DECEMBER 2020HR TECH OUTLOOK 19just starting its DE&I efforts. DBP helped the client develop a strategic framework, align its diversity strategy with the business strategy, and identify various objectives that needed to be accomplished within one, three, and five years. "We focused on making the business case for DE&I and embedding it into the organization's culture," highlights Deborah.In another instance, DBP ran an inclusion index study for a financial service organization. The research uncovered that even though the member organization had sponsorship programs for its employees, it was not targeted toward the advancement of women and women of color as much as it should have been. "And from our experience, we know that 50 percent of women of color are open to leaving their organizations if they feel the sponsorship programs do not advance their career within an organization," states Deborah. Therefore, DBP helped the financial service organization revamp their sponsorship programs and focus specifically on women and people of color to make sponsor matches. The company also integrated the sponsorship program with the members' talent development and the succession planning process. Soon after the organizational overhaul, almost 60-70 percent of female employees could secure promotion to senior management positions within a year, thereby indicating a strong DE&I initiative on their employers' part.These are a few of the many instances where DBP has proven its excellence in driving fulfilling results for clients. DBP is also making an effort to bring back 865,000 women who left the workforce amid the pandemic and help them acquire new skill-sets for staying relevant in the coming years. The company has also made its clients aware of leadership accountability. When DBP first started tying leadership accountability with businesses three years ago, it was below 29 percent; and now it is above 42 percent. "But there's still a long way to go. Organizations need to treat diversity as a business strategy and make sure leaders are compensated for their progress against their DE&I efforts. This is a truly significant way to change the current paradigm," concludes Deborah. We like to think of ourselves as an extension of our client's teams. We are very conscious about meeting the client where they are on their DE&I journey
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