8 Pillars of

Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion
Table of Contents
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Imperative....................... 3

The 8 Pillars of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

Exploring Every Step of the Employee Lifecycle...................... 4

1. Measure and Analyze Current Efforts................................. 5

2. Attract and Recruit Diverse Talent...................................... 6

3. Eliminate Bias During Interviews and Hiring..................... 9

4. Facilitate Inclusive Onboarding............................................ 11

5. Lean on Learning and Development................................... 13

6. Use DEI to Boost Retention.................................................. 15

7. Make Offboarding Count........................................................ 17

8. Use Analytics to Measure Your Efforts............................... 18

Frequently Asked Questions......................................................... 19

8 Pillars of DEI Key Takeaways..................................................... 20

About Lever....................................................................................... 22

2 | LEVER.CO | 2021 | 8 PILLARS OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion Imperative
The need to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts has
long been clear, but the COVID-19 pandemic made it even more apparent —
and urgent. For example, the pandemic disproportionately displaced women
from the workforce around the world. In December 2020, at the height of
the pandemic, 100% of jobs lost belonged to women. Yet according to
McKinsey, there’s $12 trillion in additional, untapped GDP left on the table
if we can collectively narrow the gender gap by 2025. Other research by
McKinsey shows that “financial institutions could realize approximately
$2 billion in incremental annual revenue if Black Americans had the same
access to financial products as white Americans.”

And these are just the financial benefits. But outside of this pandemic
(or any other global, national, or local crisis), the full reward of a diverse
workforce has no bounds. Diversity has been shown to yield higher employee
satisfaction, better retention, smarter company decisions — and more.

With the social movement to end racial bias gaining massive momentum
in 2020, companies have made or reaffirmed commitments prioritizing
DEI. But there’s much more work to do. A recent report from Lever,
The State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts: Progress, Priorities,
and Opportunities, reveals that 47% of employees believe their companies
have initiated only some changes aimed at improving DEI or not nearly
enough and still have a long way to go.

But what do these words — diversity, equity, inclusion — really mean

at their most basic level? And how can organizations transform them
from promises to company-specific actions?

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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Defined

Diversity, at its core, comes down to represen-
tation: ensuring that individuals from different
walks of life, with unique backgrounds and
experiences are consistently employed at
a company. This includes looking at identity
markers such as race, ethnicity, gender, disability,
sexual orientation, religion, and more.
Equity is about creating a fair playing field.
It focuses on ensuring all individuals within
an organization receive fair access, opportunity,
and advancement. Equity efforts can include
identifying and removing barriers, as well as
making accommodations so every employee
has an equal chance at succeeding.
Inclusion focuses on creating an environment
where employees feel welcomed, respected, and
valued. An inclusive workplace invites everyone
to participate and bring more of themselves into
the workplace.
Finally, belonging is another concept that is
increasingly being considered alongside DEI. It has
a more intrinsic value — a feeling that employees
experience as an outcome of effective inclusion
and equity measures.
So how can companies identify and seize
opportunities to make DEI (and belonging) efforts
more impactful? The answer is that these can’t
be isolated initiatives. They must be embedded
into every aspect of employee life and
experience, from the job description, to the
offboarding interview.
In this eBook, we explore how DEI must intersect
the different phases of the employee lifecycle
and the processes that surround it.

The 8 Pillars Of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Exploring Every Step

of the Employee Lifecycle

Fully embracing DEI at your organization means doing more than just hiring people from a variety of
backgrounds. A comprehensive commitment to DEI spans every part of the employee lifecycle. From
attracting talent all the way through to succession planning, opportunities exist for companies to think
bigger and better about DEI — and to make a true impact on their employees.

To get started on creating or refreshing your DEI strategies, we’ve created this eBook — 8 Pillars of
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — that can serve as the foundation for your efforts.

Tip:
Need a convenient resource to summarize each of the points in this eBook and help you
stay on track? Jump to our 8 Pillars of DEI Key Takeaways near the end of this eBook.

4 | LEVER.CO | 2021 | 8 PILLARS OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

PILLAR 1

Measure and Analyze Current Efforts

An effective DEI strategy requires a deep
understanding of the current state of these
initiatives at your organization, and the gaps
that exist. Start the conversation about DEI and
encourage employees to participate. You may be
surprised by what you learn. For example, our
recent survey revealed that although more than
half of employers say they’ve added their
commitment to DEI to their homepage, less than
a third of employees say their employers have
made a true commitment to the idea. Consistent
training on DEI policy is somewhat lacking, too —
52% of employers say they provide it, compared
to 26% of employees who say it’s provided.
There’s no better way to understand your
employees’ perspective than simply asking them
for it. Software from providers such as CultureIQ,
Culture Amp, Divercity, and GLINT can help you
conduct an assessment logistically, but it’s
essential to collect as much useful information
as possible by asking open-ended questions in
different formats. Instead of multiple-choice,
consider agree/disagree statements like,
“I believe that my company is a safe and inclusive
place to work for me,” and offer various degrees
of agreement as options.
The insight that these results provide can be
extremely valuable. For example, one of Divercity’s
features, Diversity Score, allows companies to
find out their diversity breakdowns by both
ethnicity and gender and assess how they
compare to national and industry averages.
For more guidance, download our guide to keep
your diversity goals on track.

With surveys completed, the next step is sharing the results to ensure
transparency and acknowledge existing issues. Employees will want to hear
their C-level executives admit that there’s work to do. From there, start making
changes. Use our Diversity Goal Scorecard to mark down where you are
today, and set a goal for improvement. Even if your organization is highly
diverse, inclusive, and treats employees equally, there’s always room for
improvement, and the example starts at the top.

Securing C-suite buy-in is essential for the longevity and success of DEI
efforts because it’s down to organizational leaders to guarantee that DEI is
taken into account alongside business goals. Only when DEI and business
imperatives are in sync will DEI truly permeate every aspect of employee
experience. C-suite buy-in doesn’t happen overnight. C-level executives
must be in constant conversation with recruiters or HR professionals to
ensure continued prioritization of DEI initiatives.

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PILLAR 2

Attract and Recruit Diverse Talent

Once you’ve assessed your current DEI initiatives and identified where you
need to improve, a natural place to start is attracting and recruiting talent.
There are some important questions to ask that may enable you to make
quick, yet critical improvements.

These include:

• Are we using inclusive language in job descriptions? Terms such as

“fresh perspective” may seem innocent enough, for example, but can
be perceived as ageist.

• Are we diversifying the channels or organizations from which we

source candidates?

• Does our employer branding represent an inclusive culture?

• Do we clearly communicate a commitment to creating a diverse and

inclusive culture? Lever’s research reveals that just 33% of recently
hired employees say their company’s DEI efforts were highlighted on
the home page.

• Are our job requirements disqualifying underrepresented communities?

Ask yourself what skills or education is essential to the role and one’s
ability to do the job effectively to avoid your job posting being just
a wishlist of requirements that might exclude certain candidates.

• Are we measuring diversity at different stages of the recruitment process?

If yes, where do our gaps exist? If no, how do we start collecting data?
Start looking for ways to apply the same analytical frameworks to DEI
that you do in other areas of the business.

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PILLAR 2 ATTRACT AND RECRUIT DIVERSE TALENT

Making changes to address some of these missed
opportunities could allow your organization to
cast a wider net and more effectively attract
individuals from more diverse backgrounds and
walks of life.
But today, companies are still missing out on
opportunities to do so. Lever’s research revealed
that while 28% of employers say they source
“We have a full equity statement, about a
paragraph long, which encourages people from
all backgrounds, all walks of life to apply to our
roles,” Delpeache explains. He uses LeverTRM
to capture and track candidate data throughout
the recruiting process and the results have been
highly informative for Fiix’s DEI strategy.

“
candidates from less traditional backgrounds,
just 19% of employees say their companies have
done so. Similarly, while 43% of employers say 52% of applicants that come into
they’ve eliminated biased language from job our pipeline indicated that our equity
descriptions, just 27% of employees agree. statement is one of the reasons why
they applied for the job. And we see
One way to better attract talent? Consider an that there’s approximately 7% of
equity statement: a prominent message located people that may not have applied
centrally on your website or career page that if they didn’t see it.”
articulates why your organization is a place
where all can succeed. This small change can — Dean Delpeache, Sr. Manager of Talent
transform your recruitment strategy, according Acquisition, Fiix Software

to Dean Delpeache, Sr. Manager of Talent

Acquisition at Fiix Software.

Fiix Software’s Equity Statement:

We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond
just the technical requirements of a job. If your experience is close to what you
see listed here, please still consider applying. Diversity of experience and skills
combined with passion is a key to innovation and excellence. Therefore, we
encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions. Please let us
know if you require accommodations during the interview process.

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PILLAR 2 ATTRACT AND RECRUIT DIVERSE TALENT

Another element that can help show inclusivity and appeal to a wider range
of candidates is to ask about gender pronouns. Lever does this right from
the start, building the question into our interview process so candidates can
self-select their preference. Also, have recruiters and hiring managers add
pronouns to their email signatures, their profiles in Slack, or any other
communication platform.

It’s also crucial to remember that recruiting and nurturing efforts shouldn’t
stop even if hiring is on pause. A warm pipeline is essential for keeping
operations running smoothly should a role unexpectedly become vacant,
or should hiring needs suddenly grow. Lever conducted a survey to evaluate
hiring practices at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and found that
13% of U.S. companies put their hiring efforts entirely on freeze, and
42% paused while hiring only for backfills. While Fiix Software also
paused hiring, the company continued to reach out to all of the candidates
in its pipeline using the Lever Advanced Nurture.

Fiix sent automated messages to keep talent engaged, reminding them that
Fiix Software is an inclusive company during even the most stressful times,
and continuing to segment candidates so that their profiles were ready for
review as soon as hiring resumed. It’s a good practice to keep in mind going
forward, so if there is a global, national, or even company-wide crisis, you
continue to maintain that contact with your talent pool.

Looking for more practical tips to help you set DEI goals and execute
initiatives? Check out The Essential Guide to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

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PILLAR 3

Eliminate Bias During Interviews

and Hiring
The interview process is notorious for bias due to the existence of concepts
such as “cultural fit”. This metric is problematic because it’s almost entirely
subjective and dangerously lends itself to affinity bias, the most common
type of unconscious bias in hiring, according to Harvard Business Review.

Affinity bias comes down to the desire to hire someone who is like us, and
this likeness doesn’t just boil down to race or gender. If a hiring manager is
a confident, outgoing, and outspoken individual, they may be more likely to
seek out an equally confident, outgoing, and outspoken new hire, overlooking
a quieter individual that’s as — if not more — qualified for the role. This is
why it’s essential that interviews aren’t left to one or even two people.

Instead of allocating the responsibility to a single recruiter and hiring

manager, assemble a hiring panel and create a structured approach to
interviews, in which every candidate is asked the same questions and
evaluated according to the same rubric.

For example, be sure to ask interview questions about:

• Growth throughout past roles

• Challenges, and how they’ve been overcome

• Unique experiences and perspectives

• Career goals

• Communication and collaboration skills

A more consistent approach to interviews eliminates the risk of

conversations veering off into bonding sessions with candidates over
similarities or shared interests. These are great conversation starters in
a social setting but can be a recipe for disaster from a DEI standpoint.
Instead, take time to communicate with prospective hires about your
DEI efforts. Our research showed that while candidates want to know this
information up front, around 24% of employees said their companies did
not provide any communication about DEI during the hiring process.

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PILLAR 3 ELIMINATE BIAS DURING INTERVIEWS AND HIRING

Later, when the hiring panel completes
interviews and gathers to confer, keep this
conversation structured too. Speak only about
a candidate’s qualifications, strengths, and
weaknesses. Leave their appearance,
personality, and “cultural fit” off the table.
Software can also help make this a more fair
process. LeverTRM, for example, hides other
interviewers’ feedback until everyone has
completed their own, to minimize groupthink.
With interviews restructured and transformed,
hiring diverse candidates should be easy, right?
Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple.
For example, using Lever Talent Intelligence,
Fiix Software identified that a particular
department had a 50-50 female to male split
when moving through the interview stages.
But at one point, the proportion shifted, and
while 50% of interviewed males were being
hired, the percentage of women being hired
dropped to 12%.
Based on this insight, Delpeache knew the
company had to make changes, so he and his
team went back to the drawing board to
understand the cause of the problem. Though
Fiix assumed its job descriptions were inclusive,
they needed an upgrade. By eliminating gendered
terms, the company increased its hiring of
under-represented groups by 63% in two years
company-wide.
The initial assessment followed by continued
measurement is essential throughout these early
stages of the employee lifecycle because they
can illuminate existing problems and unexpected
complications, enabling companies to iterate
their approach.

Compensation Shouldn’t Be Complicated

In 2021, women make 82% of what men earn for comparable roles. At the current
rate of progress, this gap won’t close until 2093, the AAUW predicts. The wage
gap for women of color is even wider than the overall gender wage gap, and it
is also closing more slowly. We need to drive change faster.

Start by defining your compensation philosophy and determining what factors

will inform your compensation packages. Make sure you consider:

• Cost of living by geography

• Employee experience, certifications, or tenure
• Candidate potential
• Current hiring market
• Benefits you’ll offer beyond compensation

Above all, keep compensation consistent through yearly calibrations and ongoing
evaluation. While salaries will certainly differ, the ingredients used to calculate
them should be uniform for every employee.

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PILLAR 4

Facilitate Inclusive Onboarding

Research shows that successful onboarding can increase employees’
sense of belonging, engagement, and understanding of the company’s
purpose. It can include providing equipment, meeting your team and
manager, enrolling in benefits, and more. But in addition to being
a functional process, onboarding is also your chance to showcase
your company’s priorities. Plus, it’s a chance to help employees feel
included immediately.

Making new hires feel valued right away with thorough onboarding can
also transform employees into brand ambassadors, which can boost
your recruitment efforts. According to our survey, 76% of employees
hired within the last year received some type of communication about
DEI during their hiring and onboarding process. However, these
communication methods are often indirect, such as social media
channels or postings on a company homepage. Being proactive and
direct about your DEI efforts can improve the hiring and onboarding
process, which 46% of respondents said included as an area where
their company has room to improve.

How can you start a dialogue about inclusion at your

company during onboarding?

• Define what the terms diversity, equity, and inclusion mean at your
company and how they are actuated.

• Highlight portions of your company handbook or policies that are

specific to DEI, such as your zero-tolerance discrimination policy or
your equity statement.

• Include an introductory training session explaining DEI efforts at your

company, so all new employees know what to expect and what’s
expected of them.

• Connect new hires with employee resource groups (ERGs) or other support
groups to create safe spaces to aid in personal or career development.

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PILLAR 4 FACILITATE INCLUSIVE ONBOARDING

One of our clients, an education company, saw success by not just

simply creating ERGs for underrepresented communities, but also by
having a clear governance structure around the groups. Making sure there
were clear guidelines for creating a new group — as well as a playbook
for how to make the role of an ERG leader sustainable and professionally
rewarding — led to the addition of four ERGs. Their community has evolved
to include Black, Latinx, women, women in tech, AAPI, and parents ERGs,
among others.

Also important for the company? Nurturing collaboration between their

talent and leadership teams to ensure shared responsibility for building
a workforce that reflects their diverse partner and learner base. Instead
of placing the onus on talent teams to bring in diverse hires, encouraging
leaders to expand pools of candidates — even if the “time to fill” a role
increases — has helped to distribute accountability around DEI and
collectively build an inclusive culture. For example, managers might
be in a rush to fill an open position, but HR can now help them see the
opening as an opportunity to build a diverse team, not just fill a seat.

Your HR and leadership teams should both make it clear how, when,
and where employees can provide feedback or ask questions about
DEI efforts. Open communication at various levels of the company
can go a long way to helping employees feel heard and to helping you
understand which initiatives are working, which ones are unclear, and
where your gaps still exist. Lever’s research shows that about two thirds
of employers encourage their workers to discuss any questions or
concerns with their direct manager, while three quarters encourage
speaking with HR. Yet the same research shows more needs to be done
to empower employees to speak up: only about one third of employees
say they feel empowered to share their thoughts with either group.

2/3
of employers encourage
workers to discuss
questions/concerns
with direct manager
3/4
of employers encourage
their workers to discuss
questions/concerns
with HR
} 1/3
of employees say
they feel empowered
to share thoughts
with either group

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PILLAR 5

Lean on Learning and Development

The most common reasons that employees leave jobs is due to lack
of career growth or the inability to gain new skills. Investing in ongoing
learning and development for your employees can not only retain talent,
but it’s also an important way to boost equity in your organization.

65% of employers that we surveyed cited building new skills and

competencies among their employees as one of their top three priorities.
Making sure all employees, regardless of their backgrounds, have the
skills and training they need to succeed helps put all employees on
a growth path. Whether it’s by providing or paying for outside education
opportunities, offering recurring internal training, encouraging participation
at industry events, or building mentorship programs, learning and
development can help all employees reach their full potential.

But learning and development isn’t just about mastering a new technology
or improving communication skills. DEI is something that needs to be
learned, taught, and reinforced like any other skill.

Ongoing DEI learning efforts can include:

• Providing consistent training, content, and conversations to remind

employees at every level about the importance of DEI and what it means
to your organization.

• Bringing awareness to everyday DEI topics, whether that’s current events,

global/local news, teachable moments, or company milestones.

• Appointing someone who is responsible for continually asking, “How can

we make this more inclusive?” throughout the decision-making process.

• Tasking a DEI or inclusivity ERG with identifying and educating colleagues

on opportunities for more inclusive terminology in your product,
communications, etc.

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PILLAR 5 LEAN ON LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

One education company and Lever customer has focused on educating

its internal teams on how diversity builds stronger teams, emphasizing
that people show up differently to work in diverse, inclusive spaces.
Facilitating this education has better equipped their HR teams to advise
managers about recruiting new hires.

DEI as a Succession Planning Tool

There are almost always people with leadership potential already at your
organization. Providing equitable opportunities for learning and development
is a great way to invest in your next generation of leaders. These proactive
efforts also help with succession planning, so you’re not scrambling to react
to a surprise retirement or resignation.

Succession planning is a natural byproduct of effective DEI efforts. By

attracting top talent regardless of background, building an inclusive culture
that encourages retention, and providing equitable measures to gather new
skills, you’re naturally cultivating an internal candidate pool for future
leadership opportunities.

Be sure to also think about the powerful message you send to your employees,
prospects, and clients or customers by having a diverse leadership team
where everyone can see themselves represented. A diverse group of leaders
can support inclusion and belonging at your company, keeping the cycle of
nurturing talent alive.

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PILLAR 6

Use DEI to Boost Retention

Without an inclusive culture, you simply compound your diversity issues
with retention challenges. If your culture doesn’t welcome and develop
a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and ideas, what will make those
hires stay?

This is where clear, consistent communication is key. But remember:

it’s a two-way street. Make sure you’re letting your employees know what
you’re doing for them, but also take the time to solicit their honest
feedback on what’s working and what’s not.

Some Lever customers conduct a yearly pulse survey to assess how

employees feel about the company and its performance. They then
actively communicate the results to the whole organization, so everyone
can see areas for improvement and understand subsequent action
plans. One company shared that in addition to the yearly survey, they
also occasionally conducted ad hoc employee surveys as needs arise.
For example, it conducted a survey when COVID-19 pushed workers into
remote environments to get a sense of how people were doing and if
they needed more support.

Only 29% of employees we surveyed said their companies were using

satisfaction surveys to help assess their DEI efforts. Regular engagement
surveys can help find gaps between your company’s efforts and the
impact on the ground if any. Ask questions about company culture,
leadership performance, and people’s individual job responsibilities.

Questions can help you determine if:

• Your employees feel that they can be their authentic selves at work

• Your actions are showing your employees that you value diversity

• You are providing employees with the tools to gain new skills

• All employees feel like their voice or perspective is valued when

decisions are made

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PILLAR 6 USE DEI TO BOOST RETENTION

Make sure you’re truly listening to the feedback. One Lever customer
developed specific listening tours, engaging directly with ERGs, where
they felt they could learn the most from people having different
experiences. These conversations helped them better understand the
experiences of underrepresented groups, how it differed from the
majority, and what could be done to close gaps and boost satisfaction.

If you’re conducting employee engagement surveys, consider asking for

demographic data and diving deep into intersectional results. For example,
women at your company might have an overall different experience than
men do. Over 90% of working mothers report being passed up for promotion
during the pandemic. And, a quarter of working women are considering
downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce altogether. And Black
women face additional obstacles related to race. In fact, 99% of all the
jobs lost at the height of the pandemic were roles held by black women.
Multiple parts of identity, including gender identity and race, combine
to make experiences unique.

Individuals will have different experiences based on all facets of their

identities that inform each other and converge in specific ways. Seeing
if different identities are struggling with — or benefitting from — your
workplace policies can help inform where to direct your attention.

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PILLAR 7

Make Offboarding Count

Turnover is a natural part of the employee lifecycle, and it’s not always
a reason for concern. But there’s a difference between, say, someone
leaving after gaining years of skills for a unique new opportunity, and
someone leaving because they never felt valued or had their voice heard.

Offboarding, specifically with thorough exit interviews, is a crucial way

to help identify recurring themes that might identify the reasons for
turnover, including any missed opportunities to reinforce your DEI
efforts. And according to our research, only 15% of employers are using
offboarding interviews to measure if their DEI efforts are successful.

If you’re hearing common answers to why people are leaving (“I didn’t
feel I could grow,” “I didn’t think my manager valued my contributions,”
“I never really felt like I fit here”), then you can learn where to focus
your efforts on building a more inclusive culture.

Some key exit interview learnings include:

• Why the person sought a new opportunity outside your organization

• If they felt their work and perspective were valued

• If they felt they had the tools and resources they needed to grow
in their career

• If they ever experienced any discrimination or harassment

• What they think could be done to improve workplace culture

Whoever is conducting the exit interview should also be equipped with

empathic listening skills. Showing that you really care about the answers
can help eliminate contention or hostility and make sure employees are
leaving without a bitter taste in their mouth.

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PILLAR 8
Use Analytics to Measure Your Efforts
Measuring your approach to DEI is a key way to
evaluate if it’s working. Remember that Diversity
Scorecard you completed? It’s time to take
a look back to determine how effective the
changes you’ve made have been.
To measure the state of your DEI initiatives,
look at the conversion rate of resumes that
passed to the phone screen and compare them
with demographic data collected by your
applicant tracking system. With LeverTRM,
you can enable Equal Employment Opportunity,
an optional set of diversity questions that goes
out to candidates at the start of the interview
process. Answers to these questions are
delivered as insights through Lever Advanced
Analytics, allowing you to track diversity
through the interview process and examine
whether there’s bias at the top, middle or
bottom of the funnel. Plus, when this diversity
questionnaire is sent out at the start of your
process, you can also see if there is a bias
problem in the candidate pipeline as well.
These measurements will help pinpoint if there’s
a specific point in the hiring process at which
certain groups become underrepresented. Is
there a sourcing problem, where certain groups
aren’t applying to positions as often? Or is there
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another obstacle? For example, underrepresented
groups may fall out of the process at a specific
stage. Lever also has a compensation analysis
available to illustrate whether there are groups
that are being consistently underpaid. Armed
with this analysis, you can then zero in on the
problems in the process and fine-tune it to
ensure you’re meeting the goals you’ve set.
If you are relying solely on applications through
job boards, the issue may be that you need
to a) diversify and increase the channels or
organizations where you post jobs and b) start
actively sourcing candidates, like we mentioned
in pillar two. The Essential Guide to Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion has some great suggestions
for sourcing channels and tips on how to get
started.
Overall, it’s important to remember that
authenticity is key to meaningful, transformative
DEI efforts. Diversity doesn’t have to be hard,
or an obstacle to overcome. As something that
touches every part of an employee’s experience
with your organization, it’s a natural part of work
life. Celebrating diversity, embracing inclusion,
and creating equity are all ways to make a lasting
impact on your employees while building a strong
organization with a rich and dynamic culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I secure buy-in for DEI initiatives
from the top?
Start by demonstrating a data-driven business
case for DEI, which can go a long way if there’s
resistance at the top. A more diverse workforce
means a healthier bottom line — it’s harder to
argue with that ROI. Present your ideas the same
way you would with any other business need:
using data and goal-setting.
How do I quantify DEI success with metrics?
Which ones should I be tracking?
Success may look different at every organization,
but a good place to start is by comparing talent
metrics (such as retention rate, employee
satisfaction rate, offer acceptance rate, and
time to hire) with candidate or employee
demographic data. Set a goal for how many
candidates or employees fill out your diversity
survey (e.g. 70%) to make sure you have
enough data to inform your next steps.
Analyze the distribution of diversity demographics
like gender, race, etc. among candidates in
different stages of the interview process and
different types of roles or departments.
Also look at how different demographic
groups are represented within various levels
of the company (including leadership), among
promotions and raises, and employee exits.
Overall, compare your findings for all of these
metrics with industry benchmarks, geographic
demographics, perspectives from inside the
company — however you’ve decided to set
your DEI goals.
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How should I source candidates in industries
where diverse talent is lacking?
Identify representation gaps in your workforce
and cast a wider net by seeking opportunities
to partner with and tap into organizations
where diversity thrives. Recruit at colleges and
universities you haven’t yet considered and reach
out to non-profit organizations specializing in
providing career placement resources.
How can my company authentically communicate
our DEI efforts in a way that doesn’t make it seem
like we are just checking boxes?
If you have a diverse group of leaders, it makes
any commitment to DEI initiatives more authentic.
Evaluate where there might be opportunities to
make your executive leaders, board members,
and managers more reflective of a diverse work-
force. This is more likely to show employees that
all voices are valued within the company.
We feel we’re already doing a good job with
DEI at our company. How can we take it to the
next level?
Take a close look at what messages you are
sending about diversity to those outside of your
internal company structure.
Review your vendors to look for opportunities to
work with diverse partners. Carefully look at your
products or services for any unintentional biases.
Audit all visuals and language associated with
your company’s marketing materials to make
sure you’re projecting authentic messages about
your company’s values.
To keep the conversation going around these and
other questions surrounding DEI, get in touch
with Lever. We can help you set your DEI reporting
up for success now and in the future.
8 Pillars of DEI Key Takeaways
1 Measure and Analyze Current Efforts

• Start by surveying your employees to understand the current state

of your initiatives and identify gaps or areas of improvement.

• Set goals and get C-suite buy-in.

• Ask open-ended questions in different formats and share the results

to foster transparency.

2 Attract and Recruit Diverse Talent

• Evaluate everything from the images on your site, to the language

in your job descriptions, to the channels or organizations where you
source, then make adjustments to be more inclusive.

• Consider adding an equity statement to your careers page and gender

pronoun options to your interview process.

• Use automated nurture messages to keep talent engaged, even when

hiring is paused.

3 Eliminate Bias During Interviews and Hiring

• Review job descriptions to identify and eliminate any gendered terms.

• Take time to communicate with prospective hires about your DEI efforts.

• Use software to hide panel feedback until everyone has completed

their own to minimize groupthink.

4 Facilitate Inclusive Onboarding

• Include an introductory training session explaining DEI definitions and

efforts at your company.

• Highlight portions of your company handbook or policies that are

specific to DEI.

• Connect new hires with employee resource groups (ERGs) or other

support groups.

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8 Pillars of DEI Key Takeaways cont.
5 Lean on Learning and Development

• Provide consistent training, content, and conversations to teach and

reinforce the importance of DEI — generally and to your organization.

• Bring awareness to everyday DEI topics: current events, global/local

news, teachable moments, or company milestones.

• Task a DEI or inclusivity ERG with identifying and educating colleagues

on how to use inclusive terminology in your product, communications, etc.

6 Use DEI to Boost Retention

• Practice clear communication about what you’re doing around DEI.

• Conduct regular surveys to assess how employees feel about the

company and its performance.

• Include demographic questions in your surveys to analyze the

intersectionality of the results.

7 Make Offboarding Count

• Use exit interviews to learn why employees are leaving.

• If common answers emerge around DEI, use that data to focus your
efforts on building a more inclusive culture.

• Encourage honest conversations and try to solicit feedback about ways

your company can improve.

8 Use Analytics to Measure Your Efforts

• Look at the conversion rate of resumes that passed to the phone screen
and compare them with demographic data collected by your ATS.

• Identify where certain groups become underrepresented in the hiring

process — or underpaid as employees.

• Refine those identified areas and keep tracking to measure improvements.

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How Lever Can Help
Lever is committed to supporting our clients as they build diverse,
inclusive, and equitable workforces. We want to ensure you are set up
for success with all the necessary hiring solutions to make that happen.

Products
When it comes to DEI, our solutions can help you:

1. Source and nurture a diverse candidate pipeline

• Proactively source a diverse pipeline 
of talent at scale with Lever’s

Chrome Extension, leads pipeline, and LinkedIn Recruiter integration.
• Maximize response rates from your diverse talent pipeline with
personalized email drip campaigns.

2. Remove unconscious bias

• Conduct apples-to-apples interviews with structured interview kits

and prescriptive feedback forms.
• Eliminate groupthink with hidden feedback that panel interviewers
can see only once they’ve completed their own.
• Remove bias by automatically tagging or archiving candidates based
on preset criteria for identifying top talent.
• Integrate anonymous resume review products like Bryq, Hiretual, and
Unbiasify to hide candidate names and photos, helping you focus on
what actually matters.

3. Measure your results

• Collect candidate experience survey information to identify areas of

improvement within the recruitment process, with fully customizable
triggers and question sets.
• Administer EEO surveys and fully customizable diversity surveys, being
mindful of regional or cultural diversity language and appropriateness.
• Leverage our pre-built EEO dashboards that offer an overview of
diversity in your historical and current candidate pipeline.
• Identify gaps of diversity in hiring with advanced analytics, showing
metrics like low volumes at the top of the funnel, or bias in the
interview process.

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Going Beyond
Our commitment doesn’t stop at the product
level. As we all continue down this journey
towards inclusive hiring, we are committed
to providing additional resources, events, and
programs for our clients and others in the HR
industry. We design these to help your team
further understand best practices and strategies
that you can apply each step of the way.

Looking for more hands-on DEI training and

tips? We regularly offer DEI workshops for both
our customers and those in the broader HR field.

Check out our DEI resources

About Lever

Lever is a leading Talent Acquisition Suite that makes it easy for talent teams to reach
their hiring goals and to connect companies with top talent. Lever is the only platform
that provides all talent acquisition leaders with complete ATS and robust CRM capabilities
in one product, LeverTRM. The Lever Hire and Lever Nurture features allow leaders to
scale and grow their people pipeline, build authentic and long-lasting relationships, and
source the right people to hire. Lever Analytics provides customized reports with data
visualization, see offers completed and interview feedback, and more, to inform strategic
decisions between hiring managers and executives alike.

Our platform also enables companies to hire with inclusivity in mind, helping eliminate
any hiring bias. Lever supports the hiring needs of 4,000 companies around the globe
including the teams at Netflix, Atlassian, KPMG, and McGraw-Hill Education.
For more information, visit www.lever.co.

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