Lifestagetalent diagnostic & equity audits
Best Practices in talent diagnostic & equity audits
Regular HR reviews and equity audits to determine strengths and gaps across all stages of the talent lifecycle ensure your systems are effective, compliant, and equitable.
Quantitative and qualitative data should be reviewed in a systematic way to illuminate trends across organizational talent practices. And while the results matter, the process is just as important: include a diverse group of stakeholders in every step to ensure buy-in.
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Step
1
Conduct audits and analyze results
When you’re ready, run the diagnostic selected during the Design phase. Review the results carefully and compare them to the goals you identified during the Plan phase. Consider: Where are you performing well, and where are the biggest opportunities for improvement? Which opportunities will most significantly impact your ability to hire and retain staff? If you have demographic data, are there significant differences across demographic groups, and what do they mean? Work with your stakeholder group to prioritize what to focus on first, based on impact and equity.
RESOURCES
DEIA Callout
Talent diagnostics and equity audits can expose hidden biases and guide you towards building a more inclusive talent pipeline, which can contribute to a stronger, more diverse future for your organization.
implement & monitor
Step
2
Develop an action plan
Once you have the results of your talent diagnostic and equity audit, it is time to develop an action plan. Your action plan should include results from the diagnostic and audit, priority areas to address, the strategies and tactics you will implement grounded in the root cause, and a timeline and owner for key tasks needed to implement the plan.
DEIA Callout
Ensure a diverse group of stakeholders are able to provide input on an initial plan, and then incorporate their feedback. Prioritize actions that target historically marginalized groups by race, gender, and sexual orientation, and reconsider priorities if these groups are not the focus.
implement & monitor
Step
3
Communicate Results
Communicate the results of the diagnostic or audit to all stakeholders that you identified in your communications strategy. Consider capturing the takeaways from the process on slides or a handout to ensure it is digestible and clear for each stakeholder group. Ideally, you should implement a “communication cascade” to incorporate each level of seniority into the communication for the staff member subgroup right below them.
RESOURCES
DEIA Callout
To communicate the results of an audit, it is crucial to foster transparency and accountability by presenting findings clearly and inclusively, using accessible language and formatting.
implement & monitor
Step
4
Track Outcomes
To foster follow through, establish a regular cadence with key stakeholders for checking in against your action plan. Leverage existing forums such as staff meetings and have a standing agenda item to review your tracker and get input from owners. Quarterly, schedule a longer step back to review progress toward goals and adjust the plan.
DEIA Callout
Make sure that you have a diverse group of stakeholders, especially those most impacted by the Action Plan reviewing and providing feedback and reactions to the results. Qualitative results can be as important, and sometimes even more impactful than quantitative results because they are grounded in the lived experiences of those most impacted by the problem.
implement & monitor
Step
5
Schedule Equity Pauses
Throughout the diagnostic and equity audit process, schedule multiple times to conduct an equity pause. An equity pause should include assessing the extent to which data from all staff member subgroups is being included in the analysis and the extent to which the findings (particularly the ones identified as key strengths or areas for growth) are skewed toward any particular subgroups. This type of pause should incorporate other stakeholders to mitigate the potential for bias.
DEIA Callout
Disaggregate your feedback survey by subgroup (seniority, race, gender identity) to identify potential bias. Quick follow-up calls or meetings with stakeholders from various groups can further reveal subgroup reactions and ensure a comprehensive understanding.
EdFuel can design talent diagnostic & equity audits systems and processes for you.