Operating in people business increases the importance of DEI development for Academic Work as a company. Key reasons include e.g. the need to attract and retain top talent as well as better understanding their clients’ diverse needs and expectations.

Prior to our collaboration, DEI efforts consisted of more isolated stand-alone actions rather than a unified, strategic approach that would deliver measurable results. That is why we kickstarted our collaboration with Management Onboarding and an organization-wide DEI Survey.
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Step 1. DEI explained and adapted – Management Onboarding:

The aim for onboarding was to develop the management team’s understanding of the continuously evolving subject of DEI in organization and to help them identify the strategic benefits that DEI can bring to Academic Work as a company when it’s done right. The management onboarding also built buy-in and commitment for the upcoming DEI survey collaboration.

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“deidei has provided the platform and more knowledge on the matter as well as deepened our understanding of how broad the topic is. They have also supported our management team to be able set actions and initiate deeper discussions within our company.“ Laura Christie

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Step 2. Towards data-driven decisions – DEI Survey:

Following the management onboarding, we continued our collaboration with a DEI Survey. The goal of the survey was to assess Academic Work's current state, identify strengths and areas for development, and provide concrete recommendations for the future. This data enabled Academic Work to make informed decisions about the next steps in their DEI development. The survey was conducted across the entire company, and the results were shared with everyone by the management team.

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Step 3. Increasing organization-wide DEI competencies – Trainings & Workshops
Following the findings of the survey, one key action has been to increase DEI competencies in leadership and across the company. As a first step, we organized a voluntary training about inclusive leadership to Academic Work’s team leads.

Our next step is to continue by providing DEI Fundamentals trainings to employees to strengthen behavioral inclusion skills across the company. Inclusion is a skill that everyone can develop, and it’s one key component in DEI development. The trainings are co-designed with Academic Work to ensure the learning goals are set in an ambitious and meaningful way, the content tailored specifically for Academic Work’s needs, and the outcomes measured to assess the learning results.
 

The work continues

In any environment involving people, the role of DEI development is increasingly important. In Academic Work’s case, when working with recruitment, it’s an absolute necessity. Working with data enabled them to take action in the right direction from the very beginning in internal DEI development.

“The work continues, but we can already see the positive response from our co-workers. It was important to start the discussion and actions around DEI.“ Laura Christie