KBIs to Outlaw KPIs – using KBIs as Inclusion Measures?
“What you can’t measure you can’t improve”
We all hear this one! However, in the inclusion world, we see how difficult it is to define metrics that are valid proxies of what you want to measure. For example, diversity is easy to measure. Organizations focus on adding diversity or showcasing what type of diversity is present at their workplace, but adding diversity does not bring inclusion.
From an organizational performance point of view, the issue of using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the context of diversity and inclusion is that they can easily overshadow the underlying objective – to create an inclusive workplace and inclusive leaders.
OFTEN OBSERVE HOW KPIS END UP BEING A GOAL-REPLACING MECHANISM FOR THE UNDERLYING OUTCOME THAT IT IS DESIGNED TO MEASURE.
As a result, it can lead to severe adverse consequences for the organization and leader. In inclusion, we need to shift our mindset from KPIs to KBIs – key behavior indicators.
Do you recognize this?
James, a head of a department, has worked very hard to recruit more women into his team. Within two years, he achieved a 60-40% gender balance. However, the employee engagement survey showed that his team needs to be more engaged and collaborate better. His direct manager challenged him to improve it by “being more inclusive”; however, he gave no precise information on what he needed to improve and how to measure his progress. Does it sound familiar?
In the past few months, we have worked with leaders doing inclusive leadership programs or inclusion solution centers. This one question continued popping up, “How do we measure inclusion and inclusive leadership in a workplace and help our leaders to create an inclusive environment and lead with inclusive behaviors?”
Why are KBIs and measuring inclusion important?
When creating an inclusive workplace and building inclusive leadership capabilities in an organization, you are not building technical skills; you are building the desired culture and a collection of desired behaviors that you want to see throughout the organization, from the CEO down to the operator and reception. As with every organizational change, this transformation does not happen overnight. People must be reminded of and measured on those behaviors to see this crucial change becoming the new normal. As much as results are essential to measuring, in an inclusive organization, HOW you get those results is equally
What is the solution?
Co-creation
One of the key elements of inclusion is co-creation and decision-making. The good news is – you can use it to design the KBIs. Co-creation of KBIs, involving managers and employees in decision-making when deciding on the behaviors, creates buy-in and an inclusive environment. It also gives permission to employees to keep each other accountable when they see the opposite of what has been requested.
Communicate, Communicate & Communicate
You must communicate about the behaviors you expect within your organization and work with your people to understand and design how these behaviors translate into the daily tasks within teams and departments. But first, your people need to understand what these behaviors mean, what they look like and what is expected from them. The follow-on is the creation of informal accountability within the organization. Here employees remind and challenge each other on the communicated behaviors.
Monitor, monitor, and change if needed
Performance is measured using KPIs; it is logical and follows a specific blueprint on what indicators measure performance. The problem is that there is no blueprint for designing an inclusive organization ready for the future. So, you need to be flexible in your approach and continuously measure the impact these behaviors have on performance and the people around you. Are these behaviors evolving in the right direction, etc.?
Always analyze the behavioral impact on your people
Our intentions don’t always match our impact; even the best choices can easily have an undesirable effect if the performance management measures only the outcome and not the process (the how). We suggest that, as organizations and leaders, you conduct a comprehensive analysis of the behavioral impact on your people, customers, etc. When doing so, it is essential to recognize that KPIs are only effective if someone in the organization uses them to do something differently tomorrow compared to what they did today. Our role as leaders of individuals, teams, departments, and organizations is to understand the behaviors that will allow the desired change to occur and celebrate and incentivize them.
“If we want to measure our leaders on inclusion - we need to start tracking and measuring them on their behaviours and not only what they deliver”
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Inclusionem is a global Diversity and Inclusion Consultancy based in Dubai. We specialize in measuring inclusion, diversity and inclusion strategy, inclusive leadership training programs and inclusive communication. Our diversity and inclusion consultants create an impact daily and help to build inclusive organizations in Dubai, the Middle East and all over the world.
