#DearHolistic: Should our company hire a DEI Director?
Dear Holistic:
Our company has been working on diversity, equity and inclusion for some time, and recently our leadership has been floating (internally) a job description for a director of diversity and inclusion. A lot of the leaders here believe that now is the time for us to hire someone for this role; you know, someone whose job it is to “be in charge” on these issues. I’m not so sure. I’m afraid we’re just going to dump all this on that new person and lose momentum.
How do we know if it’s the right time?
Sincerely,
In Search of Director
* * * *
Dear In Search of Director,
Thanks for writing. This is definitely a key issue that many companies are facing. There are pros and cons.
Pros:
It gives more energy / time to these issues, so your HR people or others who are interested in DEI are not on an island.
It institutionalizes an organizational commitment to DEI in a meaningful way.
There is a structure in place to move on things ... this person gets to make decisions that will be much faster (i.e. you run stuff through that person and you have a quicker path to success).
Cons:
Decreased accountability from everyone else -- especially in an environment where people haven't yet figured out how to have this be part of their DNA.
You are sort of buying that person's viewpoints and experience -- so if they make certain choices, you have to live with them. This is similar to any hire, but it's a more profound effect in these types of roles.
The new director is just one person and they, like everyone else, will have a full email inbox in two weeks, so the notion that they'll be able to supercharge the progress is probably a bit misguided.
In conclusion:
There's really no right answer about the timing. Institutional energy toward these sorts of things is always a good thing. The big question for your company, though, (and it's a look-in-the-mirror type of thing) is "Will everyone find a way to really be involved and make it their responsibility (goal?) to connect their own work to this person's work?" If they'll do that, then it's a net positive. If they let this person wear the burden for DEI so they can go back to focusing on whatever else, then maybe it’s not the right time.
Yours truly,
Holistic
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