Three in four companies have a dedicated budget for ED&I initiatives 

It’s a well-recognised fact that Diversity and Inclusion drive business success. Yet, more than half of British businesses describe recording ED&I as a challenge, and the UK is still drastically falling short when it comes to equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) in the workplace as well as inspiring a new generation of professionals.  

These findings were revealed in Workday research launched today. The research, which was conducted independently amongst 2,217 HR professionals and business leaders across EMEA, highlights the diversity shortfalls, despite the fact that over half of UK businesses have implemented ED&I initiatives to attract and recruit a diverse workforce. Almost half of respondents (48%) state that decisions to increase ED&I initiatives are driven by the well-being of its staff and 44% have the goal of positively impacting business success through investing in ED&I. Yet, 34% said their organisation needs leadership and commitment from the top to move to the next stage in relation to ED&I, with a further three in 10 saying they need engagement from staff as well.  

Michael Douroux, GVP Northern Europe and South Africa at Workday understands the need to unite a business and create a culture that is centred on inclusivity. He can talk about the initiatives within Workday, its approach to ED&I, as well as why inclusivity needs to be led from across the business and data is where this starts. 

Key UK highlights of the survey also include:  

  ·         38% say their organisation plans to increase investment in ED&I initiatives, while 37% say they plan to maintain it  

·         46% say diversity is recognised and celebrated in their business, but…  

o    10% of businesses in the UK are denying the importance of diversity  

o    12% believe diversity is polarising   

o    15% believe diversity is trivialised with a focus on similarities rather than celebrating differences  

·         25% said their strategic approach to ED&I is a priority, while 31% do not have a strategic approach to ED&I and have not taken steps towards creating one  

·         92% use technology to support ED&I initiatives to some degree  

·         74% trust their organisation’s ED&I data enough to take action based upon it  

Key EMEA stats from the report include:  

·         The majority of European organisations believe their executive teams understand the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I), and have invested in the infrastructure to develop it. 

o    Three in four respondents say their executive leadership teams see ED&I as important.  

o    Three in four have a dedicated budget for ED&I initiatives and one third say they plan to increase this investment.  

·         A third say engagement from staff is needed to make further progress on ED&I. 

·         A third do not have a strategic approach to ED&I. 

·         A fifth have taken some initial steps to create one. 

·         Employee sentiment data is being gathered, but there are evident obstacles and limitations in what is being collected, and whether and how it is being used. 

·         The majority report using technology to support their ED&I initiatives, but their responses suggest that they are not making the fullest use of this. 

Interested in improving your stratgey?

In the latest episode of the Workday Podcast, Steve Dunne was joined by Daniela Porr from Workday Solutions Marketing, to discuss the progress being made around ED&I in Europe.

The conversation is centred on the recent research and explores regional and cultural differences around ED&I, and also helps us understand how some of the most progressive organisations in the world are embracing equity, diversity and inclusion.