D&I METRICS FOR START-UPS

Metrics

WHERE TO START

  • As an early-stage start-up, you probably have a good sense of the diversity you have around the table and may wonder why you need to start tracking metrics. The journey to creating a diverse and equitable workplace takes intention and starting to measure who you are now will enable you to intentionally guide who you become.

  • Tracking metrics from day one will not only establish the importance of D&I in your culture but will also provide actionable insight as your company grows and becomes more complex.

  • The following slides are intended to provide a starting point and include simple customizable templates to collect D&I metrics and slides to track your results.

#BIIGideas #BIIGimpact

DEVELOP YOUR TEAM SNAPSHOT

As early as you develop other internal tools, you will want to create your metrics template and update quarterly. Start simple and add additional categories as you grow. In the beginning, simplicity will ensure as much discretion as you can offer. When you are larger, you can add additional cuts by level to track the composition of your leadership team for example, but you wouldn’t want to do that too soon to avoid unintentionally revealing confidential information!

Day 1 metrics to track (# and %):

  • Gender identity

  • Racial / Ethnic Breakdown

Additional metrics to track (%):

  • Employees who identify as LGBTQIA+

  • Employees who identify as having lived or currently living with a disability

  • Employees who are veterans

  • Employees by generation and/or age

  • Employees who identify as first-generation college student​​​​​​​

HOW TO COLLECT THE DATA

You will gather certain baseline information upon hire and then will want to add to/update that on a quarterly or annual basis. Simple surveys can be downloaded and customized to meet your company’s needs.  

  • Here is a sample survey to invite employees to anonymously share demographic data. Click here to download a copy you can edit. We recommend starting with the first two questions at minimum.

  • If you plan to integrate demographic data with hiring, performance, pay, and promotion practices, you will need a version that identifies the employee. This link will allow you to download a copy you can edit and make your own.

  • Don’t worry if an employee chooses not to self-identify. Instead, understand that this is data and indicates that the current culture might not feel safe and inclusive to all.

  • Be mindful of legal requirements and your responsibility to keep all collected data secure and confidential.

DEI&B SURVEY BEST PRACTICES

  • Keep all data confidential and treat as sensitive

  • Include a “prefer not to answer” option for each question

  • Make all questions optional

  • Encourage self-identification

  • Don’t worry if everyone does not respond

ANALYZING THE DATA

Populating even simple metrics into a spreadsheet can provide actionable insight into your hiring, promotion, pay, and equity practices. If you do not yet have an HRIS system, you can use a simple spreadsheet to bring these elements together. 

Here is a sample you can download and modify to make your own and will allow you to track:

  • Average cash compensation by gender, race/ethnicity, and/or age

  • Seniority by gender, race/ethnicity, and/or age (%)

  • Leveling of employees by gender, race/ethnicity, and/or age

For companies that are larger or have been through a performance review cycle, it will also allow you to track:

  • Promotion rates by gender, race/ethnicity, and/or age

  • Impact of Manager/Department by gender, race/ethnicity, and/or age

  • Functional groups by gender, race/ethnicity, and/or age (%)

ChartHop is a people management platform that makes it easy to capture and track this data – they are rumored to be releasing a free version of their platform for small companies.​​​​​​​

BOARD OF DIRECTORS & INVESTOR COMPOSITION

As a start-up, your board and investors will influence the company direction and culture. You may want to internally monitor the composition of these groups. A sample template you can use to capture simple metrics from your board and investors is here. To download a copy, you can modify and make your own, please click here.

Board Composition 

  • Gender (%)

  • Race/ethnicity (%)

Investor Composition*

  • Gender (% of total investor count)

  • Race/ethnicity (% of total investor count)

*Include angel and lead investors from firms the company has raised from

NOTES ON DATA COLLECTION

When capturing demographic data, remember legal requirements. Answering should always be voluntary and the data should be protected. This applies to both anonymous and non-anonymous forms of collection.

  • Taking care to safeguard data, keep it separate from an employee’s file and only share more broadly if you can do so in aggregate form and for the reasons shared upon collection (e.g. to ensure you are supporting and celebrating the rich culture the company is trying to create), will enable hesitant employees to feel more comfortable sharing.

  • Employees may perceive demographic questions as sensitive and private and providing demographic data may make them identifiable. Given all of this, we recommend letting your employees know how your organization will use their data, how it benefits them to provide it, and how you will protect their information. An example statement is included in the data collection templates and alternatives can be downloaded here. This statement should be included in both the email you send inviting employees to participate and the form you use to collect the data.

  • Pay careful attention to how you slice the data. Make sure you have an accurate picture of how employees who have intersectional identities (e.g. women of color) are doing at your company.

We hope these tools provide a useful starting point for measuring your progress towards building an equitable and diverse workplace!

  • Check out our downloadable and customizable BIIG tools and links to informative external resources.

    Resources

  • Learn more about our other Working Group Products.

    Our Products

  • Learn about the importance of being intentional about D&I from Day 1, and how to establish stage appropriate goals that will set the stage for current and future growth.

    Values & Norms

  • Learn how to embed D&I into your startup’s hiring process.

    Hiring Process

  • Learn how to foster an inclusive culture by anchoring D&I through three post-hire workstreams: onboarding, performance management, and ongoing training.

    Culture