How To Start A DE&I Initiative From Those Who Have Already Done It Well
Broaching the wide subject of diversity, equality and inclusion for the first time can be daunting. It’s no small task to challenge industry norms and push for change in what is considered a traditional industry. In a small organisation, creating a DE&I initiative often falls to someone who already has a full-time job to do.
A lot can be learned from other organisations that have already started to make a difference in people’s lives through successful DE&I initiatives. Bisnow spoke to the inaugural honourees of the Rise UK programme to gather their advice on where another business should begin.
“For an initiative to be successful, a company has to start by embedding it in its business goals,” JLL Head of Learning and Development Jennifer Jones said. “It can’t just be something a DEI team does but has to be part of a meaningful strategy. Otherwise, you won’t have the support. It’s not possible to have a quick fix.”
One of the best ways to embed an initiative into business goals is to start by analysing data on DE&I so the company knows what it is aiming for, Jones said. JLL analyses staff information such as attrition rates, performance-based ratings, turnover and promotions. It also takes time to understand the potential audience for a DE&I initiative to find out what has worked in the past.
Steven Sinclair, senior people business partner at CBRE Investment Management, said having this starting point is vital. To stand a fighting chance of creating an initiative that will be successful, it is important to know what you’re aiming for.
“When I got into this field eight years ago, I couldn't put my hand on my heart and say I knew what I wanted to achieve,” he said. “But you have to have some idea about what you’re aiming for and why you want to do it. You need to look internally to see what’s going to work for your company.”
Once you have decided on the most appropriate DE&I area to tackle, the next stage is to create an initiative that is doable.
"You need to start small and do one thing well,” said Serena Phillips, Savills professional apprenticeships manager, graduate administration. “You could start by having a business admin apprentice, for instance, to learn how it works because the world of apprenticeships is constantly changing. The bigger your programme gets, the more there is to consider."
Seaforth Land takes a similar approach to creating an initiative with modest initial goals. While Seaforth has ambitions to take on more students in its scholarship programme, Operations Manager Farrah Laborde said the best place to start is by taking on DE&I in “smaller, more digestible chunks.”
“Also, if you’re unsure, don’t be afraid to ask,” she said. “We asked students who had taken part in the programme how we could improve the application process and we had some amazing ideas. You’re never going to get it right the first time, but you learn from that. You’ll still make a difference to someone.”
Asking for help can mean partnering with a third party to create a DE&I initiative, which is what several of Bisnow’s Rise honourees decided to do. CBRE Investment Management partnered with Elba Eagles to create its internship programme with huge success, Sinclair said. CBRE partnered with Career Ready, a charity focused on providing opportunities for young people, to offer its work experience programme.
Jones said that JLL’s decision to use an external provider helped the team design and deliver a coaching programme for ethnically underrepresented employees that was neutral, which is important in an emotive area such as DE&I.
“We were quick to raise our hands and say we didn’t have the expertise in-house to do something meaningful,” Jones said. “We brought together a diverse panel to assess providers and found someone suitable. Could we have done something in-house? Probably. Would it have had the same impact? Probably not.”
The final stage before launching an initiative is to prepare internal teams, CBRE Next Generation partner Hannah Twelvetrees said. If, in the case of CBRE, the programme will bring young people from nontraditional real estate backgrounds into a business, employees need to know what to expect.
“Most people are used to interns who are the finished article, but a lot of these young people have never been to an office before,” she said. “They’ve never had exposure to anything like this. At the end of the day, they’re schoolchildren, and they’re going to be noisy. If the wrong comments get to the students’ ears, that’s going to be really detrimental.”
CBRE puts a lot of time into finding the right team members from within the business to work with students who take part in the programme. Savills takes similar care in selecting the right mentors for apprentices, Phillips said. They need to be able to understand what a student might struggle with and be prepared to help them make the transition to a corporate environment.
Once an initiative is underway, it’s important to keep an open mind to improvement, Twelvetrees said.
“Don’t beat yourself up if the first year isn’t perfect,” she said. “Don’t expect huge success at the beginning. Instead, set realistic goals, analyse what you’re doing and find ways to improve your initiative each year.”
