions we’ve already raised about the stage of DEI organizational development you’re in, and whether it’s the right time to hire an internal DEI leader.

As a reminder, here is how we like to think about how DEI evolves at organizations:

DEI ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

We talked about this in our first blog post of this series, but here is a summary:

Stage 1: Initiation/grassroots - starting, or trying to get DEI work started within the organization which might include issuing a statement, looking at diversity stats, starting a book club or discussion group, attending outside workshops and lectures, forming internal affinity groups, speaking up about harm, and making the case to leadership/leadership making the case for more formal DEI.

Stage 2: Assessment and discussion - beyond grassroots efforts, taking a holistic view and assessment of work culture, systems, policies, processes, experiences of harm or unmet needs and disproportionate impact to those who fall outside of dominant culture identities and norms, and having discussions across the organization to create shared language, understanding and conversations about priorities to shift culture towards equity and inclusion. Typically at this stage we would recommend organizations have workshops and discussions internally that are customized to the organization’s needs - these are usually best facilitated by an outside consultant, working with an internal DEI workgroup or committee, as well as an DEI leader if there is one.

Stage 3: Strategy & commitment - from the data gathered and the discussions and brainstorming in stage 2, a DEI strategy and commitment for implementation is made. We usually recommend at this stage that internal DEI workgroups are formed around particular priorities/areas of focus. This is also a good time to bring on an internal DEI leader who can coordinate these efforts day-to-day.

Stage 4: Implementing and operationalizing - here is where an internal DEI leader starts to become more of a necessity. For small companies and organizations, it doesn’t have to be someone hired from the outside into a full time role. It can be someone internally who takes it on as part of their role, in collaboration with a DEI task force and workgroups - but if you do this, make sure you allocate their hours and reduce their other responsibilities accordingly, and make sure this is set up as an advancement of this person’s career towards leadership in the direction that they want to go, and not something that gets in the way of their desired career trajectory. Whatever the structure, it generally takes at least a year for it to become operationalized ie roles, responsibilities, and a cadence of meetings and communication as well as a workflow has been established, and some of the initial priorities have been addressed.

Stage 5: Integrating and developing - once the workflow has been established, it’s important that there is a system for iterating, developing and recalibrating priorities as well as orienting new staff into the DEI journey.

Stage 6: Innovating - this is the stage where DEI is firmly established and integrated into how the organization operates and there is confidence that it will outlast any specific individual or individuals who have been the strongest champions. There is still and will always be work to do, and like any form of health, it is not something that can be checked off on a list - it has to be maintained. However, this is where DEI can become a true driver of innovation.

When hiring for your first internal DEI leader, you might then fall under one of the following categories:

a) We are in very early stages of DEI (either starting stage 1, or ready to move to stage 2) but hiring an internal DEI leader feels like the right move so we have someone dedicated to getting DEI initiatives off the ground, including hiring a DEI consultant. This might be particularly true for larger companies or organizations where having someone embedded within the leadership structure will who can work to advocate for and accelerate grassroots efforts will be more successful than leaving it entirely to “volunteers.”

b) We have done some DEI work, including with an external DEI consultant (stage 2) and we have an internal DEI workgroup or committee but are ready to further build capacity internally by hiring someone who ultimately can facilitate implementation and integration of DEI into every aspect of the organization (either starting stage 3, or completing stage 3 and ready to move to stage 4).

Here are some of the steps to consider:

Ideally we would recommend forming a DEI workgroup prior to hiring the internal DEI leader so they can at minimum become the hiring committee for the position. Ideally this group includes staff from across the organization representing different departments, levels of seniority, tenure as well as identity as far as gender, race, sexual orientation etc. and that this group includes or reports directly to and has access to leadership.
If forming a full DEI workgroup is not possible, this should be one of the first responsibilities of the internal DEI leader, and in the meantime, there should still be a diverse hiring committee for the position. If you are not already using hiring committees for positions, this is a good time to start. We recommend that candidates meet with the hiring committee altogether in one meeting, not in a series of meetings with each member of the committee individually, and that they get the chance to ask questions first before being asked questions. The hiring committee members should then have a chance to reflect and write up notes from each interview, then submit their notes to the group and meet to discuss.
If you have not worked with a DEI consultant yet, that might also be one of the first responsibilities for an internal DEI leader, in collaboration with a DEI workgroup.
Make sure the internal DEI leader will be set up for success and isn’t just a token hire who everyone can then “delegate” responsibility for DEI to. How will the internal DEI leader be empowered to hold all leaders accountable to DEI? What will their access be to leadership? What resources will they have as far as allocated time from DEI workgroup members or additional team members, and a budget for a DEI consultant as well as their own professional development and support? How will they themselves be protected from repercussions or retaliation? If you don’t intend to hire a DEI consultant, we at least recommend that your new DEI leader have access to outside DEI coaching and support. However, recognizing that as DEI consultants we of course biased towards this, we highly recommend considering that you will likely need an external DEI consultant as well as an internal DEI leader in order to successfully integrate DEI into your organization long term.
Write the job description. Getting into the intricacies of hiring best practices is beyond the scope of this post, but below are some skills and responsibilities to consider including, depending on your situation.

DEI skills

Here are some of the key skills we currently list in our own job descriptions at CCI for the DEI consulting team that we don’t often see in generic job descriptions for internal DEI roles. The caveat of course is that you may not have the internal ability to even assess for these skills, so it might be worth hiring a DEI consultant to assist (you can reach out to us if you’d like our help, noting that we typically have a 2-3 month lead time to start work with new client and 6 months or more for a major engagement).

Advanced knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion topics (e.g. systems of oppression, anti-racism, white supremacy, bias, power analysis, privilege, microaggressions, assimilation, model minority, brave safe space, restorative justice, bystander intervention, employee and project life cycle etc.) and the ability to provide training and coaching around these topics
Ability to balance rational and intuitive thinking skills in order to navigate complexity, uncertainty, tension, conflict and difference while moving the work forward
High level of self-awareness and ability to self-identify and modulate ones own emotions, trigger points, personal history, trauma, defensiveness, bandwidth and capacity
Focus on identifying needs and designing and delivering programs to meet those needs
Strong coaching skills - ability to speak from one's own perspective rather than give advice, and to model consent and self-advocacy while dismantling traditional systems of power, expertise and hierarchy
Ability to hold space for the multiple truths of different experiences and bridge across differences to create a path forward
Ability to "create a circle not a ladder" where each person is valued for their full humanity and everything they bring regardless of where they sit in hierarchies of organization structure, power, privilege, identity, experience, expertise etc.

For an internal DEI role I would also add:

Ability to hold leaders within an organization accountable to DEI and to align the needs of the organization with the needs of its internal and external stakeholders while centering on the needs of those most impacted by systems of oppression in order to drive progress towards equity and inclusion in service of the organization’s mission

DEI responsibilities

These might include:

Forming/facilitating an internal DEI workgroup of a diverse group of staff from across the organization who can function as DEI advocates and stakeholders
Hiring/coordinating with an external DEI consultant to deliver workshops, coaching, education, and facilitated brainstorming leading to the co-creation and implementation of a DEI strategic plan that articulates self-identified needs, priorities and areas of focus for shifting culture towards equity and inclusion
Facilitating employee resource groups and affinity groups
Collaborating with leaders on integrating DEI into every aspect of the organization
Ensuring that there are opportunities for input, feedback, accountability, follow-through and transparent communication throughout the organization
Ensuring that there is a regular process for measuring, analyzing and reporting on the progress and impact of DEI initiatives against the DEI strategic plan

Note that responsibilities during the earlier stages of DEI organizational development will shift as the organization progresses and having some way of communicating and accounting for that will be important.

Now it’s your turn. What stage of DEI organizational development is your organization at and what are some next steps you might take in order to advocate for progress?

Banner photo by Tianhao Zhang on Unsplash