It's a new year and it's time to refresh and breathe new life into your organization, right? Right! I propose that you review your company culture by doing a DEIAB Audit.
The D is is diversity. The E is for equity, the I in s for inclusion, the A is for accessibility and the B is for belonging. You can conduct an audit in many ways, via company surveys, interviews with staff, volunteers and other stakeholders, as well as a review of company policies and procedures.
To get you started here are a few DEIAB audit tips:
Establish a team to conduct the audit. It might be the department heads for whomever is responsible for project implementations.
Review you DEIAB priorities. Do they still fit the culture that you are aspiring to become? That should include a review of the organization's mission, vision and values -- which can be addressed later by the Board.
Review HR polices, such as hiring, promotion, termination, dress code, time off, insurance clauses, etc. to ensure that the language is inclusive. I suggest having a couple of people to review the policies and procedures because each person will bring a different thought process.
Review the accounting practices to ensure fair and equitable treatment in payroll, commissions, reimbursements, etc. For example, you have a policy that mileage checks are cut monthly and all request must be in by a certain date. A friend of the accounting clerk is late in turning in the request for mileage, but wants to make an exception in this case, while having refused other late request. It's an issue of fairness.
Review the applications and process of accepting new clients, students or program participants. Is there a sliding fee for services and if so is there a sliding fee scale or scholarships.
Review marketing, the website and social media material. Be careful that a graphic or photo is not discriminatory in some way.
Check the accessibility of all facilities, especially if there have been renovations or additions made. Don't just rely of the federal ADA, not all disabilities are the same. It can be a simple as a timer on an automatic door, that may meet the standard of a person in a wheelchair entering the building, but not of someone on crutches.
I encourage you to put the time in to conducting audits to help you refresh your procedures, practices and policies, which will in turn go along way towards building an inclusive environment where everyone feels like they belong.
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