Citation
Mattox, J.R. (2014), "Managing diversity by the numbers", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 13 No. 4/5. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-04-2014-0030
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Managing diversity by the numbers
Article Type: Metrics From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 13, Issue 4/5
The latest ideas on how to approach measurement and evaluation of HR activities
John R. Mattox
For some organisations, managing diversity is an elusive proposition. Some leaders believe the mix of people should grow organically and that it is difficult – or impossible – to prescribe and drive diversity. Other leaders understand that diversity is a differentiating factor in an effective people strategy that must be measured and managed.
Not every aspect of diversity can be measured, but measurement is essential, and good functional metrics are better than none at all. Why? Because once something is measured, it can be described, explained and managed – even predicted. Measurement is the key to executing a long-term diversity strategy.
KnowledgeAdvisors, a learning and talent analytics consultancy, advocates developing a diversity strategy in three phases:
assess the current state;
create a vision for the future; and
create a tactical plan to execute the vision.
Measurement is foremost when assessing the current state. Use HR data to develop an organisation profile. Start with metrics that are mandated by governments or regulators such as age, ethnicity and gender. Then add others, such as the length of commute, willingness to travel or multiple languages.
Next, HR and business leaders create the vision for diversity. That vision should use the same metrics as the current state profile, but the target values should reflect the desired mix of attributes. Plus, it should be connected to business goals.
Once the strategic goals are set, HR leaders must develop a tactical plan. That plan should include additional metrics to measure progress, efficiency and effectiveness. For example, you can improve diversity through recruiting.
The metrics that define the current and future state should overlay the pool of candidates. If more women need to be hired, the candidate pool should include more women. If the pool of female candidates is too small, new sources are required. If qualified women are offered jobs but refuse to join, the value proposition for the candidate needs adjustment.
A secondary source of diversity is promotions and consequently, the talent pipeline. Like recruiting, it is essential to create a profile of candidates and compare it with the future state. If there is a disconnection and minorities and women are not getting promoted in sufficient numbers, HR must find new solutions so every employee is capable when eligible for promotion.
This cycle, the current state – future state, adjustment cycle – is a simple continuous improvement process. See Figure 1.
Figure 1 Continuous improvement cycle
The best place to start this cycle is with demographic data mentioned above. Yet, the process can be improved substantially by adding three types of data: efficiency, effectiveness and outcomes data. Efficiency data tell us how many or how much. For instance, how many people were hired? How much did it cost to hire them? How long does it take to hire a candidate? “Time-to-fill” is a classic efficiency metric for recruiting.
Effectiveness data focus on quality – usually the quality of the candidate or the quality of the recruiting process. In this case, quality of the candidate is tantamount. All candidates should be qualified and contribute to closing the diversity profile gap. The quality of the hire can be assessed by metrics such as speed to competency, competency profile or performance ratings from managers, peers or customers (or all of them). These measures are available only after someone has worked for an extended period – ≥30 days. So it is essential to link performance data and hiring data to adjust the process for hiring the best candidates.
Outcomes data are more closely aligned to the business, such as productivity, sales- and revenue-generation, contribution to customer satisfaction, reduction of risk or improving cycle time. Qualified candidates that are hired quickly should improve productivity, sales or other outcome measures.
The Center for Talent Reporting (http://www.centerfortalentreporting.org) provides more information about efficiency, effectiveness and outcome measures and how they should be used to effectively measure and report a comprehensive and balanced set of useful data for decision making.
The last set of data worth gathering, monitoring and managing relates to the quality of the business processes that drive diversity like recruiting, on-boarding, developmental opportunities and succession planning. Figure 2 shows a sample of benchmarks gathered by KnowledgeAdvisors related to these processes. We are often asked to help organisations deploy a diversity survey to gather feedback from employees. By comparing survey results to benchmark values like those in Figure 2, an organisation can determine which aspects of its diversity practices need improvement.
Figure 2 Diversity benchmarks
In conclusion, diversity, like any other aspect of a business, can be managed, but first it must be measured. Using demographic data, efficiency, effectiveness, outcomes and process quality data, HR can monitor its current state and implement interventions to achieve its desired future vision.
About the author
John R. Mattox, II, PhD, is director of research for Knowledge Advisors, a provider of analytics solutions for talent development professionals. The company is headquartered in Chicago, with offices in London and Singapore.