This really depends on where you are on your EDI journey.
For example, if you are earlier on, then it could be more about increasing knowledge, understanding, and awareness. However, if you are further along, it could be more focused on deeper learning on other EDI topics.
Confidence is something that we have a lot of conversations around at the initial part of working with any client, as this can vary from person to person and from role to role. Spending time with individuals on a one-to-one basis, to explore their personal barriers and challenges around EDI, helps us build a better understanding of what action learning is needed.
Firstly, ensure that your priorities are the right ones that are going to resonate with your colleague base and also those that will make a difference to drive a more inclusive culture in your organisation.
One of the most effective ways of prioritising your actions is to RAG them in terms of which ones are going to have the biggest impact with the least amount of effort. This way you can get some quick wins achieved that will be visible to your workforce.
Whilst doing this, you will need to think about what priorities need more planning and focus as some of your actions may take some time to get off the ground due to the topic, stakeholder engagement, and the action that sits behind it.
Lastly, there are always going to be longer-term actions that take more critical thinking. These may be problems that are more challenging to solve and you may need some external input. One point you do need to consider is that the EDI landscape changes fast and, therefore, it is crucial to have a strategy that is flexible to adapt at any point as priorities change.
Once you have your EDI strategy, it is important to assess where some of the additional support and external expertise is needed.
This could be due to needing to engage with different stakeholders across your organisation or, if you don’t have the knowledge ‘in-house,’ you would need to consider someone to come in to educate and potentially run a project, like TEG.
Through our 365 service, we offer a range of support packages that can range anywhere from 6 months to 3 years depending on the need of our input and expertise.
We often see through a set period of time that confidence in EDI does, in fact, increase and therefore more of our support can be focused on the areas that are needed the most.
Support comes in different forms; however, our consultancy team spends a fair amount of time coaching and closing learning gaps to set individuals up for success.