Great job, HR! Diversity recruitment is up — exactly what many companies prioritized in recent years.

But, there’s a glitch. And it’s a big one.

Diversity retention is down.

Companies are getting a more diverse workforce, but they aren’t keeping the employees.

Leaders aren’t all that impressed with the apparent backslide. In 2020, 85% of companies had DEI programs including initiatives to recruit more diversity. Now, just 20% have programs, according to DDI’s 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report,

What’s more, the percentage of leaders who endorse their own company’s DEI initiatives dropped by almost 20% in three years, the study also found. And guess what’s happening with this loss of trust: Underrepresented groups don’t like it and aren’t sticking around.

“With the stress of economic uncertainty and labor challenges, companies have turned their attention away from DEI toward these urgent issues, but that has left many leaders, especially those who are women and from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds, questioning their company and role,” says Stephanie Neal, Director of DDI’s Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research. “If companies don’t act now to rekindle and reinvest in their DEI programs, the loss of talent will have a profound impact on future business success.”

A company’s diversity retention struggle

Anecdotally and with candor, BlackRock Inc., one of the world’s largest money and investment managers, admitted its efforts to retain diverse talent flopped, according a self-prescribed racial audit. Black senior leaders left at the same rate they were hired in BlackRock’s DEI initiatives. And it increased its Hispanic leadership by just .5%, considering turnover after the uptick in diversity recruitment.

The top issues they uncovered: Minorities are leaving because they:

• lack clear career paths within BlackRock
• don’t feel a deep sense of trust and belonging, and
• have differing day-to-day experiences because of inconsistent management capabilities and lack of accountability.

On a positive note, BlackRock called for this audit. It’s committed to improving diversity in recruitment and retention.

What’s next for DEI?

“There is plenty of top talent in underrepresented communities, but they need to be supported and nurtured properly within a company to continue to perform at their best,” says Milena Berry, CEO of PowerToFly.

So stick with — or go back to — your DEI and hiring for diversity initiatives, adding an emphasis on retention.

To help, here are six ways to improve diversity retention.

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Source : HR Morning, by Michele McGovern, 13 juin 2023