Goals and Objectives

Since your launch or anchoring event brings people together and sets the tone for the organization’s adoption of your DEI journey, it’s important to develop goals in many areas: communications, gaining buy-in, awareness, launch implementation, outcome goals and more. Identifying your DEI launch goals will help you to develop the right type of structure, timing and engagement methods needed for your event.  Have you considered your goal(s) in hosting a launch event?  Below are common launch goal categories, which you can use, or provide more specificity:

• ANNOUNCE NEW DEIA JOURNEY: Which can be in the beginning of your journey, after the DEIA mission is developed.
  • Encourage employee volunteerism
  • You can also use this opportunity to solicit interested employees to join in the efforts. It’s best to engage people early and make sure the benefits are communicated broadly.

• LEADERSHIP COMMITMENT: To highlight the commitment that your leaders have made to infuse DEI into the DNA of your organization and WHY it is a priority.
  • Build company reputation by showing its commitment to diversity internally and with the community

• AWARENESS: One primary goal is to introduce and bring awareness to your organization’s focus on your DEIA mission, strategic plan, goals and how it fits into the organization’s overall mission and strategy.
  • Increase awareness and diversity consciousness

• CULTURE BUILDING & STAFF ENGAGEMENT: To bring people together, and create socialization opportunities around one central focus – DEI.
  • Gain buy-in from employees
  • Demonstrate the value of equity, inclusion and belonging

• ENCOURAGE TRANSPARENCY AND BUILD TRUST: Culture philosophy is deeply rooted in complete transparency. Workplace transparency means operating in a way that creates openness and helps build trust between managers and their teams. An open workplace should encourage clear communication, collaboration and understanding of others without the presence of fear.

• ANNOUNCE ACTION PLANS: You can use these events to formally announce components of your DEI journey which will also include your action plans, how you’ll engage and gather feedback from staff, and to share progress and plans for continued efforts.

• INTRODUCE COMMITTEE: You may use it to highlight the efforts of those who will participate in the work of leading the DEIA efforts by introducing your DEIA committee.

• GATHER FEEDBACK: You can gather feedback and listen to the VOE (voice of the employees). Feedback can be positive, neutral or negative and each has value.  Negative feedback helps you understand the resistance that you may experience AND it may help you understand the emotional needs and concerns of staff.

To understand what you want your launch goals to be, you can use the worksheet below which highlights:

DEIA Launch Goal Setting Worksheet

Once you determine your goal(s) you will rate the importance of each of which will help you prioritize which you should focus on first. You can also include elements of other goals and/or choose to focus on medium and low priority items at a subsequent DEIA event.

Planning and Execution

Whether it’s a single event, multiple events, a symposium, or vision statement feedback gathering session, implementing your DEI launch event will be best executed if you use a project planning tool like the sample below:

Although every single launch event is unique, they must all take specific steps into consideration. The following launch event planning step-by-step process shows you what to consider and when.

STEP 1: Get Clear on Your Purpose and Goals

Please review the section above to identify your DEIA launch goals. In that activity, you’ve determined:

•    The purpose of the launch event
•    What you expect to get out of it
•    Your core goals and objectives

This lays the foundations for everything that comes next, starting with possibly the most important element of all . . . understanding your people.

STEP 2: Get to Know Your Audience

If you haven’t already done a DEIA/Culture survey, you may not know what your employees believe and think regarding the organization culture. However, in your initial announcement, you can gather a few pieces of information to understand:

• What’s your staff’s concern about DEIA? (open-ended question, don’t guide them)
• What do they want (and expect) to get out of it?
• This will help you speak directly to your employees in a way that highlights their concerns, needs, etc.

STEP 3: Choose the Right Venue

The venue can make or break your launch event. If possible, find a unique space in your office or a venue that will hold enough people in a comfortable space. It should also be a space that aesthetically has a light and vibrant feeling (the space will evoke an emotion itself, so you do not want to hold it in a small, enclosed area which will not prime your staff to enjoy their experience.) Also think about the need for audio and visual effects. And is there enough space to socialize while people are at the launch event.

STEP 4: Make Sure the “Right” People are in the Room, Visible and Vocal

Which is EVERYONE in the organization. And it is critically important that all organizational leaders in the room, which signals their commitment to your DEIA journey. A new study from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) suggests two key factors are driving forward progress: commitment from the executive ranks and a commitment to get better data. The research found that:

• Half of laggard organizations say they are frustrated by a lack of commitment from leadership, and 72% say they are held back by a lack of diversity at senior levels of the organization.
• Seventy-seven percent of leader organizations have visible executive support compared to just 34% of laggards.
• When the CEO sets the strategy and frequently communicates progress, the company is 6.3 times more likely to have a diverse leadership team and be a leader in its industry segment.
• DEI leaders are significantly more likely than followers or laggards to set goals for levels of diversity among senior executives and board members.
• Thousands , hundreds, or just a few may attend your launch and if leadership at the highest level doesn’t genuinely show their commitment, the entire journey may suffer.

STEP 5: Build Anticipation & Momentum

As important as your actual event is, it’s the anticipation you build beforehand that defines its success which only happens if you get clear on the message:

• What is your launch event about?
• Why is it important and why should people care to attend?
• Who will be there and share important messages?
• What will happen on the actual day?
• How will this event help those who attend?

Your messaging should occur far in advance of the event and generate buzz before the launch is essential to the success of your DEIA event. When you build hype online, your staff will be more excited to attend. You can create conversation beforehand by clearly explaining the benefits (one snippet at a time).  

Once you have a clear message, get it out to EVERYONE. The sooner you build anticipation and excitement, the better, which should happen at least one month in advance.

STEP 6: Personalize the Experience

Memorable moments begin long before the event itself, but it’s during your event that you can deliver the most impactful ones, such as:

• The Moment They Arrive
  • What’s their first impression? How are they greeted at the event? How does the venue look? Is it aligned with your DEIA message? Does this first impression deliver on the promise you gave them throughout your messaging?
• The Moment You Present the DEIA Journey
  • You have their attention, even if it’s because the meeting is mandatory. Do the leaders share their commitment? Ask leaders to bring their story to the forefront. Do they tell a story that helps people understand the organization’s WHY, as well as their individual WHY?
• The Moment They Leave
  • First impressions count, but so does the last one. How will you make sure your guests leave excited to share their experience from the event with other co-workers?  Perhaps you can record messages as people exit and put them on your social media or send thru email throughout the organization.
  • Remember that creating memorable moments doesn’t require a large budget. Often, all you need is a personal touch. As people, we create subconscious associations throughout the day to create a memorable time. Make it about your employees each step of the way. For many it’s not about the launch itself, it’s about the experience and how you speak to their concerns, fear, hopes and more. So think about how to create the experience so they’ll favorably speak about the event, even if they aren’t excited about embarking on the journey.

STEP 7: Follow up After the Launch

Now that you’ve embedded in people’s minds that the organization is going to undergo a DEIA journey, make sure people won’t forget. MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW UP!

• Email them
• Ask them for their feedback
• Ask them if they have any questions
• Remind them of next steps (keep them informed at every step of the way)!

Do all you can to keep them part of the journey. The longer you do, the more rapport you’ll build between them and the more transparent you are, the more you will be building trust. We’ve included a template for you to take a deep dive to understand the steps needed to accomplish your launch event goals. This includes ownership, resources needed, timeline, milestones, dependencies, and more.

DEIA Launch Goal Setting Worksheet

Marketing & Communications

A strategic communications plan can act as a catalyst for advancing DEI strategy and actions and will help individuals embrace new beliefs and behaviors, ultimately supporting a shift in organizational culture. It is important to strategically communicate DEI activities in a way that shows their alignment at the organizational and personal levels.

Your marketing and communications teams will play a pivotal role in promoting the launch event by helping to spread awareness and publicize the event. While you want to bring as many people to the event as possible, your communications provide those who do not attend with an awareness of the plan and ideally, other ways they can engage, such as reading a progress report, signing up for a training session or attending other DEIA events.

Marketing Your Event

Think about your organizational culture and how your employees best receive new news or change initiatives. Make sure the messaging reflects the organization’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, while mimicking the culture of the organization AND showcasing the seriousness of the impact to your people, and the risk of not showing the organization’s beliefs. Though this work is ongoing, because the launch event is the first formal activity, and will set the tone of efforts to come, communication and marketing activities must be developed in a way that will bring intrigue, curiosity, awareness and generate support for the work.  

Below are examples of marketing material for DEI A events at other companies that were held to bring awareness to organizational DEI efforts.

Storytelling

One of the most critical levers that communications teams have is to bring excitement to DEI work is in its messaging and storytelling. In our attempts to create more awake and aware environments, we’re forgetting that numbers typically don’t inspire us to change our behavior — people and stories do. it’s telling these stories at events, focus groups, and listening sessions will inspire people on a personal level. When people hear stories that feel represented by others experiences which invites perspective-taking. A Harvard University study found that taking the perspective of others “may have a lasting positive effect on diversity-related outcomes by increasing individuals’ internal motivation to respond without prejudice.”

The question is often HOW do I craft my story.  Use the story telling worksheet to help walk thru your message by walking thru the following path.

Start With a Message

• Who is your audience and what is the message you want to share with them?
• What is the moral of your story?  
• Once you settle on your ultimate message, then you can figure out the best way to share it.

Focus on Your Personal Experience(s)

• Look to your life experiences for ways to illustrate your message.
• Have you ever been discriminated against? Been witness to it?
• How did it make you feel?
• How does it impact your desire to “do the work” of DEI?

Don’t Make it About YOU, Make it About the Experience

• Even as the central figure of your story, your focus should be on people or lessons you’ve learned.
• At some point, try to make the employees the hero. Maybe you can say, “Imagine YOU, helping to lead efforts to make others feel welcomed, to belong . . . “

Highlight a Challenge to Overcome

• All good stories need conflict.  
• Don’t be afraid to suggest the road ahead will be hard work, and uncomfortable for some.  
• Share with employees the outcome once your challenge has been successfully met.  

Keep it Simple

• Don’t detract from your core message with flowers and sparkles, keep it simple, which can be very effective.
• Don’t put in too much details that people get lost in the story.
• Make it linear so it is easy for everyone to follow.
• Bring out the emotion of what you’re feeling to help drive home your message.

Practice Makes Perfect

• Storytelling is a “real art form” that requires PRACTICE.
• Practice with friends and other leaders to get feedback on your message
• Sharing your story will bring others in. It can also be a great way to encourage other leaders to identify their WHY, to uncover what has them connected to equity and inclusion, and what the catalyst is that has them wanting to make a change.

Event/Activity Examples

A few examples of activities other organization have used as:

Create a jeopardy game and have the leaders of the organization play jeopardy, which will help employees to understand that leaders are learning about equity and inclusion at the same time. Below is an example of Diversity Jeopardy:

Use a virtual scavenger hunt that explores the many dimensions of people’s identities and intersections of identities. Or conduct a Bingo event, or virtual Exposure Bingo to identify how much we’ve been exposed to (of people different that ourselves). Here’s an example of an Exposure bingo card:

Create a Branded Hashtag – Ask your team to take pictures throughout the event and share it to the company’s social media. During the event ask everyone to take out their cell phone and take a picture, of themselves, of their colleagues, of anything about the event. Then ask them to post, right then and there. And on the stage, share your social media site with pictures popping up.  If you’re bold, use this hashtag #HoldingCompanyNameAccountabletoEquity along with your branded hashtag, and ask employees to do just that, hold you accountable. This will help the naysayers begin to understand your level of commitment.

Create a Hands-on Experience – Whenever possible, let employees touch and feel equity and inclusion. Some examples are to use your company’s parking lot to hold an event. Invite your Board of Directors, community/company partners, vendors and more to share music, food, displays and stories about the value of equity, inclusion and belonging.  SHOW, DON”T JUST TELL. This can be as big or small as you desire.  A part of the event might include activities such as a cultural art exhibit, learning a cultural dance, or other activities.  It will amaze you how quickly this becomes an annual event.  

After the event, create an upbeat video to address the questions.  Send one to three a day for a week or two after the event.  Recording all activities allows you to learn from your event and allows attendees to “relive” their experience.

Evaluation & Impact

There are many ways to measure the success and impact of a DEIA launch and anchoring event. It is best to approach this evaluation by considering the viewpoint of many different people in attendance, as well as tracking concrete indicators where possible. A few metrics to track:

• Number of people in attendance vs. Number of people invited
• Gather feedback by creating on the spot survey to capture event experience or sending one immediately after the event. Don’t be afraid to ask your guests what they think on the day of the event.
• But a more fun way to get feedback on the day is to make it part of the event. You could offer guests a swag bag if they leave their feedback on your event app.
• There are also a number of online survey tools (like Survey Monkey) you can use which makes it quick and easy to create a feedback form. You can also create your own feedback form and send it to participants.
• Thank them for attending and explain why their feedback is important to you.

Also, one of your main tasks during the event itself is to look and listen. Make observations about how well things are going. Is your staff enjoying themselves? Are they listening? What’s their body language saying? Use your phone or a notepad to write down observations throughout the day. It will help you remember what happened more accurately. Also look to gather data by identifying:

Event Planning Success

• What worked and what didn’t work
• Whether you met the expectations of your guests
• How well your marketing efforts worked
• If your budget and timeline were realistic
• What you should stop, start, continue

Encourage Social Media Engagement

Ask staff to (in the moment) take a selfie and post it on social media with your selected hashtag.  All social media platforms have an insights tool that gives you valuable data and you can use these tools to calculate your:

• Likes
• Comments
• Shares
• Mentions
• Followers

Event Team’s Feedback

Your staff and leadership sponsors are not the only opinions you should care about.  Remember to listen to your event team as well. It’s always a good idea to hold a debrief meeting after the event and the team has had a chance to think about what went well and what might be improved.  But don’t take too long, it should be fresh on their minds.                                                                                                                          

THE BOTTOM LINE: Assessing the effectiveness of communications as well as the events themselves is important.  Celebrate what went well and remain open to what can be done differently in the future to better meet the needs and interests of your campus community.

‍

Preparing for Your Launch

• • Launch goal worksheet
  • Launch budget template

Project Planning

• • Launch project planning worksheet

Marketing and Communications

• • Change management communication principles
  • Sample invite email templates