Key Benefits of DEI Stress Urgency of Implementation

Organizations with successful strategies outperform their counterparts.

While many organizations and their leaders understand diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are important to their teams and should improve their bottom lines, some aren’t quite sure where or how to begin. That’s a problem for companies focused on success, because studies show groups that consciously employ DEI efforts have less turnover, more productivity, and experience higher levels of achievement, which sometimes reveals itself in higher revenues.

Members of the Forbes Human Resources Council shared 15 benefits of DEI and urged leaders to communicate these benefits to all members of the organization. Some of those benefits included:

• Inclusive companies are more likely to hit financial goals and diversity equals excellence;
• DEI helps employees feel safe, respected, and connected;
• Diverse teams innovate faster, and employees feel a sense of belonging;
• Inclusion helps combat “work-from-home” burnout; and
• A diverse, inclusive environment retains employees.

Implementing DEI: Where to Begin

Leaders agree DEI implementation is crucial to business survival. However, knowing its importance and building it into company culture are quite different.

“As with any journey, the first thing to understand is where you are so that you know where to go,” said Cari Weston, CPA, CGMA, executive director for the Center for Accounting Transformation. “Any map telling you where and how to get where you want to go is useless if you don’t know where you are.”

To better understand the needs and potential solutions for these efforts, the Center is conducting research into the DEI journeys of accounting professionals worldwide. Accounting professionals are urged to take the 10-minute survey and be on the lookout for results this fall.

“We’ve seen a lot of research on the positive effects of DEI initiatives in the workplace, but we feel like additional research must be conducted with respect to the accounting profession,” Weston said. “By understanding where we are as a profession, we can collaborate on the best strategies for moving forward and on the tools and resources needed.”

For additional guidance in your DEI journey, visit https://improvetheworld.net/courses/.