Tracking progress through DEI metrics? Is it doable?

There’s a saying in business: “What gets measured gets done”. And it holds true for most things. So when it comes to building an diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) workforce, relying on a data-driven model makes a lot of sense. Inequality in the workplace often comes from unconscious structural biases – see: amorphous concepts like “cultural fit” – and using data to pierce through the subjective fog can be helpful.  

By identifying concrete, transparent DEI metrics, and sticking to them, business can quickly identify their blind spots, boosting productivity and profit at the same time. Studies have shown that companies in the top 25% for ethnic and racial diversity can be 36% more profitable than less diverse companies. Diverse management teams generate 19% higher revenue. Diverse organisations are 70% more likely to capture new markets. 

It's been pretty clear for a while. DEI isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s good business, too. 

So how can organisations use DEI metrics to boost diversity and drive accountability? It starts with exactly what you’d expect: 

1. Set clear, measurable goals 

As with any data-driven model, you need to start by determining what you want to measure. And why. Vague DEI metrics will produce vague results, so make sure to define diversity, equity, and inclusion goals with specific, tangible metrics. Things like percentage of diverse hires, promotion rates, pay equity, and so on. If you’re unsure where to start, use benchmarks from industry data or internal historical trends. Once you’ve found your baseline, you’ll be able to measure any significant progress – and track it back to key policies or programs.  

2. Collect and analyse workforce data 

There are two ways to go here. The first is a quantitative approach, collecting demographic data from within the organisation, including race, gender, disability, age etc. Do this across as many categories as you can. Start with the obvious ones (recruitment and promotions), but make sure to include staff retention rates, pay equity and department-by-department breakdowns. The more granular the data, the more useful it becomes, and the more you can learn from it. The next phase is a qualitative sentiment analysis. In other words, staff surveys. If you want to find out how inclusive your staff find your workplace, ask them! Pro tip: use anonymous survey tools to better gauge on-the-ground sentiment.  

3. Monitor your hiring and advancement trends  

Hiring and promotions are the two most visible metrics for DEI. They’re not necessarily the most important, but they weigh heavily on the discussion. To evaluate your hiring funnels metrics, look at things like diversity of applicant pools, interview-to-hire ratios, and (obviously) who gets the job. Try and assess whether underrepresented employees have equal opportunities for promotions and leadership roles. Some companies like to use DEI benchmarks for this process, but you can also opt for less rigid solutions, like succession planning with inclusive talent pipelines, internal sponsorship programs, or skills-based leadership development programs. The sky’s the limit! You can also leverage HR analytics and AI tools to quickly spot patterns of bias in your hiring, promotions or salary structures. There are a tonne of options out there now.  

4. Implement scorecards and dashboards 

If you’re serious about DEI metrics, make them visible. And keep them visible. In the frantic scrum of day-to-day business, it’s all too easy to relegate DEI to the get-to-it-later box. To keep DEI front of mind, provide leadership with real-time DEI scorecards to track your company’s progress. Ensure transparency by including DEI metrics and historical trends in your quarterly and annual reports. Share these reports far and wide, with employees and stakeholders and anyone else who wants to read them. In other words, keep talking about DEI, keep sharing it, keep working at it. Inclusion isn’t something to ‘fix’ overnight; it's a long-term cultural and structural commitment, and the results might take months (or even years) to bear real fruit.   

5. Tie DEI metrics to performance  

It’s not controversial these days to link DEI metrics with executive performance benchmarks and compensation. In fact, it’s encouraged. Salesforce, McDonalds, Microsoft and Starbucks already do it. By literally linking leadership compensation with relevant diversity goals, you’re incentivizing C-Suite to foster diversity – it’s literally part of their job now. This holds managers accountable for cultivating an inclusive workplace, and sends a strong message to staff at every level: we believe so much in this principle, we’re willing to put a dollar figure on it.  

Of course, using DEI metrics does come with a few flags. None of these are deal-breakers, and they’re actually common in most data-driven performance assessments, but it’s worth keeping them in mind.  

The first is the most important: context. Having a diverse workforce that hates coming to work, or hates eachother, doesn’t help anyone. Especially the business. That’s why it’s so important to complement quantitative DEI metrics (diverse applicant pools, workforce demographics, funnel drop-off rates, pay equity etc.) with qualitative insights. In other words, the actual employee experience.  

Lastly, if leadership doesn’t buy into the data, there really isn’t much point in collecting it. DEI metrics on their own don’t make change. They inform it. They trigger it. They incentivise it. To prevent DEI data collection becoming a performative ESG smokescreen, it’s important to get cultural buy-in from senior leadership and have clear accountability mechanisms in place.  

At the end of the day, our old saying holds true: “What gets measured gets done”. But when it comes to DEI, the trick is not to let the measuring itself become the goal. We want real inclusion, real diversity, real change. Not just a bunch of spreadsheets and pie graphs.