DEI Advisory
Diversity Advisory Overview
At Exude, we don’t believe in checking the box on DEI; there needs to be a larger diversity strategy, or the efforts can and will backfire. If you have a strategy, we can provide advisory feedback and insights based on what we are seeing across the industry.
Exude will lead your leadership team through an advisory role to help identify and align key goals and objectives for your DEI Plan. This process listens to the needs of the organization and its employees to prioritize meaningful opportunities to improve the employee experience. Your consultant will guide you through the process outlined below:
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Kick-Off Meeting
Initial meeting with executive sponsor and DEI Committee to initiate partnership with to refine and support the DEI goals and planned activities.
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Intake
Our consultant(s) will meet with your Leadership Team, DEI Committee and other identified stakeholders. These meetings may be one-on-one or group sessions. Meetings will focus on the following:
- Gathering information on your current DEI approach, accomplishments and insights gained.
- Clarifying priorities and logistical parameters and any other specific guidelines that influence the engagement.
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Pre-Planning Session Questionnaire
Delivered electronically two weeks prior to the planning session, this confidential questionnaire gathers perceptions of the leadership team with regard to the DEI efforts and focus to date. Your Exude consultant will aggregate data and introduce themes identified at the strategic planning session. This serves to give the facilitator insight into the alignment of the leadership team.
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Advisory Planning Session
Your Exude consultant will facilitate a two-hour advisory planning session with senior leadership to define one-year plan. Your leadership team will work together to identify your organization’s current diversity, equity and inclusion strengths and opportunities. They will identify priorities and outline a comprehensive and manageable DEI Strategic Plan. In this session, leaders will:
- Discuss current culture, strengths, and opportunities informed by Pre-Planning Questionnaire findings.
- Establish vision of future DEI culture, needs, key focus areas.
- Outline strategic plan aligned to the organization’s overall strategic plan.
- Discuss current communications and develop DEI Communications Plan. Identify objectives, initiatives, quick wins, measures and next steps.
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DEI Advisory
In conjunction with the leadership, our consultant(s) will be advisors for your DEI planning session. They will present their findings in a draft plan, followed by the final plan. The document will include:
- A list of prioritized goals/objectives (the what) and rationale (the why).
- A plan outline including planned activities/tasks and key success measures.
- A phased timeline for deliverables, milestones and status updates.
- A communication/rollout plan.
- A list of best practices for engaging employees and activating the plan.
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Transition Meeting
After the presentation of the final DEI Plan, our consultant(s) will facilitate a meeting to exit the engagement and seamlessly transition the work to internal resources.
DEI Advisory Implementation
The rollout of a DEI Strategic Plan is influenced by several factors, including organizational readiness, collision mapping key priorities and internal resources and capacity. Exude’s consultant(s) working the implementation will use the plan to guide the lift over time and ensure that the work moves forward at the right pace for the right reasons. The actual number of hours and span of time for implementation will be custom.
DEI Outsourcing
There are times DEI work needs extra resources. Whether it’s a case of needing more capacity, more capability or both, our DEI outsourcing provides you with skilled and experienced consultants to ensure that your DEI work continues to move forward. In most cases, these resources are allocated to help on implementing DEI initiatives, and ongoing measurement of progress and can be positioned as either a project manager, program manager or coordinator to support the team execution against the DEI Strategic Plan. They will also work with the team to identify and address any issues, obstacles and/or opportunities along the way. DEI Outsourcing will be customized based on organizational needs.
Benefits of Incorporating Diversity Strategy in the Workplace
Incorporating cultural diversity strategies in the workplace can help build employee and customer satisfaction, increasing your organization’s success.
DEI program development offers numerous benefits, such as:
- Larger talent pool: Companies committed to DEI attract top talent. You’ll get more candidates from diverse backgrounds with a greater range of knowledge and skills.
- Enhanced problem-solving: When you have a diverse staff, each individual offers a unique perspective. Your team can create more effective ideas and solutions when approaching a situation from different viewpoints.
- Improved company reputation: Companies that recruit and retain individuals from diverse backgrounds often gain a positive reputation for diversity and inclusion. They also generally provide an excellent customer service experience, as a diverse staff typically has a large collection of skills and experience that helps each representative understand and serve customers better.
- Better employee retention: An inclusive work environment creates a sense of belonging and helps employees feel more connected to your business, which can increase employee retention.
- Increased creativity: When you put people together with different backgrounds and perspectives, you’re more likely to get a melting pot of fresh, innovative ideas and approaches that can put your business ahead of the competition.
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Exude’s DEI work helps you create a space where people can be their best self…and their whole self. We meet our clients where they are on their journey and provide the needed support to help them reach their goals.
Interested in assessing your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy?
