15+ Reasons We Need Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Service Provider Standards
I’ve been discussing the need for some kind of standardisation, regulation or even just monitoring of D&I service providers for nearly two years now as I’m extremely concerned with the direction the industry is going in. I’ve created content and been keeping a file of observations and evidence but I felt tentative about sharing it publicly up until now. A large proportion of the clients I have served over the last 18 months have engaged a consultancy before mine, often for the same piece of work. I've been noting down common themes, feedback and comments made by stakeholders over time about their experiences.
And then, last week, I listened to Dr Jonathon Ashong-Lamptey’s podcast entitled ‘Why Diversity & Inclusion Leaders Need to be Fact Checked’. When he began to discuss how misinformed some D&I leaders can be, I felt a knot in my chest and could not stop myself from clapping aloud in my home office. I felt relieved to hear someone else speak publicly about the need for accuracy in the work we do as D&I service providers. I don’t quite know what the correct term is but I am referring specifically to people who charge or get paid to offer diversity and inclusion services to corporate organisations.
There are now numerous books being released and content which analyses and criticises organisations for the work they fail to do when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Whilst I understand why this is the case, I think it's equally important to critically analyse the DEI industry itself and the service providers within it. Moving the needle when it comes to tangible long lasting cultural change within the workplace will require teamwork. And service providers (practitioners, consultants, leads etc whether internal, external, medium, large or independent sized consultancies) have a team role as well. If we are not careful, our industry will lose its credibility and miss the opportunity to help change the way corporate organisations address systemic inequality.
EVERY employee regardless of their identity is impacted by what an organisation does or does not do when it comes to people and culture. I also know based on my actual experience of working with organisations, genuine stakeholders are taking and using the advice provided. Personally, I feel a huge and heavy responsibility when working with organisations because at the end of the day real human beings are affected by this work. It’s not just faceless, theoretical, abstract work for me - it’s very real and tangible.
The risks are too high not to add to or start a conversation about the credibility of the DEI industry and holding service providers accountable for the work they do in this space. We need to clear up any myths, misconceptions and misinformation about what it’s like to work in the DEI industry and the actual work we do. I am in no way discouraging people from contributing their voice, time, energy and resources to conversations about diversity and inclusion. But what I am saying is that we need to have standards, specifically if we are providing paid services to corporate organisations.
A brief exchange on linkedin and yet another chat with one of my peers in private, gave me the final push I needed to share some of my observations in order to open the conversation up. I have not presented or explored any or all of the solutions to any observation I have made below as time and space on this forum does not permit it. Also I’m genuinely open to the views, perspectives and thoughts of others here.
I hope this can be read, discussed and challenged in the spirit in which it has been written - grace, respect and love for the work the DEI industry does and the impact it seeks to have.
Here are just some of my observations:
Every week I receive a message or an email from someone who would like to ‘get into’ D&I work and wants to ‘pick my brain’ or ‘ask for my advice’ on something DEI related. Sometimes, they've already 'won' the piece of work but know they do not have the expertise or range to deliver key elements. This is not work you can just ‘learn’ in a quick call and quite often the work is bespoke so all and any advice given needs to be contextualised.
I’m regularly asked for advice, guidance and coaching by individuals applying for D&I roles or positions within companies, committees and advisory groups. These individuals quite often have no experience in DEI, HR or any other people and culture background for example. That is not an issue within itself, I just find it interesting that many of them are successful at getting these roles. Further to that, some of these organisations are not providing the funding for thorough training for these stakeholders.
Further to the above, the number of open D&I vacancies across the UK and US alone continues to rise but companies do not know what skills or experience to look for when hiring for these roles beyond just knowing legislation and leading internal ERGs and networks.
The perception that offering D&I services is a lucrative trend and that companies are paying for this now, so ‘it could be a money maker’. I have seen individuals create offers and services for 10k+ even though they don’t understand the DEI landscape with corporates and / or the industry they are targeting. Or maybe they've spoken at a few events or been asked to speak because they are a minority even though diversity and inclusion is not their area of expertise.
D&I leads, heads of or officers currently in post have no experience of workplace culture or change work nor a foundational understanding of systemic inequality, the dynamics of power, prejudice and bias. Not to mention the fact that they are under funded and resourced as a function. I spend a lot of time educating stakeholders (before we even start working together) on these issues. There is also a need for the stakeholder to be supported and coached in their role in addition to the support we provide the organisation. These signs are not always picked up by others who offered services to the organisation.
The number of courses and certifications for D&I people (some of which take half a day or a day to complete) keeps rising. The content tends to focus on the transactional and legislative elements of D&I and not the core skills, competencies and qualities needed in these roles. In addition, the content is not generally created by individuals who ACTUALLY do this kind of work within organisations and can share practical experience.
Individuals sharing their thoughts and opinions on various topics DEI related (or seemingly so) on social media platforms and gaining lots of followers or likes on their posts. After which they begin charging ‘what they’re thoughts are worth’. Most of these posts come from personal experience (is this always the case?) or opinion. Also these individuals do not have ACTUAL experience of working within organisations from a DEI perspective, they have no previous or even current corporate clients. This is hugely problematic and yet I see companies engaging these individuals for culture change work.
Influencers, commentators, activists, supporters being engaged by corporate organisations to consult or provide practitioner work. There is a difference between those types of contributors and the work and expertise of consultants and/or practitioners. Part of the problem is that corporate stakeholders can’t always tell the difference until it's too late and / or no results are achieved from engaging the wrong people. All of these types of contributors have a valuable role to play on a societal basis and even internally within an organisations, but this does not mean they all have the skills to lead on these pieces of work.
Consultancies in the DEI space which lack diversity and inclusion internally in their own business. Oh the irony. Further to that, consultancies which did not offer/feature support related to race at work or what is now commonly called anti racism work prior to the resurgence of Black Lives Matter suddenly cobbling (made up word I know but you get the point) together content on race and offering these services. I have personally seen the content / decks provided to corporate organisations by medium and large sized DEI consultancies around systemic inequality and race. In one particular case, most of the deck contained social media quotes, content and images. There was no fact checking or contextualisation of some of the content and the corporate organisation was none the wiser (understandably). As you can imagine, this became a rather interesting piece of work in the end, as were the conversations held with the client.
Individuals or collective of individuals offering corporate organisations DEI services when they have no real, actual or recent experience in doing this before.
Discussions around being paid ‘what you deserve’ and what ‘you’re worth’ when said individuals are unable to evidence or show the transformational value, outcomes or outputs of their work with organisations. ‘Talking’ to stakeholders within companies at an event or participating in panel discussions or giving short talks during an awareness month is not the same as working within organisations on specific projects and streams of work.
Individuals coming into DEI work or roles solely because of their ‘lived experience’ as a minority. This is inappropriate and problematic. Offering DEI support to organisations is not an opportunity to air out personal individual experiences nor is it to be used as self ‘healing’ experiences or replacement for therapy or counselling. Personal lived experience alone should not be the anchor for working in this space nor is it a default qualification for doing the work.
Over 80% of in house D&I leads are white women and over 83% of HR professionals are white women. And a lot of the time, they are paid more and questioned far less than their non white DEI counterparts. We need more qualified, experienced and evidence based diversity within these roles. And yes it matters.
There are too many generalists in the DEI space whose main source of information is the content shared on linkedin, instagram or one or a few ‘thought leaders’ in this space. How are the core skills needed in these roles being cultivated and nurtured? This work is not only about knowing facts or figures or regurgitating information you’ve read in an article or whitepaper. There are some key qualities and competencies needed when doing this work such as self awareness, facilitation skills, leading uncomfortable conversations etc etc and many more.
Service providers in the DEI space who accept work which is not in their field of expertise. For example, consultancies offering work related to anti-racism when they have no internal expertise in this area (and haven’t addressed the lack of racial diversity within their own business either). Or consultants accepting work specifically about LGBTQ issues in the workplace. I received more than one request for this during Pride Month and declined all of them. The right and ethical thing to do is make a referral.
Organisations now relying on or being influenced by individuals on Linkedin who have received awards (for work not DEI related at that), who have thousands of followers, high numbers of likes on posts or have been included in round up articles of the ‘Top 50…’ when selecting who to engage for DEI work.
People in the DEI space and corporate organisations are unable to identify the difference between an influencer, activist, supporter, consultant or practitioner. Some individuals, networks and platforms don't know which camp they fall into themselves. Having an interest in this area, having an audience you can influence or speak to and / or having a passion for equality in society as a whole does not mean you should be offering paid services to corporate organisations. Context, evidence, research and practical experience is key when it comes to workplace DEI work.
I’ve personally gone on calls with clients and they have spent 60 minutes in tears because of the pressure, the learning curve, internal resistance, criticism and challenges they face while this work is happening. I don’t see enough practitioners and consultants preparing their clients for the way this work may affect them personally as well as professionally. Stakeholder aftercare is key as part of the overall cultural shift / overhaul we are trying to achieve as an industry.
Individuals writing books in the DEI space as a personal branding strategy although they may have little experience in working with corporate organisations in this space. Also platforms producing round up lists of influencers and changemakers as content pieces but clearly those included have not been verified. I’ve seen lists with individuals included who DO NOT work in DEI. We need to see beyond personal branding and marketing strategies when identifying which experts to engage and pay for DEI services.
This is why we offer DEI competency training to corporate organisations in order to:
Elevate the credibility and reputation of the DEI industry by holding it accountable and ethical through training, education and coaching.
Upskill and support the development and growth of DEI consultants, practitioners and service providers (whether internal, external or independent).
Help corporate organisations to identify, select and engage experienced and self aware DEI experts in order to ensure they see an ROI on their diversity, equity and inclusion endeavours.
We deeper into these issues in the Good Soil Leaders Podcast (for corporate organisations and in house HR & D&I leads) and the Confessions of a DEI Practitioner podcast (for practitioners and consultants).
