Diversity and inclusion are critical topics of interest nowadays, especially in organizations and businesses. A diverse workforce brings a wealth of different perspectives and skills that can be harnessed to achieve organizational goals.
An inclusive and diverse workplace is one where all employees feel valued and respected and where they can contribute to their full potential.
Developing SMART goals can pave the way for organizations to prosper and succeed. These goals will be a powerful tool to fight barriers preventing workplace diversity and inclusion.
What is a SMART Goal?
Encouraging diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not a trivial matter. But to ensure you are successful, consider using the SMART goal-setting framework.
For the unfamiliar, SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. Each component is essential to developing practical goals.
Here is a deeper look into all 5 SMART criteria:
Specific
When creating goals, try to be as specific as possible. This means that you should clearly know what you aim to achieve. For example, suppose your goal is to foster open-mindedness in the workplace.
In that case, you should set something specific like “create a two-hour training program for employees to facilitate understanding of unique cultures and religions.”
Measurable
To check if you are on track to accomplishing your goal, you must have metrics to confirm progress. For instance, if you hope to hire four diverse talents in a month, you should hire one person each week. Doing so will assist you in verifying how close you are to success.
Attainable
Pursuing unrealistic goals is the worst. You quickly lose motivation and feel overwhelmed by everything. Similarly, goals that don’t make you break a sweat aren’t challenging enough.
You wouldn’t gain a sense of accomplishment when tackling them. That’s why your goals should be in the middle ground between achievable and challenging.
Relevant
Ensure your goals are related to your best interests and values. Promoting an inclusive workplace could be a means to allow your employees to work in an open and amicable environment. These goals will contribute to success in the workplace.
Time-Based
Goals without a deadline won’t squeeze out any feeling of urgency. This may lead to procrastination as some people don’t be in any hurry to meet their objectives and goals. Naturally, the timeline should be possible given your capabilities and skill set.
Why Are SMART Goals Important for Diversity and Inclusion?
Organizations struggle with diversity and inclusion because they lack proper planning to implement diversity and inclusion initiatives effectively.
Not only that, creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is arduous when executives and those in managerial positions have not adequately addressed their own biases and prejudices.
Luckily, there is a fantastic approach for you to transform your workplace and make better choices that include all teams and employees inclusively.
SMART goals give a well-defined blueprint to hammer away at your objectives. They help you create easy-to-understand goals and measure progress. If you don’t set SMART goals, you lose out on opportunities.
9 SMART Goals Examples for Diversity and Inclusion
Let’s take a look at some examples of SMART goals to encourage diversity and inclusion:
1. Respect Religious holidays
SMART Goal: To encourage diversity and inclusion in the workplace, I’ll implement and enforce policies that respect all employees’ religious holidays by the end of four months. The goal is to ensure nobody is penalized or disadvantaged for taking time off they need to celebrate their religious holidays.
- Specific: The goal is clear and concise, stating precisely the objective and how it will be accomplished.
- Measurable: By implementing and enforcing policies, the company will be able to track whether or not employees feel respected and included.
- Attainable: This can be accomplished by working with human resources to develop policies.
- Relevant: This relates to diversity and inclusion because it ensures that all employees feel respected and included in the workplace.
- Time-based: There is a four-month timeline for accomplishing success.
2. Recruit Talents From Diverse Backgrounds
SMART Goal: I want to recruit employees from various backgrounds to create a more diverse workplace. In the next 6 months, I’ll aim to connect with organizations focusing on diversity and inclusion. I will create a more diverse candidate pool by advertising job openings in various places, including online channels focusing on diversity.
- Specific: The goal statement is to recruit more diverse employees.
- Measurable: The metric is the number of employees recruited from diverse backgrounds.
- Attainable: This can be attained by connecting with organizations focusing on diversity and inclusion and advertising job openings.
- Relevant: Achieving this goal will help create a more diverse workplace.
- Time-based: You should expect to complete this goal within 6 months.
3. Foster an Inclusive Environment
SMART Goal: I’ll create a more inclusive environment in my workplace by establishing ground rules for respectful communication, instituting policies that prohibit discrimination and harassment, and providing training on unconscious bias. I aim to have all employees feel comfortable and respected within the next year.
- Specific: The SMART goal is explicit because it describes how to support a more inclusive environment in the workplace.
- Measurable: The person could check the level of comfort and respect employees feel within the following year.
- Attainable: This is realistic and achievable with time and directed effort.
- Relevant: The goal is relevant to fostering an inclusive environment.
- Time-based: Goal completion is expected within the next year.
4. Address Unconscious Bias
SMART Goal: Within one month, I want to increase my awareness of unconscious bias and take steps to reduce its impact in the workplace. I’ll do this by attending two workshops and reading 5 articles and books on the subject. I’ll also talk to my employees about unconscious bias and its impact on the workplace.
- Specific: The individual aims to increase their awareness of unconscious bias and take action to reduce its impact in the workplace.
- Measurable: You will attend two workshops and read 5 articles and books on the subject.
- Attainable: This is reachable because the person is taking active steps to learn about unconscious bias and its effects.
- Relevant: The goal is appropriate because it addresses a vital inclusion issue in the workplace.
- Time-based: The goal is time-bound because it has a specific end date of one month.
5. Promote Diversity and Inclusion
SMART Goal: By the end of two years, I will cultivate an environment that includes all employees, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. I’ll reach this by implementing various sensitivity training and cross-cultural awareness programs.
- Specific: The goal-setter wants to create a more inclusive workplace in the next two years.
- Measurable: They will implement sensitivity training and cross-cultural awareness programs and celebrate important cultural events.
- Attainable: This is achievable with time and effort put into a better workplace culture.
- Relevant: This goal is suitable because it addresses the need for a more inclusive workplace.
- Time-based: There is a two-year timeline for meeting this particular goal.
6. Increase the Number of Women in Leadership
SMART Goal: I will aim to increase the number of women in leadership positions within my company. Currently, only 20% of my managers are women. Within the next 5 years, I want 50% of my managers to be women.
- Specific: The goal states the objective, what will be done to achieve it, and the timeline.
- Measurable: You could look at the percentage of women in leadership positions within the company.
- Attainable: This goal is possible because it is realistic to increase the number of women in leadership over 5 years.
- Relevant: This is pertinent to promoting diversity and inclusion within the company.
- Time-based: There is a 5-year timeline for completing this goal.
7. Promote Awareness of Different Cultures
SMART Goal: I will help employees understand and become aware of the differences between their cultures and those of others in the workplace for 6 months. I’ll provide educational resources and opportunities for employees to interact with people from other cultures. I will also create an environment where employees feel comfortable discussing their cultural differences.
- Specific: The SMART statement is clear. It describes how the employer will promote understanding and awareness of different cultures in the workplace.
- Measurable: Measure this goal by the number of employees participating in cultural awareness activities and the feedback they provide.
- Attainable: The goal is realistic and achievable with time and directed effort.
- Relevant: This relates to the employer’s desire to create a culturally diverse and inclusive workplace.
- Time-based: You should ideally reach this goal within 6 whole months.
8. Encourage Minority-Owned Businesses
SMART Goal: I’ll strive to support minority-owned businesses within 8 months. I will seek out these businesses when making purchasing decisions for my company and personally. I’ll also mentor and advise these business owners when possible.
- Specific: The SMART goal is clear because it defines how to complete the goal, the time frame, and the overall objective.
- Measurable: The individual will determine progress by keeping track of the number of minority-owned businesses they support.
- Attainable: This is an achievable goal for the individual to support businesses.
- Relevant: The goal is relevant to the individual’s aim of promoting diversity and inclusion.
- Time-based: Eight months are needed to accomplish this goal.
9. Create a Mentorship Program
SMART Goal: For 6 months, I’ll create a mentorship program that supports employees of all backgrounds to help them feel comfortable and included in my workplace. I want to work with my HR department to create this program and ensure it is well-publicized throughout the company. Last, I’ll meet with each mentee individually to get to know them and their goals.
- Specific: This statement outlines creating a mentorship program for all employees.
- Measurable: You could track the number of employees participating in the program.
- Attainable: The goal is feasible if the program is well-publicized and accessible to all employees.
- Relevant: This is relevant to creating a more inclusive workplace.
- Time-based: The deadline for goal attainment is 6 whole months.
Final Thoughts
Supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace is a daunting and challenging goal to set. SMART goals are a fantastic approach to boosting your chances of success.
The examples of SMART goals above will inspire you to promote a workplace where every employee feels equally valued and respected.
And remember, don’t be afraid to communicate actively with your employees and team. Understand where they’re coming from, and you’ll be one step closer to eliminating any poor biases that cloud your judgment.
