Benefits of an internal audit: Start establishing cycles of equity, inclusion and belonging Part 1:
Audits don’t have to be scary or nerve-wracking. We can use them as a way to get a better sense of the competencies and areas of growth within an organization.
My goal in helping clients take responsibility for the organization's systems is to identify and name these core competencies and areas of growth. Often we can see these most clearly in an organization's everyday functions and ongoing systems. These inform the culture and environments we are all responsible for building and perpetuating within the organization
When I start with a client, I audit some key areas first to find an organization's strengths and gaps. Then we work together to identify ways to begin building equity, inclusion, and belonging into their everyday functions and ongoing systems. (And if they don’t utilize one of the items listed below why not?)
Internal audit items:
Employee handbook, which typically holds practices and policies for equal opportunity employment, harassment and discrimination codes of conduct, hours/payroll, expectations, benefits, leave and accommodations, resources, review process, opportunities for growth, professional development and more
Recruitment processes
Hiring processes
Onboarding procedures
Job descriptions
Mission, vision, and values
Website
Forms and/or paperwork staff and/or customers complete
Social media presence
Feedback or survey data from the last 1-5+ years
Prior DEI work
An internal audit of systems looks like reading through and analyzing each of these areas with a trained eye. Here are the questions I’m asking:
What's currently happening?
What could be happening?
From there, I make suggestions for promising or proven practices for updating these to support greater diversity, equity, and inclusion.
This is the “paper”--or more likely the digital side–of an internal audit. The next step is typically getting to know peoples’ real lived experiences of working at the organization. I have iterated on this process over time with clients and am most grateful for learning from fellow DEI consultant Natania Malin Gazek and Northstar Education Consulting Founder Shyam Kumar who introduced me to The Center for Equity’s Liberatory Design Process.
