Benchmarking Equality and Diversity in the Workplace

Benchmarking Equality and Diversity in the Workplace, allows you to distinguish your company areas that are doing well from those that need improvement. The essence of benchmarking is the continuous process of comparing a company’s strategy, products, processes with those of the world leaders and best-in-class organizations. The purpose is to learn how they achieved excellence, and then setting out to match and even surpass it.

Just ask yourself a few questions when Benchmarking:

1. Are we in line with latest legislation and policies?
2. What is our Equality and Diversity Level in the Workplace?  = Collect Data
3. What are others companies performance levels? = Compare Data
4. How did they get there?
5. Develop Action Plans and Set Goals
6. Integrate Practices
7. SET REVIEW DATE!

While working within Equality, Diversity and Inclusion I have found that the following 6 Types of Benchmarks are essential:

1. Process benchmarking - You focus your observation and investigation of business processes with a goal of identifying and observing the best practices from one or more firms. Benchmarking is appropriate in nearly every case where process redesign or improvement is to be undertaking so long as the cost of the study does not exceed the expected benefit.
2. Performance benchmarking - Allows the firm to assess their competitive position by comparing Diversity and Inclusion services with those of target firms.
3. Strategic benchmarking - Involves observing how others compete. This type is usually not industry specific, meaning it is best to look at other companies and industries.
4. Functional benchmarking - A company will focus its benchmarking on a single function to improve the operation of that particular function, such as Human Resources.
5. Best-in-class benchmarking - Involves studying the leading competitor.
6. Operational benchmarking -Embraces everything from staffing and productivity to office flow and analysis of procedures performed.

While using these differing types of Benchmarking in Diversity and Inclusion I have found this Benchmarking methodology useful :

• Identify problem areas: Because benchmarking can be applied to any business process or function, a range of research techniques may be required. They include informal conversations with customers, employees, or suppliers some of the best techniques you can use is focus groups within teams and simple staff, customer and management surveys and questionnaires, re-engineering analysis, process mapping, quality control variance reports, financial ratio analysis, and simply reviewing cycle times. Before embarking on comparison with other organizations it is essential to know the organisation's function and processes.                                   Base lining performance provides a point against which                                         improvement effort can be measured.
• Identify other industries that have similar processes
• Identify organizations that are leaders in these areas: Look for the very best in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
• Survey companies for measures and practices
• Visit the "best practice" companies to identify leading edge practices.
• Implement new and improved business practices: Look at the results from your Benchmarking Surveys and take the leading edge practices and develop implementation plans.

Successful benchmarking results in improvements to quality and productivity as well as positive financial outcomes; benchmarking promotes a “learning culture”, which is key to continuous long-term quality improvement and competitiveness, I have found that successful benchmarking organizations are continually looking for new ideas and because quality is becoming the hallmark for services.

Benchmarking has a very powerful potential and it can be used as a valid strategy for the long term, tacking into account the fact that improvement in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion must not be a one-time project.

Vercida works with over one hundred clients who are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. If you are an employer and interested in working with Vercida to promote your diversity and inclusion initiatives and attract the best candidates, please call 02037405973 or email [email protected] for more information.

We are also officially recommended by Disability Confident as a step on achieving Employer status, please click here for more information.