Inclusion Infusions: Measuring Inclusion

Posted on Friday, August 27th, 2021

Algonquin College launched its first employee survey dedicated to measuring the climate for inclusion in our workplaces this week. The core question for a measure of an inclusive climate revolves around the employee experience. Succinctly put, it is: “Do all groups of employees feel as though they belong and their contributions are valued?”

The Inclusive Climate Survey will seek to measure:

  • Inclusion – an assessment of employees’ experience of the workplace climate.
  • Inclusion within Diversity – Differences in experience across diverse groups.

Check out the FAQ for more detail.

College employees are encouraged to respond to the anonymous survey (the link is on your email) before September 10th, 2021.

In this context, some people may be wondering about measuring inclusion, so I’ve collected some recent articles on the topic:

  • To Make Real Progress on D&I, Move Past Vanity Metrics –Harvard Business Review: Using data in diversity and inclusion initiatives can help organizations move beyond tick-the-box exercises. It can enable them to take an honest look at where they’re falling short, assess the experience of specific groups in the company, and prevent employee attrition before it happens. Start by identifying data gaps in your HR systems. Determine the relevant information you have and what you’ll need to understand the makeup of your employee base. If you’re not collecting data about age and race, for example, it’s impossible to know where you are and measure improvement. Work with HR and legal to ensure that you’re capturing the right data and allowing people to opt-in appropriately. Use the data you’ve collected to build a single source of truth that is based on facts. Honest, accessible metrics around your diversity progress and remaining gaps are critical to ensuring the work is measurable, targeted, and impactful.
  • Inclusion Is Invisible: How To Measure It – Forbes. Leaders struggle to understand what “inclusion” means, and, more importantly, how to measure it.
  • How to Measure Inclusion in the Workplace – Harvard Business Review. In an era where companies are paying more and more attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), inclusion remains the most difficult metric to track. From new research, Gartner developed the Gartner Inclusion Index to measure what true inclusion looks like across an organization. The authors outline how to use the Gartner Inclusion Index to measure employee perceptions of inclusion, what effective action looks like from leaders, and common pitfalls to avoid.

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