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You may have clicked on this post expecting one or a set of concrete items that could be checked off a list of actions that will make a company “good” for Hispanics. Unfortunately, we have found that it is not that easy. Being “good” is more akin to a journey than a set of actions. It is a state of being on the outcome end of a continual feedback loop used by stakeholders to gauge progress and make adjustments when needed. There is, however, a certain set of behaviors that companies that are “good” for Hispanics tend to adopt.
In our 2019 HACR Corporate Inclusion Index Report, we discuss the importance of adopting diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategies in order to ensure success. A critical component of setting clear objectives for D&I initiatives is establishing a starting point through benchmarking. Benchmarking (the practice of taking industry best practices and comparing them to your own processes and performance metrics) allows companies to chart a course for where they want to be.
Companies that are more inclusive for Hispanics also track key performance indicators for their D&I efforts. As we mention in our 2019 HACR CII Report, companies that track how they are impacting their Hispanic employees and their communities are able to nimbly respond to the ever-changing landscape of employee and community needs. Tracking encourages companies to be more transparent and promotes accountability for past and future actions in their D&I journey. Furthermore, transparency is more than sharing information; it is an invitation. When done right, transparency invites stakeholders to constructively contribute to the discussion and can lead to the crowdsourcing of solutions to some of their most difficult D&I problems. Transparency also builds trust with employees and community members as it shows a willingness on the company’s behalf to listen and improve.
Finally, in our 2019 HACR STEM Report we discuss the importance of making informed decisions to adopting effective D&I strategies. Using the information collected from their tracking and sharing efforts, companies can identify and prioritize strategies that will result in desired outcomes. In contrast, the temptation may be to adopt practices that have worked for or are listed by other organizations. The danger here is adopting solutions that are not a good fit and thereby either exacerbating the problem or delaying meaningful change.
In review, these practices are all connected and should be adopted in a systematic fashion:
- Set D&I objectives through careful measurement, diligent tracking and benchmarking in order to identify problem areas
- Share information in order to get meaningful feedback and buy-in from employees, communities, and other stakeholders
- Evaluate findings and use them to make informed decisions on what to start with, where there are clear gaps, and how to continue with positive momentum and goodwill
Making these connections is the goal and purpose of the 2020 HACR Corporate Inclusion Index (CII), which opened on January 7, 2020. The HACR CII survey is a benchmarking tool for companies looking to determine where their practices are with respect to Hispanic inclusion and tracking progress overtime. If you have any questions about participating in the 2020 HACR CII, please contact us at research@hacr.org or click here to learn more.
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