Essential Questions to Build Your DEI Business Case
As organizations are increasingly challenged to make the business case for DE&I investments, we recommend applying i4cp's proprietary model The People-Productivity Chain to ask key strategic questions to help stakeholders--from company leaders to shareholders--better understand where DE&I integrates and supports various aspects of the business.
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Most companies aren’t slowing down their DE&I initiatives, despite the backlash:
- Members of the i4cp CDO board say that DE&I is 5x more likely to receive increased budget in 2025 than a decrease in budget.
- 75% of respondents from larger organizations said their company has made progress on stated DE&I goals in the past 18 months. The most cited reasons why are:
- Leadership buy-in (beyond the CEO)
- Clear DE&I goals and objectives
- DE&I is woven into their day-to-day business processes – as opposed to being view as separate, stand-alone initiatives.
Despite the progress, commitment to DE&I hasn’t been without its challenges – predominately:
- Lack of clear – or clearly communicated – objectives, accountability, and metrics tied to outcomes
- Slightly more than 1/3rd of respondents from larger organizations report internal resistance from managers and frontline workers
- 1/3rd or fewer respondents from larger organizations have concerns related to:
- Potential lawsuits spawning from company DE&I activities
- Negative media and social media attention that can harm corporate or employer brands
- Damage to their culture
As vice president of marketing at i4cp, Erik is currently responsible for all marketing efforts for the company and works alongside several departments to execute organizational initiatives. He also oversees web development projects. Located in Seattle, WA, he brings over 15 years of Internet marketing experience, most of which are in the research industry.
Prior to i4cp, Erik worked as Internet Marketing Director at market research panel company GMI, where he was responsible for global online marketing and panel growth in several countries. He also managed the graphic design team and worked extensively with other departments on process improvements and plan development. GMI experienced exceptional revenue growth - several hundred percent - during his tenure. Prior to GMI, Erik founded FilmJabber.com, a movie review and information website that continues to grow in popularity and traffic.
Erik received a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Western Washington University.