The Code makes the business case for DEI and its link to performance. It uses practical guidance and tools to encourage, promote, and support DEI in the workplace. The document advises your business to select the most appropriate guidance for you and to adopt a phased approach so that you can measure progress and results.
Five-step approach
Principles
Your policies and practices should help promote, support and manage DEI in your business.
| Policy | Process | Procedure | Performance |
Purpose | Define the organisation's position. What are we doing? Why are we doing it? Who does it apply to? | Define roles and responsibilities. Who is doing it? What are they doing? | Define actions and outcomes. When are they doing it? How are they doing it? | Definitions and measures of success. How will we check the policy is being adhered to? How will we check the policy is effective? |
Ownership | Organisation | Individual(s) described in the policy. | Individual(s) described in the policy. | Organisation |
Key information | 1 Aim and objectives. 2 Compliance. 3 Consequences | Steps required to implement the policy. | Breakdown of steps required to implement the process. | What do we want to measure? When will we measure it? Who will measure it? How will we measure it? |
Communication | Organisation. | Individuals. | Individuals. | Organisation and individuals. |
Five-step plan
The Code gives an example of a simple five-step plan.
Commitment
Secure the engagement and support of the right individuals in the organisation or leadership team.
Action
Agree action points that are realistic, achievable and appropriate to your business. Each action should have clear answers to the question: What? Why? Who? How? When?
Responsibility
Assign clear roles and responsibilities to individuals and teams responsible for results.
Measure
Tracking progress confirms that agreed actions are being implemented. Effective measurement needs a starting point and an endpoint: What do things look like now vs what you want them to look like?
Success
What does success look like? It is important to acknowledge success. Success could be completing all of the agreed actions, or it could be completing each individual action in its own right.