Commonwealth Compact Benchmarks

Summary of Six Key Areas of Diversity

 

I. CEO Commitment

  • Leading indicator: A diverse leadership team that includes people of color and women who share the CEO’s commitment to organizational diversity

Measurement: numbers and percentages of people of color and women on the team

 

II. Boards/Governance

  • Leading indicator: A diverse membership that reflects the consumer population/geographic area served

Measurement: numbers and percentages of people of color and women on the board

 

III. Workplace/Personnel

  • Leading indicator: A diverse workforce, at all levels and across all job categories, that is reflective of the consumer population/geographic area served

Measurement: Breakdown of numbers and percentages of employees, by job category and level, throughout the organization

  • Leading indicator: People of color and women who develop and advance their careers and who achieve increased levels of responsibility and seniority

Measurement: Data on people of color and women who have advanced within the organization, and who have tenure, with comparisons to their white male colleagues

IV. Customers/Consumers/Services

  • Leading indicator: Customers and consumers who reflect the larger consumer base or geographic area being served

Measurement: numbers and percentages of customers and consumers and comparisons to larger consumer base/geographic area

V. Suppliers/Vendors

  • Leading indicator: number and value of the contracts with minority- and women-owned firms

Measurement: number and funding committed to contracts with minority and women-owned firms and comparisons with organization's overall contracting expenditures

VI. Community Engagement

  • Leading indicator: Advancement of specific civic agendas promoting diversity, inclusion and racial, ethnic and gender equity

Measurement: Specific organizational efforts devoted to issues involving diversity, inclusion and racial, ethnic and gender equity

 

Comments: Please include your organization’s success stories, challenges, innovations and strategies to promote diversity and inclusion would be very helpful. (This information will not be shared in a way that makes it identifiable with a single organization without permission.)

 

ADDITIONAL COMMONWEALTH COMPACT BENCHMARKS

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The following are additional benchmarks and ways to measure them to help gauge progress in the six key areas:

I. CEO Commitment

  • Indicator: Active CEO engagement in organization's diversity efforts

Measurement: CEO written statements, speaking engagements and other activities that show commitment to diversity

  • Indicator: CEO expectations for top managers that reward progress toward diversity goals

Measurement: Clear written policies, criteria and goals that are used by CEO to assess performance of top managers

  • Indicator: Budget and human resources dedicated to achieving diversity goals, and monitoring and reporting mechanisms to track progress

Measurement: Actual funding and identified personnel/committees focused on achieving diversity goals and periodic updates and written assessments to the CEO & board to track progress

  • Indicator: An organizational statement of values & strategic goals that include diversity and Inclusion

Measurement: Prominent use of such a statement within the organization and periodic review/revision as needed

  • Indicator: An organizational culture that values all employees and customers, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender, and that solicits their input and participation

Measurement: Periodic surveys of employees and consumers and other means to assess attitudes and provide feedback to management on a periodic basis

 

II. Boards/Governance

  • Indicator: People of color and women who are given significant roles within the board

Measurement: number of people of color and women in board officer and committee chair role

  • Indicator: Clear board efforts to retain and support people of color and women as members

Measurement: Board member mentoring, orientation and training; ongoing board assessment; people of color and women board member tenures comparable to their white male colleagues

  • Indicator: An ongoing process for identifying a diverse pool of board candidates for board service

Measurement: A standing nominating/board governance committee with ongoing responsibility in this area

  • Indicator: A clear board commitment to the organization's overall diversity goals

Measurement: Written and verbal statements from the board on diversity, board meeting time devoted to review of organization's diversity goals

 

III. Workplace/Personnel

  • Indicator: Processes that reach out to people or color and women and produce diverse pools of candidates

Measurement: Breakdown of numbers and percentages of applicants for recent job openings and comparisons to the consumer population/geographic area served

Indicator: Mentoring programs, training and other activities that support employees and sustain diversity

Measurement: Existence of mentoring, training and other activities and ongoing assessment of them

  • Indicator: A performance review system that rewards efforts to foster diversity and inclusion

Measurement: Existence and use of specific performance review policies and forms that incorporate diversity goals

  • Indicator: Compliance with Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity legal requirements

Measurement: Documentation of compliance with these legal requirements.

 

IV. Customers/Consumers/Services

  • Indicator: Programs/services/products that are accessible to a diverse group of consumers and are provided in a culturally relevant way

Measurement: Comparisons between organization's programs/services/products with identified "best practices" in areas of accessibility and cultural relevance; customer/consumer feedback as noted below

  • Indicator: Mechanisms for customer/consumer feedback that gauge levels of satisfaction and areas for improvement

Measurement: Surveys, focus groups and other means of gathering customer/consumer feedback and processes for incorporating this feedback into ongoing programming and operations

 

V. Suppliers/Vendors

  • Indicator: Outreach to and hiring of minority and women-owned vendors.

Measurement: Existence of specific policies and practices regarding contracting and outreach to diverse vendors

  • Indicator: Documentation of non-minority and male-owned vendors' efforts to hire and retain a diverse workforce

Measurement: Existence of specific policies and practices that encourage non-minority and male-owned vendors' efforts to hire and retain a diverse workforce.

 

VI. Community Engagement

  • Indicator: Level of charitable giving and employee volunteerism promoting diversity, inclusion and racial, ethnic and gender equity

Measurement: funding and number of employee volunteers and volunteer hours devoted to these goals.

 

Note: These benchmarks and metrics apply to the following sectors, although some modifications and rewording may be required in order to be more relevant to each: Corporate; Government (including state, city and county government and quasi-public agencies); and Nonprofit (including all types of nonprofits - academic, health care, cultural, human service, philanthropic, etc.)