The 2023 NACM DEI Guide states that “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are three terms that are becoming increasingly prevalent in the business world, in society, and in courts in particular.”[i] DEI initiatives have resulted in widespread DEI training and education programs, improved workforce management, and modified operational practices. This is all wonderful, yet a recent Harvard Business Review article, 7 Metrics to Measure Your Organization’s DEI Progress,[ii] raises the question of how you measure whether your organization is actually achieving its DEI goals. This is very important because, as with many efforts, too often we may fail to do the hard work of evaluating whether our initiatives achieve their goals and make a difference. If you don’t measure, how will you know if what you are doing is making a difference? This blog post explores how to effectively measure DEI progress and make sure you are indeed making a difference.
First, let’s take a step back and look and see how measurement is an essential element of the strategic planning cycle:
Thus, before an organization measures DEI it must first have defined its DEI goals and desired outcomes, as well as implemented strategies and actions to achieve those outcomes. A good source about this process is the High Performance Court Framework, which also highlights how human capital and customer perspective are natural focus areas for DEI goals.[iii] As part of this process one designs DEI measures that are both quantitative and qualitative, tracking key performance indicators (KPI’s) that are directly related to the adopted DEI goals. Demographic data are critical, and can include (but are not limited to):[iv]
- LGBTQ+ identity
- Disability and accessibility
- Racial and ethnic identity
- Religion
- Gender identity
- Age
- Nationality
- Education
Quantitative assessments should cover the entire employee life cycle. The employee life cycle has six distinct processes: attraction (who your brand resonates with), recruitment (who applies), onboarding (who joins), retention (who engages and stays), development (who promotes), and separation (who leaves and the reason for leaving). The HBR “7 Metrics” article also highlights the areas of performance and pay equity, which are very important.
- Quantitative analysis examples:
- Are any identity groups over-represented or under-represented in any phases or employment groups (e.g., leadership positions)? Do the data show that the court reflects the composition of the community, those who live in the jurisdiction, and those whom the court directly serves?
- How do the dollars budgeted, allocated, and spent compare in the phases for each identity group?
- How much time is spent on DEI initiatives?
- What new or refined metrics and measures are needed in the various phases after the analysis (how did we do)?
Qualitative analysis is important as it illuminates context and meaning. Examples include:
- Employee belonging surveys give court employees a confidential opportunity to express belonging by answering formatted questions, by providing written comments, and/or participating in a confidential interview with the survey administrator. It is important that staff know why the survey is being done and what actions will follow to increase belonging (transparency and accountability).
- Court user and general public listening tours and surveys provide an opportunity for identity groups (and intersectional identity groups) to share their experiences and perceptions of the court. The results measure the impact of DEI efforts and bring to the surface issues courts should consider for the future.[v]
Implementing these measures must be done very carefully, with lots of advance planning and testing. Use of demographic data can be very sensitive, with issues such as confidentiality needing to be addressed.
Measuring DEI is not easy and takes a sincere commitment by the organization to do the work and to do it right. DEI metrics, once established and benchmarked, provide an accountability framework to ensure that DEI efforts are effective. The NACM DEI Guide also makes a good point about the use of metrics: “When your court decides on a particular set of tools, they should attempt to use those same tools every year. Only repeated measures of the same tool allow for the longitudinal study of the progress (or lack thereof) of an individual or organization.”[vi] Such consistency is important, yet as stated above, new or revised metrics and measures may be needed to adapt to current circumstances. It is important that the results are fed back into the strategic planning cycle to inform and adjust DEI efforts thereafter.
As 2023 is winding down, now is a good time for courts and other organizations to reflect on their DEI efforts and commit to refreshing them in 2024. As we have seen, including a complete measurement regime is integral to that work.
Further useful DEI measurement resources:
- Publications
[i] DEI Guide Resources – National Association for Court Management (nacmnet.org), 2023, page 9; good definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion are also found on this page of the NACM Guide.
[ii] 7 Metrics to Measure Your Organization’s DEI Progress (hbr.org) , Lee Jourdan, May, 2023.
[iii] High Performance Court Framework | NCSC
[iv] See Gardenswartz and Rowe’s 4 layers of diversity for a good list of demographic data and diversity dimensions for a DEI framework: https://www.gardenswartzrowe.com/why-g-r
[v] The section on quantitative & qualitative measurements is adapted from material shared with me by Zenell Brown – I am grateful for her assistance in writing this blog post.
[vi] DEI Guide Resources – National Association for Court Management (nacmnet.org), 2023, page 30.
Court Leader 
One thought on “Measuring DEI”