How to sell DEIB to your CEO

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Have you ever pushed for a big diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) effort, only to see your budget slashed or your programs stall?

Most executives say they care about DEIB, but when it comes time to assign DEIB initiatives a budget or staff, or to approve DEIB-related changes to HR processes, that’s when support starts to waver.

Making lasting DEIB changes requires ongoing year-after-year investments. This means diversity can’t be relegated to something your executives only care about during Black History Month or Women’s History Month.

With those months over, now is the time to make sure your C-Suite, and particularly your CEO, has fully bought into DEIB.

Does your CEO need to be leading the charge on DEIB in order for your efforts to be successful? No. But do they need to understand the value enough to authorize budget and resources on an ongoing basis? You bet they do.Does your CEO need to be leading the charge on DEIB in order for your efforts to be successful? No. But do they need to understand the value enough to authorize budget and resources on an ongoing basis? You bet they do.

Here's how to change the narrative and sell the importance of long-term DEIB strategies to CEOs.

1. Help CEOs find their personal connection to DEIB

Everyone likes to think they make data-based decisions. But we know from research that emotion is often more powerful than reason when it comes to decision-making. For this reason, it can be helpful to nudge executives to identify and articulate why they care about this work.

Take this action: Have a conversation with your CEO, using this prompt: “We all know the textbook answer and boilerplate reason for why we’re supposed to care about DEIB. But I’m curious why it’s important to you personally. Who do you think about when you think about the importance of creating a company where everyone has an equal shot at success?”

2. Help them see the daylight between their actions and their behaviors

It’s easy to say you care about DEIB, but it’s a lot harder to actually do DEIB. Despite publicly pledging their commitment to diversity and inclusion, many executives fail to prioritize this work.

Helping leaders see the incongruence between what they’re saying and what they’re doing can create a sense of cognitive dissonance that springs them into action.

Take this action: Give your CEO some tough love…but not through calling them out with public blaming and shaming. Instead, call them in. Sit down with them privately, and come at the conversation from a place of curiosity.

Say, “We often talk about how DEIB is important to us…but when I look at the way we approach DEIB efforts, it’s not with the same rigor and resources with which we approach other efforts we say are important. What do you think is going on here?”

3. Frame DEIB efforts around an articulated priority of your CEOs

There’s a misconception that selling is about talking. But actually, the best sales people are really good listeners. They listen to what their audience cares about, and then frame their offering around it.

For example, compare these two arguments: Argument #1: “It’s important that we focus on DEIB efforts, all the most innovative companies do.” Argument #2: “I know one of your top concerns this year is employee retention. You know, there’s a lot of research to show that if you increase employees’ sense of inclusion and equity, you can increase retention. I think we are under-utilizing DEIB initiatives as a powerful tool through which we can increase retention.” In the first argument, the focus is on what we should be doing. But come on, how many things are there we should be doing that we just can’t prioritize in a busy life (mediation, exercise, eating more leafy greens…).

In the second argument, the focus is on what your CEO has already named as a top priority, and DEIB efforts are framed as a tool to enable that priority.

Incorporating examples of other companies with similar priorities, and who have seen a tangible impact from investing in their diversity initiatives, can go a long way to helping your CEO see the light. For example, here’s a case study of an edtech startup who improved their employees’ experience of equity in the workplace.

Take this action: Have at your fingertips the business case for DEIB efforts. Chances are, at least one of your business' overall goals overlaps with the positive business impacts of DEIB efforts.

4. Surface objections

It may seem counterintuitive, but if you want your CEO to invest in DEIB, it’s important to talk about why they don’t want to.

There is a saying in sales “it’s the objection you don’t hear that kills the deal.”

It’s much better to understand exactly why a leader may be hesitant to take on DEIB efforts and have the chance to counter those objections than it is for those objections to go unchallenged.It’s much better to understand exactly why a leader may be hesitant to take on DEIB efforts and have the chance to counter those objections than it is for those objections to go unchallenged.

Take this action: When you are discussing a proposed DEIB initiative, make sure you leave just as much time to discuss objections as you spend explaining why it makes sense to take the initiative on.

Invite objections by asking, “Is there anything about his proposal you’re not sure about? Or anything that’s making you nervous?”

5. Help them get creative about budget

If I had a penny for every HR leader who told me they had no budget for DEIB efforts, and a month later, pictures of some lavish company celebration are plastered all over LinkedIn…

For a fraction of the cost of a company celebration, you can pay for the creation of a multi-year holistic DEIB strategy.

It’s not really that your organization has “no budget.” It’s that DEIB isn’t prioritized enough that budget is put towards it.It’s not really that your organization has “no budget.” It’s that DEIB isn’t prioritized enough that budget is put towards it.

Take this action: In a budget meeting, bring up the following: “I’m wondering if we can get creative about how to fund our DEIB efforts in a way that maximizes the ROI of our spending. For example, I bet that we could siphon off $75,000 from our company kick-off budget, and not one employee would notice. Then, we could use that $75,000 to build a holistic DEIB strategy this year…and I bet employees would really take notice of that!”

As an HR leader, you have one of the hardest jobs there is. Working with people is infinitely complicated, and too often you’re given way too few resources to do it.

Convincing executives to invest in DEIB can certainly be an uphill battle, and may feel like another giant item on your to-do list.

But if you succeed—and with these tips you can—you’ll have a stronger HR function, and you’ll be building a more successful company.But if you succeed—and with these tips you can—you’ll have a stronger HR function, and you’ll be building a more successful company.

If this article caught your interest, you can find more about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging here. Enjoy!