Bloomberg BNA caught up with Shirley A. Davis Sheppard, Ph.D., vice president of diversity and inclusion at the Society for Human Resource Management, to discuss the organization's efforts to develop standards for measuring the performance of corporate D&I programs.

According to SHRM, the standards will be divided into three sub-topics: qualifications of the lead D&I professional, a collection of diversity metrics and measures, and organizational D&I metrics.

"The D&I field grew out of a certain kind of activist culture that was designed to 'fight the power'; however, it has become clear that for organizational diversity and inclusion efforts to take root, D&I professionals must work with the C-suite and share their goals," Davis Sheppard said in this Q&A.

Bloomberg BNA: During SHRM's 2012 Diversity and Inclusion Conference in Chicago, you announced that SHRM is hoping to release standards in 2013 to measure D&I strategies. Are you still going forward with the standards in light of the organization withdrawing its proposal on the Human Indices for Investors?

Davis Sheppard: Yes. SHRM believes the value of HR should be measured and, in fact, creating standards is in our bylaws. The notion of HR having a common set of guidelines for analyzing and measuring success as it relates to an organization's business goals and objectives is not new. It's something HR professionals have told us they want and have needed for a long time.

Bloomberg BNA: What can you tell us about the new metric tool for assessing D&I strategies and programs? How is it a "game changer?" 

Davis Sheppard: First, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Task Force charged with writing the standards is currently drafting the language, so no specifics can be released at this time (per ANSI guidelines). When that part of the process is completed, the draft proposed standards will be released for public review and comment. 

It's important to point out that this isn't going to be a case where a document is sent out asking organizations to spend millions of dollars to become something they're not. 

What the new D&I standards will provide is a common process for organizations to assess their D&I initiatives so that for the first time, the D&I profession will have the ability to see apples-to-apples comparisons of programs and strategies. 

Currently organizations are asking questions to measure the impact of their D&I initiatives in different ways, and of course, are getting different results. Under the new standards, there will be a common set of questions. 

As standards are neither laws nor regulations, organization are free to choose some or none of the questions to ask, or to fully meet the standard set forth, ask them all. Some organizations will find they need to do a better job at D&I, while others will see they have been doing a very good job. But it will be a true comparison where today it is not. 

Also, the new D&I standards will help organizations of all sizes, particularly small organization who want D&I but don't know where to start. As a field, D&I has not been successful at guiding small organizations in how to get started. Everyone can't be an IBM, but any organization who wants to can use the new tools to conform to baseline D&I standards.

Finally, the metrics standard will not define what answers are acceptable and unacceptable; organizations who simply conduct these measurements--whatever they find--will be in accordance with the standard. 

There is likely to be some accountability built into the standard (e.g., a commitment to act upon the data that is uncovered, if needed), but following the standard is meant to assist the organization, not shame it.

Bloomberg BNA: Did employers and D&I professionals ask SHRM to develop the standards?

Davis Sheppard: Absolutely. We conducted a study with D&I professionals and specifically asked what needs to be done to move D&I forward and what role SHRM should play. The answer: The D&I field needs to be professionalized, and SHRM is the only organization that has the scope and breadth to take this work on.

They also told us that there has to be a standard way of doing things. For them, it is the way to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to identify the body of knowledge to draw upon.

The fact is, D&I professionals want these metrics and analysis tools because their CEOs want diversity. Yet right now, no one really knows how to get a robust and comprehensive diversity program off the ground. These new tools, for those who want and choose to use them, will help clarify those questions and that process.

Bloomberg BNA: In 2011, SHRM released a survey showing that only two in 10 employers have an internal group focusing on diversity. Can you outline one or two measures in which employers have improved upon D&I strategies and programs, and one or two measures in which companies are still struggling with on D&I efforts? 

Davis Sheppard: It really depends on the organization. If you put IBM and Sodexho in a room with eight small organizations and ask: "Who has an internal group focused on diversity?" chances are only IBM and Sodexho. And that's partly why the new standards are needed. They can be a tool for HR professionals in smaller organizations to pick up and say: "We might not be doing what IBM and Sodexho are doing but it's a way to get started."

The biggest challenge we see is changing a culture to be inclusive and not just diverse. Changing a culture is never an easy process. It's equal parts art and science. What SHRM believes is that your D&I strategy needs to be aligned with your organization's overall business strategy to help it take root. 

SHRM's business strategy has four pillars and our D&I strategy is built upon those exact same four pillars. That being said, D&I needs to do a better job at becoming integrated into the business and functioning less like a side unit. 

It's still viewed in many organizations as having its own agenda separate and apart from the business. It's not unlike the hurdles HR has faced--how to become a part of the business and have a seat at the table.   

Bloomberg BNA: How do you answer observers who say D&I training and programs may run the risk of employers only seeing people as categories and not as individuals? Or the programs and initiatives have simply turned into a "numbers game" for employers, instead of creating an environment that fosters inclusiveness, which can help the bottom line?

Davis Sheppard: There is and always has been bad diversity training and that's another reason we need standards. The numbers game approach is like Russian roulette: you have a 50/50 chance that diversity will work for you or against you. 

As a strategy, the numbers game just doesn't work. What you need is to create an environment that fosters inclusion because that's what affects the bottom line. The more inclusive you are, the better your business. Add diversity to that mix and you will blow the competition out of the water.

Bloomberg BNA: Any final thoughts on corporate D&I efforts?

Davis Sheppard: Yes, three final thoughts. One, D&I is no longer a "nice to have." The world has shrunk and any organization without a D&I strategy will be increasingly less viable and less sustainable as time marches on.

Two, aligning D&I strategies around the business goals is imperative. It's something SHRM strongly believes in. 

And three, if the new metrics standards work the way we hope, then they will change the way D&I is viewed and will help get the ball rolling at many more organizations who didn't know where to start. If that happens, it will be amazing. 

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