Diversity Strategy & Strategy Consulting

A DEI strategy is a clear plan for how your company will create fair access to opportunities and develop a more inclusive working environment. It combines three things:
where you are today, where you want to go and how you will get there.

In our work, we usually translate this into clearly focused priorities: underpinned by data, clear responsibilities and a realistic roadmap. If you are at the very beginning: this is exactly what we develop together in the strategy development phase.

Sure, you can get started with measures straight away, and many companies do.
But over time, this often leads to scattered activities, unclear responsibilities and the question: What is the point?

A strategy helps you to focus and make decisions. It gives you the basis to consciously say yes and, just as importantly, no. Our role is to move you from actionism to clarity, for example through prioritization workshops and a clear roadmap. The research (e.g. from Dobbin/Kalev) is also clear: if DEI is to be effective, you need to implement a consistent strategy.

The struggle is real! But: you don’t have to solve everything at the same time. Understand your starting point, identify key priorities, clarify the responsibilities of your role and build on this. We structure the work together and support you in the process.

We can work with you to create something for reporting relatively quickly. The challenge comes later: it will be difficult to continue or explain it consistently.
What works better is to build something that is simple, structured and anchored in your real data and processes. Then what you report is also credible: internally, to your employees and externally, to customers and as part of your employer branding.

This is a classic challenge, especially in larger organizations. A pragmatic approach is to define global principles and priorities while leaving flexibility for local implementation. Standardizing everything would be wrong and no structure at all leads to confusion.
We support you in defining this balance: What in the diversity strategy belongs defined globally, where does it need local adaptation?

Verbal support without real commitment is a familiar pattern. What helps: Make things concrete. Bring in data or real examples from your company, link DEI to business priorities and make it clear who is responsible for what. We often support such situations.

Most companies start without perfect data. A solid starting point is gender distribution (overall and in management), figures on hiring, promotions and turnover as well as basic employee feedback. HR data already reveals a lot.
With a DEI analysis, we look together at what is there and which data gaps we want to close.

In the end, it comes down to accountability. When diversity, equity and inclusion is the responsibility of just one person or team, it often remains on the surface. As soon as the management level takes responsibility, the work becomes part of the actual actions within the company. That’s why we clarify ownership and governance early on.

Managers don’t have to have all the answers. But they need to understand what is at stake, set priorities and take responsibility for progress. The crucial shift is: away from “We support DEI” (easy to say) to “DEI is part of how we run our company”.
Especially at the beginning, we often accompany this with targeted alignment sessions for managers.

Resistance is part of every change process. Instead of trying to win the person over to the cause, it is often more helpful to remain curious and understand the perspective behind it. “Tell me more: why do you see XYZ this way?” And: You don’t have to convince everyone. A critical mass is enough.