Data from the Institute for Corporate Productivity’s (i4cp) latest pulse survey of
315 business leaders found that addressing the issue of racial inequity
enterprisewide is a top priority for most companies.
Among larger organizations (those employing >1,000
people), the importance placed on this is undeniably distinct—a combined 80% said last
week that the level of this priority in their organizations is high or very high.
Given last month’s announcement by the SEC about
human capital data reporting and disclosures, combined with
growing social and cultural pressures, the urgency related to confronting this
issue is intense.
While the SEC didn’t articulate specific metrics in its announcement, the expectation and message is clear that organizations must be prepared to disclose metrics
related to diversity and equity (among others) going forward.
This is not a surprise; i4cp has been
tracking this shift for quite some time.
In addition to our expansive research on corporate culture, we published our white paper, Measuring and Managing the New Corporate
Currency, earlier this year to help i4cp member companies understand the
drivers and implications of the growing emphasis on culture and brand and
related measures.
The paper is based on interviews with dozens of CEOs and
directors of public boards including Amazon, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Brands, and
Fannie Mae, and examines the human capital data that leaders of high-performance
organizations find most valuable in executing their roles.
We found that in addition to focus on risk and readiness
related to executing evolving business strategies, emphasis on organizational culture
and capability is viewed as critical to the business value equation.
Addressing racial inequities enterprisewide and what it takes to move decisively from discussion to action that drives meaningful change will be the focus of a panel discussion
hosted this week by i4cp, with delegates representing each of i4cp’s
six executive boards.
With a collective membership of over 140 senior leaders
(Chief Human Resource Officers, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officers, Chief
Learning & Talent Officers, Total Rewards Leaders, Talent Acquisition, and
People Analytics) the discussion is a much-anticipated coming together of the
leaders of some of the world’s most successful and influential companies. We
will share our thoughts on the conversation with i4cp’s member companies in the
coming weeks.