This article first appeared in the Worcester Business Journal.
From Setbacks to Strength: Worcester's Ambitious DEI Project and the Transformative Power of Bold Transparency
Susan Letterman White, JD, MSc
My team consulted with the city of Worcester, MA on a racial equity audit and strategic implementation for 15 months. Despite significant disruption, this diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) culture change project was successful. Your DEI project can be too, if organizational leaders pay attention to three details. First, make a substantial financial and time commitment to the project. Second, narrowly focus it on Human Resources (HR) processes. Finally, make data-driven decisions.
A Substantial Financial and Time Commitmentment
Worcester did not seek out the lowest cost provider and instead committed a significant budget to a racial equity audit and then sought consultants. Budget size signals leadership’s commitment, messages that the project is not merely performative, and motivates people to devote their time. Budget size also builds in accountability for results. Without change, legitimate criticism of the return on investment (ROI) follows. While leaders of a minimally financed project may be inclined to delay or halt a project after a disruption, leaders of a well-financed project know that delays mean a reduced ROI.
Worcester experienced a significant and public disruption, when Stephanie Williams, Worcester’s last Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) and the project’s internal leader publicly resigned on March 4, 2022, citing the administration of then-City Manager (CM), Edward Augustus, as the reason. Within days after, Augustus announced that he would step down on March 22, 2022 . Instead of causing a delay to the project, which was launched on January 19th, these high-profile incidents caused a heightened awareness of the problems and action by remaining City leaders.
Eric D. Batista became the de facto CDO, interim City Manager (CM) and approximately eight months ago was appointed to be the permanent CM. Our weekly CDO/CM-Consultant project management meetings continued uninterrupted. Espoused values of diversity quickly became real when Batista selected Hung Nguyun, to serve as Assistant City Manager and promoted Amy Peterson to be his Chief of Staff. This early “win” motivated others to meet project deadlines.
First drafts of the audit report, strategic blueprint and recommendations, and an Employee Resource Group (ERG) toolkit were delivered on June 24, 2022. The final report was delivered at the beginning of August 2022. Energy for more culture change and a budgetary commitment to continue the work led to Worcester’s first, anonymous employee engagement survey. Then using the survey data, the CM and Cabinet, created a DEI vision statement, objectives, and measurable criteria. During this time the DEI function was restructured under a new Executive Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (EODEI) with leadership in a new role of Chief Equity Officer and responsibilities for Human Rights, Investigations and Training & Development. This infuses critical evaluative decisions with an equity lens to reduce unconscious biases. This work followed the consultants’ recommendations.
A Narrow Focus on Human Resources
Worcester focused the racial equity audit on HR. HR processes affect the employee experience. These processes determine who is recruited, hired, developed, engaged, and promoted, and whether this be a diverse group of people. Narrowly focusing on HR means evaluating the talent cycle processes with the strongest effect on creating diversity and a culture of inclusion. Evaluations of a person’s ability to do a job can be adjusted to eliminate biases and infuse equity. Decisions about who gets an empowered mentor affect a person’s sense of belonging, ability to succeed at their job, engagement in their work, and beliefs about whether they have advancement opportunities.
Bold Transparency and a Data-Driven DEI Project
Data-based decisions about problems and possible solutions make intentional changes possible. Worcester’s data suggested a lack of racial diversity, equity, and inclusion in city government. The data were not hidden or explained away. Instead, the entire report was shared publicly. The media reported it, excerpting and emphasizing the most egregious pieces. The benefits of such transparency are:
A heightened awareness of the problem, which fosters a sense of urgency and collective responsibility to make improvements.
Accountability and encouraging stakeholders to rectify the identified racial inequities.
Community engagement and participation in discussions about experiences and that lead to innovative solutions and initiatives.
Increased confidence in leaders who demonstrate vulnerability by sharing unfavorable results and publicly commit to addressing issues may help rebuild trust among traditionally marginalized groups.
Spread the change for replication elsewhere. In fact, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order requiring that all executive offices conduct equity assessments similar to Augustus’s 2021 executive order.
Overall, publicizing unfavorable audit results can serve as a catalyst for change, promote equity, and foster a more inclusive and just workplace. If shared with the public in a thoughtful fashion, the benefits far outweigh the risks when the organization has already made a substantial financial and time commitment to improving its DEI culture with a narrowly HR-focused, data-driven project.