The global COVID-19 pandemic and increased awareness of the ongoing violence against Black people have highlighted the critical need for organizations to better support their Black workforce by creating more equitable and inclusive workplaces, write Christina Brodzik, principal, and Sophia Zeinu, manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP.
The human resources (HR) organization is particularly well-positioned to jumpstart an increased focus on diversityOpens a new window , equity, and inclusion (DEI). Of course, taking the first step can be daunting – especially in today’s hyperpolarized climate. Often, the fear of doing the wrong thing can smother any effort at all. But doing nothing is not a choice.
There are practical steps organizations can take, many of which are outlined in Deloitte’s “Support your Black workforce, nowOpens a new window .†HR has an opportunity to lead the way.
10 Ways HR Can Support the Black Workforce
While each organization has a different context, history, and strategy, there are 10 common actions HR can take to address the needs of the Black workforce in order to better support all members of the workforce.
1. Educate, activate, and support leaders to help accelerate their own DEI change journeys
Anti-Black racism in the United States (and across the globe) is not new. It is deeply rooted in history. Leaders must understand the root causes of the problem (e.g., chattel slavery, redlining, lack of access to education) to be an effective part of the solution.
Change will not happen overnight – it will take time and sustained effort. Leaders need to know about the history of anti-Black racism, about recent events of violence against Black people, about the presence and impact of microaggressions.
They need to know about key terminologies – like “racism,†“anti-racism,†“privilege,†and “equity,†and how they can play an active role in creating a more equitable workplace, from both an individual and structural lens (e.g., expectations or policies they can establish within their span of control).
HR can prepare leaders with informative programming and resources such as short articles, videos, and stories from Black authors or invite leaders to listening sessions to hear the impact on and fears of Black colleagues who choose to share firsthand.
2. Provide concrete tactics and toolkits to help people managers build equitable and inclusive teams
Team dynamics and comfort levels with talking about DEI can vary across an organization. HR can provide leaders resources (e.g., key messages, talking points, toolkits, FAQs) to champion the organizational DEI vision and model inclusive language and behaviors.
These materials can be rolled out by trained facilitators to help create psychological safety, and these facilitators can join discussions to help guide the meaningful dialogue. HR can build toolkits to focus on topics and scenarios tailored to their organizational culture and DEI challenges.
3. Define and promote allyship as a consistent practice to advocate for Black colleagues
Allyship is consistent action practiced by individuals, not an obtainable title.
HR can foster allyship across the organization by aligning on a unified definition of allyship, providing allyship education at key moments throughout the talent lifecycle (e.g., interviewer training, leadership development programming), and sharing practical examples of allyship in action relevant to different members of the workforce (e.g., individual contributors, middle managers, executive leaders). HR can also infuse allyship expectations into broader leadership behavioral models.
Learn More: Is Diversity and Inclusion Technology Truly Designed to Overcome Biases? Q&A With TEKsystems
4. Establish and invest in affinity groups (including employee or business resource groups) to foster connection and belonging
Research shows that affinity groups improve the experience and advancement of Black workersOpens a new window . Given the conversation about racial inequities and the challenge of operating in an increasingly virtual world, these groups can provide a safe space for dialogue and support for Black colleagues, as well as a valuable resource for leaders who want to co-create DEI strategies with members of their Black workforce.
HR can advocate for budget, executive sponsorship, and institutional support for groups to amplify and sustain their impact.
5. Increase transparency and accountability by sharing diversity data within and outside the organization
Data can point to diversity, equity, and inclusion gaps that may be difficult to admit, but nevertheless still exist. Research shows underrepresented groups likely are experiencing bias in the workplaceOpens a new window , and it is crucial to quantify gaps in order to identify relevant solutions and create a plan to implement them.
HR can champion transparency to promote sustained commitment and accountability, at both the individual and organizational level, to equitable processes, practices, programs, and policies.
6. Define DEI metrics and goals – across the talent lifecycle and beyond – to promote accountability
If something is not measured, it can be challenging to inspire collective, sustained action and assess progress.
HR can hold leaders, and the organization more broadly, accountable by establishing a baseline and creating quantitative and qualitative goals for every stage of the talent lifecycle – sourcing and recruiting, development and performance management, total rewards, succession planning, exit, and more.
HR can also establish broader goals associated with inclusion and belonging that can be measured via surveys or pulse checks to inspire action across the full breadth of the workforce experience.
7. Support the personal growth and advancement of Black individuals through sponsorship
Research has shown that the sponsor-protégé relationship is particularly criticalOpens a new window to retaining top talent and career advancement for all workers.
In contrast to a mentor who only gives advice, sponsors open doors. People of color with a sponsor are 65% more likelyOpens a new window to be satisfied with their rate of advancement than people of color without a sponsor.
To jumpstart a sponsorship program, HR can identify senior leaders committed to supporting others to serve as sponsors, prepare them to effectively understand and help address some of the unique needs of Black individuals, and establish clear expectations and accountabilities for both sponsors and protégés to reap the desired benefits.
Learn More: For a Solid Diversity & Inclusion Strategy, Follow the Data
8. Modernize talent mobility and succession practices to improve retention and advancement of the Black workforce
Traditional career models can prioritize tenure and title above skills and potential. HR can help the organization realize the potential of Black individuals within the organization through modernizing internal mobility and succession practices. Modern internal mobility programs can enable Black internal candidates to explore and chart new career pathways across the organization. And modern succession planning can help the organization identify, prepare, and advance a more diverse portfolio of leaders as a natural outcome of an objective, intentional identification process. Building a transparent and equitable career model not only strengthens the overall talent experience internally, it organically creates an employer brand to attract more top talent.
9. Evaluate job descriptions and requirements to produce more equitable outcomes
Minimum requirements stated in many job descriptions and/or collected through the application process (e.g., bachelor’s degree requirement, criminal record) may unnecessarily disqualify otherwise qualified individuals. They can also disproportionately impact Black applicants because of well-documented inequities in the education system and disparities in criminal justice outcomes.
HR can drive equity by reevaluating job requirements to focus on those skills and capabilities genuinely required for the job or remove criminal history requirements from initial job applications when not mandated by regulatory requirements.
10. Embed human-centered change practices within every DEI effort
HR leaders and professionals can manage any of the above actions as they would every organizational transformation: through human-centered change principles.
These principles – executed in practice through defining stakeholder needs with personas and journey maps, co-creating solutions with impacted groups, and prototyping to gather feedback, for example – infuse human-centered design into organizational change management to accelerate sustainable change relevant to each stakeholder’s perspectives and needs.
For the Black workforce, human-centered change practices may help build understanding and empathy for the lived experiences and needs of Black workers in your organization, which are critical to creating more equitable systems and processes.
Regardless of the starting point, driving DEI requires leaders and the entire workforce to evolve how they operate to center DEI in programs, policies, processes, and practices that better support the Black workforce. HR is uniquely positioned to lead this change using the ten actions outlined here – as a start, but not the end.
Creating a more equitable and supportive environment for the Black workforce will take courage, persistence, and patience, but the mandate is clear, and the time to move is now.
Co-Author:
Sophia Opens a new window ZeinuOpens a new window , Manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Sophia Zeinu (she/her/hers) is a leader in Deloitte’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Client Service Practice. She has extensive human capital consulting experience, specializing in DEI assessments, strategy development, and execution, as well as custom DEI experiential lab design and facilitation. She uses her experience supporting global Fortune 500 clients navigate large-scale transformations to bring DEI efforts from insight to impact at scale and uses human-centered design to develop and implement impactful DEI solutions. She has facilitated DEI sessions for thousands of employees at Fortune 500 organizations. A DEI thought leader, she recently co-authored the Support Your Black Workforce, Now perspectiv
Which best practices are you following to create an equitable and inclusive workplace? Tell us on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or Facebook.Opens a new window