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Diversity & Inclusion Survey Tools: How to select the Right Platform for Your Business Goals

Diversity & Inclusion Survey Tools: How to select the Best Platform for Your Business Goals

30^th May 2024 by Mark Holt

In today's increasingly diverse and global workforce, organizations recognize the importance of fostering an inclusive culture that values diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI).

Unsurprisingly, we believe that Divrsity is the best platform for most people's needs however we recognise that organisations are wrestling with slightly different constraints.

So we thought it would be helpful to put together our thoughts on how to choose the most suitable EDI survey tool for your organization.

Option 1: Dedicated EDI Survey Tools (e.g. the awesome Divrsity Platform)

Dedicated EDI survey tools are specifically designed to address the unique needs of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. These platforms offer a range of benefits, including:

In-depth expertise: Dedicated EDI survey tools are developed by experts in the field, ensuring that the surveys are rigorous, reliable, and valid. This also means that the template questions are Constantly Evolving to keep pace with changing terminology and new insights in the DEI space.
Customizable surveys: A dedicated EDI Survey tool, recognises that every organistion is different, with different priorities, so enables surveys to be completely customised to your organization's specific needs and goals.
Advanced analytics: Dedicated EDI survey tools typically offer advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, enabling you to drill down into specific demographics and identify areas for improvement.
Automated insights: Because we're 100% focused on EDI Surveys, dedicated platforms like Divrsity provide automated insights into opportunities. We use Artificial Intelligence as well as a survey structure that is optimised to providing insights.

The Divrsity platform, for example, is a dedicated EDI survey tool that offers customizable surveys, advanced analytics, and actionable insights. Its expert-designed surveys ensure that your organization gathers accurate and reliable data, while its intuitive reporting dashboard enables effortless analysis and decision-making.

Option 2: Employee Engagement Platforms (e.g., CultureAmp, Peakon)

While they may not have the same depth of DEI-specific features as specialised platforms, engagement tools, such as CultureAmp and Peakon, are designed to offer a holistic view of employee engagement and organisation culture. While they may not offer the same level of customization or expertise as dedicated EDI survey tools, they can still provide valuable insights into your organization's diversity and inclusion landscape.

Broader focus: Generic tools often cover a wider range of topics, including employee engagement, leadership, and communication.
Integration with existing systems: Many employee engagement tools integrate seamlessly with popular HRIS platforms, making it easier to incorporate diversity and inclusion data into your broader people analytics strategy.
Limited Customization: In order to keep their internal models consistent (driver questions etc) these tools typically limit the amount of customisation for specific organistions, and focus entirely on sentiment questions. This is great from a culture benchmarking perspective, but highly problematic when trying to provide actionable insights specific to Inclusion or Bias as they apply to complex areas such as neurodiversity or social mobility (dimensions that those platforms often can't capture at all).

However, generic tools may not offer the same level of customization or expertise as dedicated EDI survey tools, which can limit their ability to to diversity and inclusion. With employee engagement surveys already taking 45 minutes to complete (!), and with hundreds of quesitons, the DEI data is likely to get lost in the noise.

It's worth saying that we're absolutely huge fans of these tools! If you're running a large organistaion that the insights are incredibly valuable. However, our recommendation is to run a dedicated EDI Survey survey at a different point in the year (our surveys only take 5 minutes to complete) to enable the organistion to give appropriate consideration to Diversity and Inclusion issues.

Option 3: Generic Survey Builder Tools (e.g., Survey Monkey, Microsoft Forms)

Generic survey builder tools, such as Survey Monkey and Microsoft Forms, are designed to create and distribute surveys across various topics. While they offer flexibility and ease of use, they may not be the best choice for diversity and inclusion surveys.

Survey Design: You'll need to ensure your team has the capacity and expertise to craft thoughtful and inclusive questions, as these platforms are more suited to those with experience in survey design.
Limited analytics: Generic survey builder tools typically offer limited analytics and reporting capabilities, making it difficult to gain actionable insights from your data. Anything beyond basic Diversity will require your team will need to spend time engaging with the data, building custom reports and

Lack of Security and Anonymity: These tools do not have the same level of anonymity and security for participants as dedicated platforms, which could be a concern for some employees.

Generic survey builders suit ad-hoc surveying or organizations on tighter budgets. However, the lack of specialised features means DEI insights may be less nuanced and require more effort to extract meaningful conclusions.

Option 4: Using a HRIS (e.g., HiBob, Monday.com)

Many organizations already use a human resource information system (HRIS) to manage various aspects of their workforce. While some HRIS platforms offer built-in survey tools or integrations with third-party survey providers, using an HRIS for diversity and inclusion surveys may not be the most effective approach.

Limited functionality: HRIS platforms are primarily designed to manage employee data, time-off requests, and benefits administration, rather than conduct comprehensive diversity and inclusion surveys.
Insufficient expertise: HRIS vendors may not possess the necessary expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion to develop rigorous and reliable surveys.
Data integration challenges: Integrating diversity and inclusion survey data with existing HRIS data can be complex and time-consuming.
GDPR Concerns: Anybody who has worked in a large organistion will have seen individuals attempt to weaponise Diversity! Capturing extensive demographic data into your HRIS will lead to that data being discoverable via a Subject Access Request; potentially fuelling the fire during grievance proceedings.

Key Considerations When Choosing a Diversity and Inclusion Survey Tool

When selecting a diversity and inclusion survey tool, consider the following factors:

Expertise: Does the vendor possess specialised knowledge and expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion?
Customization: Can the tool be tailored to your organization's specific needs and goals?
Analytics and reporting: Do you have analytics skills in-house or does the tool offer advanced analytics and reporting capabilities that automatically identify areas for improvement and track progress over time?
Actionable insights: Does the tool provide actionable recommendations and resources to support your DEI strategy?
GDPR Considerations: Will the tool you choose mean that you are generating a huge footprint of PII, or is the platform Obsessed with Anonymity™?
Cost and scalability: Is the tool affordable, scalable, and suitable for your organization's size and growth trajectory?

Conclusion

Choosing the right EDI Survey tool is a critical decision that can significantly impact your organization's ability to foster an inclusive culture and achieve its DEI goals. While each option has its advantages and disadvantages, dedicated EDI survey tools like the Divrsity platform offer the most comprehensive and effective solution for organizations committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.