One of the core challenges of DEI is the ability to define its value to the business in ways that managers across the business can understand. The Capitals Coalition, a group of businesses, institutions, and experts, has introduced a new approach through the Social & Human Capital Protocol, a decision-making framework that enables organizations to identify, measure, and define their impacts on social and human capital.
“The Protocol is part of a broader movement to enable businesses to integrate people, planet, and profit as drivers of sustainable growth. To achieve an inclusive picture of an organization’s impacts and dependencies, businesses should consider social and human capital, along with natural capital, as part of a holistic assessment of non-financial capital. Understanding the connections between business and society and the associated risks and opportunities will inform better, more timely decision-making.”
Creating a DEI strategy that meets the needs of your workforce requires an intricate understanding of the workforce. Unfortunately, that isn’t a perfect science and is usually done through the use of fragmented tools, metrics, and processes which can make it challenging to draw meaningful conclusions and make good decisions. The Social & Human Capital Protocol may be a great tool to begin the discussion around how organizations incorporate human and social capital in their definition of business value. The impact of this new approach, at the very least, is that we’re finally talking about the value that the workforce brings to the business and the importance of focusing on the needs of the workforce.
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