Measuring Training Impact

If you are a leader or practitioner of #diversity, #equity, or #inclusion, do you facilitate activities, or do you create impact? They're not the same thing. In conversation after conversation I've had with DEI teams in the last few months, a common theme is anxiety in the face of change. The language they've spent years using is being forced to change. The activities they've made into their bread and butter are being suspended or forced to adapt. Newer or less mature DEI teams tend to see their activities and their impact as one and the same. They reason that, if they provide event programming and support employee networks, their impact on the organization must be "event programming existing" and "employee networks feeling supported." In the face of change, they grieve not only the loss of the status quo, but the perceived loss of all impact they could make. More established or mature DEI teams see their activities as a means to achieve their desired impact. They're able to identify problems in the organization that need solving and develop activities that best utilize their resources to solve these problems. They reason that, because the organization fails to adequately create belonging for all of its employees due to inconsistent manager support and a company culture that doesn't value people, they can solve the problem by increasing managerial consistency and creating a more people-centric culture. In the face of change, they grieve the loss of their activities—but can quickly pivot to new ones that achieve the same goals. We can learn a lot from these teams. If you want to sustain your impact even through disruptions to your team's typical operations, you can start by doing the following: 🎯 Define the problem you're working to solve, in context. Data, both qualitative and quantitative, ensures that you can identify the biggest gaps in your organization's commitment to its values, understand what areas DON'T need fixing so you can conserve your effort, and can start strategizing about how to solve root causes. 🎯 Pull out the biggest contributors to unfairness and exclusion. It's one thing if a manager in Sales communicates disrespectfully. It's another thing altogether if the culture of the entire Sales team glorifies disrespect. Understanding the scale of the issues we face can help us prioritize solving the biggest issues affecting everyone, rather than chasing symptoms. 🎯 Design interventions, not activities. Too many practitioners create an initiative because that's what they've been asked to do. Think of them instead as interventions: carefully-designed attempts to shift the status quo from Point A to a more inclusive, more fair Point B, by solving real problems that hold your organization back. The more we shift our work toward real impact, the more effective we'll be—regardless of the sociopolitical climate, regardless of backlash. Let's hone our focus.

You’re not alone if you’ve noticed that, despite the time and resources invested, the DEI training programs in your organization aren’t delivering the impact you expected. The reality is, success isn’t just determined by the commitment of the participants —it’s heavily influenced also by how the program is structured and delivered. There are key signs to watch for that may suggest your DEI program is like a broken ladder, making it difficult for employees to climb toward meaningful change Here are 8 common pitfalls to watch out for, and what you can do to ensure the DEI trainings in your organization make a lasting impact: ❌ Single-session workshops ✅ Effective DEI programs involve spaced learning, delivered over time to allow for deeper understanding and lasting impact ❌ Same content for people in different roles  ✅ Does the training feel generic, like it’s meant for everyone but relevant to no one? A good DEI program should be tailored to specific roles and the needs of your group. ❌ Focusing on compliance and what not to do ✅ The focus should be on modeling inclusive behaviors and showing what to do in real situations and how to incorporate them into daily work ❌ Copy-pasting training content from global DEI programs ✅ If it feels like the examples or exercises don’t really apply to your workplace, the content may have been copy-pasted from global programs. Check how the material has been adjusted to reflect your specific organization’s culture and challenges. ❌ Run by passionate DEI advocates with no facilitation experience ✅ A passionate facilitator is great, but they should also know how to manage group dynamics and keep discussions productive. Pay attention to whether the facilitator is able to navigate complex conversations and make the space feel safe for everyone. ❌ Raising awareness without driving behavioral change ✅ DEI training should focus on translating awareness into concrete actions that people can start practicing immediately. ❌ Ignoring pushback and concerns ✅ A DEI training that shies away from tough conversations might miss real issues. Good training fosters open dialogue, allowing participants to voice concerns and discuss challenges openly. ❌ No follow-up or next steps ✅ A truly impactful program provides follow-up phases for implementation, ensuring the lessons learned are integrated and built upon. By paying attention to these aspects, you can transform the DEI training program into one that delivers meaningful, lasting change. Do any of these issues resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

It’s crucial to navigate the often overwhelming discourse surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with clarity and purpose. The first step is to establish clear, measurable objectives for your DEI initiatives. This involves setting specific goals, such as increasing representation of underrepresented groups in leadership roles or improving employee engagement scores. By having well-defined targets, you can focus your efforts and measure progress effectively, cutting through the noise and demonstrating tangible results. Another key strategy is to leverage data to inform your DEI efforts. Collecting and analysing data on workforce demographics, employee experiences, and the impact of DEI programs allows you to identify areas for improvement and track the success of your initiatives. Data-driven approaches help to ground your DEI strategies in evidence, making it easier to communicate the importance and effectiveness of these efforts to stakeholders. This not only helps in addressing misconceptions but also in building a strong case for continued investment in DEI. Finally, fostering an inclusive culture requires active and visible leadership. Leaders must model inclusive behaviors, such as actively seeking diverse perspectives and addressing unconscious biases. Providing regular training and creating platforms for open dialogue can help in building a more inclusive environment. Additionally, involving employees at all levels in DEI initiatives, through resource groups or feedback sessions, ensures that everyone feels a sense of ownership and commitment to these goals. By maintaining a continuous focus on improvement and staying informed about best practices, everyone can effectively cut through the cacophony and drive meaningful change within their organizations. #diversity #equity #inclusion #belonging

Are your programs making the impact you envision or are they costing more than they give back? A few years ago, I worked with an organization grappling with a tough question: Which programs should we keep, grow, or let go? They felt stretched thin, with some initiatives thriving and others barely holding on. It was clear they needed a clearer strategy to align their programs with their long-term goals. We introduced a tool that breaks programs into four categories: Heart, Star, Stop Sign, and Money Tree each with its strategic path. -Heart: These programs deliver immense value but come with high costs. The team asked, Can we achieve the same impact with a leaner approach? They restructured staffing and reduced overhead, preserving the program's impact while cutting costs by 15%. -Star: High impact and high revenue programs that beg for investment. The team explored expanding partnerships for a standout program and saw a 30% increase in revenue within two years. -Stop Sign: Programs that drain resources without delivering results. One initiative had consistently low engagement. They gave it a six-month review period but ultimately decided to phase it out, freeing resources for more promising efforts. -Money Tree: The revenue generating champions. Here, the focus was on growth investing in marketing and improving operations to double their margin within a year. This structured approach led to more confident decision-making and, most importantly, brought them closer to their goal of sustainable success. According to a report by Bain & Company, organizations that regularly assess program performance against strategic priorities see a 40% increase in efficiency and long-term viability. Yet, many teams shy away from the hard conversations this requires. The lesson? Every program doesn’t need to stay. Evaluating them through a thoughtful lens of impact and profitability ensures you’re investing where it matters most. What’s a program in your organization that could benefit from this kind of review?

A lot of people that were hired to do DEI work since 2020 have struggled. And to be honest, that’s mostly by design. They weren’t hired to be change agents, but to *represent* change. They are only meant to be tokens, and thus have little support, resources, or accountability for their work. And I say this with all tenderness: those DEI certificates do not give me confidence that a person can do the job. But for those that are looking to bring change to organizations how do you know if your work is successful? What are the key performance indicators? I know I struggled with this early on, so I want to share a few that we use. Keep in mind, I work at a public university, have a strategic plan, and have had a 2-3 person team for years. But what we’re looking at for indicators of progress include: •Retention of employees from marginalized communities •Educational initiatives plus number of people engaged, their feedback, and competencies added •Equity in compensation studies and adjustments •Climate assessment results with disaggregated data, longitudinal analysis preferred •Measures on supplier diversity initiatives •Progress on the accessibility of physical and digital spaces •Verbal and financial support from leadership This is not an exhaustive list but I’m curious what other DEI professionals have been using to measure progress, comment below! #DEI #KPIs #DataDriven #MeasuringSuccess #UMNproud

We’ve noticed. We’ve noticed the panels getting whiter. We’ve noticed planning organizations and nonprofits quietly shifting back to rooms that don’t look like the communities they say they serve. Equity staff gone. DEI language scrubbed. Whole organizations recalibrating — not toward justice, but toward comfort. And we’ve noticed how fast it happened. That speed tells you something. It tells you those commitments were never in the bones of the organization. They were layered on top. I’m not writing this from a place of perfection. I’m writing it from a place of practice. Two and a half years ago I became CEO of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. I didn’t walk into a broken organization — I walked into one that, like most, had never built the infrastructure to hold itself accountable to its own values. That’s not a failure. That’s just where a lot of organizations are. The question is what you do about it. So we got to work. We spent 2023 and 2024 documenting our values — not for a wall, but as a living, debated framework. Then in 2025, we did something CNT had never done in its almost 50-year history: we completed a Theory of Change, an impact framework, and an actionable five-year strategic workplan. You can read about this work via a blog post from our CSPO Miriam Savad, AICP here: https://lnkd.in/gnmjt8Qs This wasn’t a branding exercise. It was an internal reckoning. We asked ourselves hard questions — what do we actually do, who does it serve, how do we know it’s working, and what happens when the answer is “we’re not sure”? Our Theory of Change names three commitments: trustworthy, accessible knowledge; community power; and just neighborhoods. And we built an impact framework with real metrics and data sources so we can measure ourselves against those commitments. Not just talk about them. But here’s the part most people skip: this work goes beyond programs. It touches who’s at the table. How decisions get made. What you’re willing to say out loud when your practice doesn’t match your principles. That’s the part most organizations won’t do. They’ll publish the values statement. They won’t build the system that tells them when they’re falling short. Accountability isn’t about getting everything right. It’s about being intentional. It’s about being honest — with your team, your board, your community — when you fall short. And it’s about building something strong enough that when the political moment shifts, your commitments don’t shift with it. If your equity work disappeared in 2025, it’s worth asking why you didn’t take the steps to protect it. We’re building ours to hold.