DEI Evolved: ModelExpand’s 2023 Journey and Insights
As 2023 draws to a close, we want to take a moment to pause and reflect on ModelExpand’s journey with our clients, partners and broader community. This year has been one for the books, marked by dynamic social change, industry fluctuation, and impactful innovations.
Trends and Reflections
This year presented us with a politicized landscape for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Amid DEI leadership layoffs and the Supreme Court’s gutting affirmative action reversal, the public narrative was precarious at best. Despite the media narrative proclaiming the “end of DEI,” however, employee expectations for environments where they can feel accepted and thrive remain unchanged.
This trend underscores the demand for workplaces that prioritize inclusivity, even when confronted with external challenges. It also demonstrates that the commitment to DEI is more than a passing trend, but an enduring and essential element of nurturing a positive work environment and employee experience. McKinsey’s latest research showed DEI isn’t going anywhere: the business case for gender diversity on executive teams has more than doubled over the past decade. While their 2015 report found top-quartile companies with diversity had a 15 percent greater likelihood of financial outperformance versus their bottom-quartile peers, that figure hit 39 percent this year.
Shiny programs replaced with organizational change: As a workplace advisory firm, here’s what we found: DEI efforts previously reliant on surface-level actions, like standalone statements, have waned; conversely, leaders dedicated to genuine DEI integration in their organizations have doubled down. In turn, we’ve also noticed a substantial shift from one-off training requests to longer engagements focusing on assessment, strategy development, programmatic relief, and policy/process improvement for lasting change. This year, our team worked tirelessly with clients to revamp hiring processes, analyze workplace culture dynamics, revise policies, and equip people managers with consistent learning paths and tools to foster inclusive cultures and engagement with their direct reports.
The approach to organizational change may be intricate, time-intensive, and not glamorous. However, it enables our clients to work in harmony with their employees' dynamics rather than opposing them. Some of our most notable projects this year include:
Inclusive Culture Assessment and Strategy Development: Through comprehensive analysis, we identified strengths, areas for improvement, and provided actionable strategies to cultivate workplace cultures that uplift all employees.
Structured Hiring and Interview Training for Hiring Stakeholders: Through the design of clearer structures for hiring stakeholders - such as sourcing playbooks, interview guides, and training - we enhanced the efficiency of the recruitment process while minimizing bias, fostering more objective decision-making during hiring.
Healthscore Culture Cards for Leaders: A critical aspect of creating healthy cultures is accountability across executive teams. We worked closely with clients to design metrics that show their leaders what’s working well and what dynamics need to be addressed to counter problematic behavior or patterns disproportionately affecting employee engagement and retention for employees of specific backgrounds.
Key Milestones
Expanding Our Industry Reach: In 2023 we successfully expanded to new industries, including manufacturing, aerospace, retail and telecommunications. Partnering with new clients such as Blue Origin, Chipotle and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation brought us new opportunities to explore talent management within diverse organizational structures and address varied organizational needs. Referrals continue to be our strongest source of growth as we’re fortunate enough to continue with executives as they move to new companies. While there are unique dynamics within industries, we see the robust science of majority and minority dynamics transcends specific sectors.
Awards and Recognition: We were honored to be selected to speak at the College and University Professional Association for HR Professionals (CUPA)'s conference. In addition, our DEI in Tech: Restoring Commitments During Challenging Times panel has been selected for the 2024 #SXSW Conference.
Team Growth: We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our team, welcoming esteemed DEI professionals with expertise in Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, and Talent Management. Among our new members is Dr. Sarah Trocchio, a distinguished People Scientist, who comes with over 15 years of experience translating data into actionable insights.
Our Motivation: Happy Clients and Moving Our Mission Forward
Everyday our team works hand-in-hand with clients to elevate systems, behaviors and processes to create environments that allow everyone to thrive. Nothing motivates us like seeing positive impact and happy clients.
“I love the tools ModelExpand provides and overall discussion about how we can get started on creating diverse teams and an inclusive culture. It gave me a better understanding of what we are trying to accomplish and why diversity matters.”
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to you, our clients and partners, for your ongoing support and collaboration. Here's to continuing our shared journey in 2024!
About ModelExpand
We believe when people thrive, business do too. ModelExpand stands at the forefront of strategic workplace transformation, offering expertise in cultivating inclusive, thriving environments where talent of all backgrounds can excel. Our partnership approach with Talent, HR, and DEI teams focuses on designing and operationalizing people-first cultures, driving not just an enriched employee experience but also significant business impact. Contact us to partner in the new year.