Thread by @ErinLThomasPhD

C-Suite/HR/#DiversityandInclusion Leaders - If you condemned racism internally and/or externally last week, 👏🏿. Thank you. We needed you.

As you plan next steps, please resist the temptation to commit to all the things you *could* do. Now is the time to FOCUS. A thread./1

The #1 question I get asked is “What do companies do wrong wrt diversity, equity & inclusion?” My answer: they take on too much. This leaves them solving problems they may not even have and spreads the most finite resources - time and attention - too thin./2

It takes Angela Lansbury-level investigation to suss out the root cause(s) of systemic inequity that are baked into org design. I know we’re all fired up in solidarity but I implore you to invest now in that inquiry. It will pay off later./3

For context, it took me 3 months to uncover the ins and outs of @Upwork 's Black employee experience. This is AFTER we'd identified the data points we need to move. This is why we were fully prepared to proclaim some of our org commitments last week./4

upwork.com/resources/arti…

.@haydenbrown and I will share more of our story at our public Juneteenth webinar. Details forthcoming.

In the meantime, here are 4 critical questions to ask yourself if you're just getting started:

/5

#1- What are your #diversity goals & how far are you from them? In no other aspect of business are we satisfied with the goal of “more.” I don’t see any other way to rally a workforce around inclusion without setting and communicating tangible targets for Black representation./6

This transparency will be especially appreciated by Black employees right now. Transparency will also ground employees in what progress looks like and firm #DiversityandInclusion up as a rigorous strategic effort vs. touchy feely extracurricular./7

#2- Where are you falling short? Diversity is arithmetic. Black representation = hires-fires (& voluntary terms) over time. Examine longitudinal data to understand if you have more of a hiring or retention issue. It’s usually one or the other. That’s where you should focus./8

#3- Why are you falling short? You’ll likely discover that you need to tighten up the inputs to talent decisions. Are you clear on what success looks like? Are those criteria predictive or full of proxies? Are they applied consistently? This is antiracist talent process design./9

You may also discover that you need to drive more employee accountability for utilizing your processes as designed. Processes and protocols are only valuable if they're followed./10

This is one of the few places where a training can be beneficial, taking care to explain "the why" behind what you’re asking everyone from hiring managers to peer reviewers to do. Without "the why", antiracism becomes a compliance exercise & nobody likes to be told what to do./11

And remember that accountability includes both sticks and carrots. Get people excited about the future you’re building together./12

Regardless of where the quant data lead you, you need to get in touch with your Black talent. Leverage surveys and conversation to add texture to your understanding of their experiences. I firmly believe that all Black employees deserve a day./13

linkedin.com/pulse/black-em…

#4- What’s this all for? Your crisis response likely struck a moral tone. Your long-term messaging should reiterate the moral imperative while also articulating what an antiracist culture affords everyone: more accurate and objective decisions that benefit all employees.../14

...and the benefit of working in teams that up our game as individual contributors./15

scientificamerican.com/article/how-di…

So, if you were blitzing to draft a 100-point plan, ease up. Instead, get granular and then get going. The investment on the front end will be well worth it when you see your needle move. And if it doesn't move, you'll have a much cleaner understanding of why not./end