Three employee engagement tips to boost your DEI efforts

When it comes to DEI efforts (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), there’s still a lot of work to be done. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. A recent IPSOS report showed a large proportion of the UK public supports workplace DEI initiatives. And there are clear ways in which employee engagement can help businesses fulfil these requirements.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the State of DEI 2025 webinar hosted by Pulsely and, against all preconceptions, I felt enthused by the realities of DEI efforts globally.

So, if you’re looking to bolster your strategy with a focus on employee engagement, here are some key takeaways.

1. Keep an open dialogue

The majority of companies are maintaining or expanding DEI progress, especially tech and larger companies. And as always, it’s vital to put your current and potential employees first. Just look at the work we did with TSB, which used employee listening to improve internal communications and inform brand strategy.

Employee engagement tip: Ensure your internal channels are open and accessible to all employees. This is a critical time for people to know their voices matter and are heard and utilised.

2. Call it what you like, the outcome is what matters

There's some unhelpful distraction right now with how we should label inclusion efforts. ‘Belonging' is on an upward trend, which makes sense as a basic human need. We recently worked on a project with Colt Technology Services, aimed at emphasising and celebrating the role of women in tech. This project actively encouraged inclusivity and that feeling of ‘belonging’. And the results were fantastic:

But a real moment for the campaign’s effectiveness lies in the tangible impact on achieving their mission; specifically in India, where the leap in hiring women in tech went from 35% to an impressive 50%.

Employee engagement tip: Spread salient content that evidences the business impact of inclusion action to keep people focused on the great work your business is doing, and away from the noise and drama.

3. Follow in the footsteps of leading brands

Studies show brands that continue to invest in their DEI programmes outperform brands that don't. So big brands are powering up with their DEI interventions because they know inclusive workforces are a win-win for people and business.

Inclusive leadership development is top of their must do lists. Harvard Business Review reminds us why inclusive leaders are essential to business; they’re aware of their own biases, actively seek out and consider different perspectives, and create an environment where all employees feel valued and respected.

Employee engagement tip: Support burdened middle managers with internal communication tools that help them keep inclusion at the core of everything they do. Remember: Make it real, but make it easy. If you need inspiration, take a look at our work with Nationwide on their Think 6 tool. We developed this to help managers have fair and inclusive conversations around reward. The results were very positive!

Ready to turn DEI from intention to action?

True progress starts with engaged employees and empowered leaders. So, start implementing these three key points, and begin to see results:

• Take stock of your internal comms
• Promote and maintain inclusive leadership
• Keep the DEI conversation open and focused.