In a world increasingly interested in creating a culture of values and ethical behaviours, organisations often proclaim their Diversity Equality and Inclusion ("DEI") credentials to attract and retain talent. But do they really understand the meaning of DEI and are they truly committed to and invested in it?
We sat down with Dr Knight, founder of Knight Consulting Group LLC (https://www.theknightconsultinggroup.com/), to discuss the tangible advantages that DEI brings to organisations and the challenges that DEI advisers encounter in the work environment and beyond.
Dr Knight, let's start with you. How did you get to work in the field of DEI?
I think it's important to share, it was not called DEI when I first engaged in this work. My graduate degree in social studies and global education was foundational to formalising an understanding of and identifying inequities that exist among people, in processes and systems and then solving for those inequities. Since my university years at the Ohio State University, I have had a focus on cultural competency and cultural proficiency and was educated on how to have a global perspective. It was important to understand the value and the significance of viewing the world from a global lens.
Back then, I was also engaging in discourse and doing work that advanced how technology is and would be used to impact our global perspective. Understanding the work was about building perspectives and ensuring belonging in all areas. What's interesting to note, we didn't reference the work as being called or titled DEI, but at the same time we were engaging with case studies from global companies about products and inclusion. Then, coupled with my business background, I understood and I was taught to push the limits in areas that weren’t always at the forefront in this work. We had to understand a big part of this work was about culture and perspectives that are rooted in actions and behaviours that drive positive outcomes, which also included all things that impacted belonging.
Understanding multiple perspectives means understanding the diversity of people, with culture really being foundational to how we think and how we talk about people. While also understanding the systems, any system, process, product, service …is driven, developed or implemented by people.
In my work, I have gained a wealth of experience across different industries and disciplines, I recall first doing this work and being called to drive the development and implementation of DEI strategies and help organisations develop a foundation of sustainable and systemic practices... A practical, business-oriented approach to DEI was embedded in my university studies.
When you understand the global lens and you understand that there is a need to make space for everyone in the room, while being mindful about who is not in the room. That is the application of the DEI theory. Then, one must consider and understand when applying DEI in practice you need to recognise that tools and strategies should be customised or built for a specific situation, issue or cause. This means that you need to understand when to pivot or when to slow down to do the work.
Because I have that foundational and grounding in business, my approach is to first understand the people, the business and the communities they serve and then the work becomes about working with people on how to customise and apply leading best practices to that business as well as the community it serves in an effective and meaningful way to ensure positive growth and outcomes.
If you were to summarise the concept of DEI in one sentence, how would you describe it?
When we talk about DEI, sometimes we talk about DEI as initiatives, we talk about it as a programme, as a 'thing' as opposed to systemic work and work that is the application of processes, procedures that ensures equitable practices in every part of the business.
How do you describe a culturally competent and culturally proficient work environment?
Cultural competency and cultural proficiency are two different things. Being culturally competent means acquiring an understanding, an expertise about cultural differences, but it is something that can be thought of as static. Proficiency means that you don't stop at being culturally competent. When you're culturally proficient, you're constantly working towards progress. You're constantly thinking about the role culture plays in the operation of how you do work, so culturally proficient organisations are organisations where people and systems are constantly operating with the global culture they are serving in mind. Culturally proficient in an organisation means there's always a pulse check. There are measures, feedback loops and open channels of communication.
A culturally proficient organisation recognises that there are leading best practices, but these need to be tested though the feedback loop and, if necessary, adapted to the context in which they are applied. They may or may not work for everyone and everywhere and you keep doing the work to find what works best for the culture you are working with.
When working with an organisation, we are always thinking about cultural proficiency. We may not use the language but we work with a culturally proficient mindset that allows an organisation to grow in ways where they are not always thinking about how culture impacts or plays a role in the workplace and among the workforce.
Why is DEI important?
The short answer is that if DEI is not addressed, this means putting the organisation at risk of being pushed out of the market. DEI is part of the system, it directly impacts a company's profits and losses.
This work is not only about attracting and retaining talent from historically underrepresented groups but it is also about ensuring your people have the best environment to be productive, to want to refer business or people and will want to stay. Understanding that research shows that with DEI work comes higher productivity and increased revenue, organisations are doing the work to not only hire but create environments for belonging and upward mobility. The return on an investment in DEI can be measured in a multitude of ways: from the monetary viewpoint, which shows money saved on retention, to the respect that is garnered from a clear understanding that all customers are equally important.
When a business can understand this, it can also understand that if it doesn't have or acquire the necessary expertise to direct and lead the efforts towards diversity, equality and inclusion, it is at risk.
Thinking that DEI is simply the "soft side" of business (people), that it doesn't have an impact on profits and losses or that it means excluding straight white men/women is a misunderstanding and a mistake.
Can you give an example of what you consider your greatest success when advising a business?
Clients that have bought into DEI, that while they may not fully understand the what and the how… the clients with the most success understand it is ongoing work and the journey will not be easy.
I had a client, ten years ago, in the midst of a difficult discrimination case. We were with them for four years. The organisation understood that addressing an issue was not about a one time workshop. Fundamentally, the organisation saw the need for cultural competency work. When we concluded the work, the organisation adopted best DEI practices that were systemic and sustainable and implemented the work across the organisation because the leadership had bought into cultural competency work and had allowed us to lead in collaboration with their leaders.
For me the goal is to make sure that when I leave, there is someone in place that can continue to drive the work going forward, that understands DEI (is 'competent') but that can also continue to drive the work as well (is 'proficient'). We strive for cultural proficiency in our work, which is why we do not always use the terminology DEI.
What has been your greatest challenge?
The greatest challenge is that people continue to misunderstand DEI and continue to weaponize DEI and the work. For that reason, we require a level set in all the work we do with and for our clients and that means starting with defining DEI.
That said, the most common challenge is when everyone in an organisation is not on the same page. Often, we find that part of our time is building relationships so we can get to the real work of supporting and driving growth in organisations rooted in cultural proficiency tools and strategies. Working with leadership is where we start with our work and when an entire leadership team is not bought in or understanding, it can be a challenge… but it is necessary for at least the CEO, Superintendent, Managing Partner or Executive Director to have a clear understanding of the work so they can help drive internal and external communication, with our support.
Then there is the pushback. Fortunately, we understand the fundamental journey of DEI and have tools and strategies to work through organisational pushback. We also understand the challenges of pushback can be rooted in miscommunication or lack of communication. In the past, we have found it challenging when a leader has not communicated clearly to the organisation what the work is about, which is why we even work with our clients on messaging, internally and externally.
When pushback occurs because there is someone on a leadership team who is not trying to drive the work, that can be a challenge. We have found this can be rooted in a lack of understanding around setting measurable DEI goals. In one instance, we learned spending more time and education with a leadership team so there was complete understanding and buy-in on DEI goal setting is invaluable.
In short, we understand the challenges of the work are often about education and understanding, which is why we spend an ample amount of time on the front end establishing what the work is and what are the desired and expected outcomes. Once you understand the work… you should know you will have to be up for the challenge for and with your clients, whether internally or externally.
A word of wisdom about social washing?
It is recognising that we've been in this space where the social washing, the checking the box exercise, the 'make it look pretty' in some cases still dominate. The truth is that DEI is not pretty or ugly, it's work and it is definitely not about checking the box. We are at a time where people are evaluating organisations based on their practices and policies on DEI.
Or simply put, if you have a bad wound, no one wants a bandaid if they really need an operation… So if you think about it, people can see and more so feel it when you are using a bandaid and oftentimes know when you should really get expert help. And, what we are sometimes seeing is that people are making choices about who to do business with and where to work when an organisation has not fully committed to furthering DEI.
Then, with so much of the information about an organisations DEI journey is public, we are at a time where organisations are also evaluating one another and choosing to do or not to do business with one another based on how they measure up.
This work needs to be systemic and sustainable and people can see when it is not.
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