3 'organizational barriers' that cause diversity programs to fail (and 3 ways to overcome them)

A recent survey of corporate human resource leaders found that, while most are taking proactive steps toward hiring and promoting women, minority and LGBT+ employees, most do not feel their companies’ efforts have been particularly successful.

The April survey of 113 HR leaders by international research and advisory company Gartner found that just 12% thought their company had been effective in cultivating a diverse workforce; the rest “feel their organization has been ineffective or flat at increasing diversity representation.”

Related: These companies lead the pack in diversity & inclusion for 2020

The survey’s results are included in a report released July 30, “Advancing Underrepresented Talent: 3 Ways You Need to Reset Your Strategy.”

It cited three “organizational barriers” that can stand in the way of underrepresented employee segments”

• A lack of clear career paths to advancement
• Not enough interaction with senior personnel
• Failure to provide mentorship or career support

The report recommends there steps HR officials should take to “fix the manager-employee relationship,” including:

• Teach managers how to build personalized support for direct reports while enabling them to be effective talent coaches.
• Build manager awareness of the employee experience of underrepresented talent.
• Broker trust between underrepresented talent and their managers.

Gartner’s managing vice president for HR practice, Lauren Romansky, said in a release that a survey of heads of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion revealed that “69% are prioritizing advancing underrepresented talent especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.”

But, she added, “while the intent is there, there is no two-hour training remedy for this challenge. Organizations need to assess their current systems and processes to mitigate bias and address organizational factors that prohibit equal opportunity for advancement.”

Companies should do more to build awareness and trust between managers and employees, and foster “manager awareness of the employee experience of underrepresented talent,” the report said.

Successful HR and DEI programs “go beyond traditional leadership development programs that focus solely on skill-building to advance women, LGBT+, or racially and ethnically diverse employees, they also target managers of program participants to spread awareness of the employee experience of their direct reports, build trust, and enable greater manager advocacy.”

The report also emphasized the value of “growth-focused networks” that embrace an “array of diverse individuals in role, skills, level and experience,” and include opportunities for employees to interact with senior leaders.

“When underrepresented talent has diverse networks, the organization wins,” it said.

Read more: 

• Building diversity and inclusion: A modern guide
• Diversity, inclusion and belonging: How do we get there?
• Shareholders, workers call on Google to fix ‘diversity crisis’