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Promoting DEI to increase business performance: an evaluation of hiring practices

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Promoting DEI to Increase Business Performance: An Evaluation of Hiring Practices

Darius B. Grissom

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

May 2023

© Copyright by Darius B. Grissom 2023
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Darius B. Grissom certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Briana Hinga
Patricia Tobey
Wayne Combs, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2023

iv
Abstract
This research aims to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of
hiring managers as they attempt to apply DEI strategies that will increase the hiring of diverse
leaders within the insourcing division (ISD) at Best Analytical Services (BAS). A qualitative
study was conducted through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The participants
were managers who make the final hiring and promotion decisions for leaders within the
insourcing division of BAS, a firm serving clients in 59 countries with a global workforce of
61,000 employees; the ISD has over 3,000 employees across 16 countries. The findings from this
study provide information that the organization can use to improve policies and procedures
related to hiring leaders and other DEI initiatives. BAS has taken steps to address gender equality
through programs like its Better Equality Program (BEP), which is supported by senior
leadership. Findings suggest that hiring managers will require additional training; along with,
motivational incentives to complete training for the organization to achieve its other DEI
program goals. Additionally, ISD will need to develop metrics that specifically correlates
diversity and inclusion with innovation and business performance. This will provide the
organization with data that supports DEI and diversity management strategies.
Keywords: diversity, equity, inclusion, organizational culture, innovation, business
performance

v
Dedication
To my wife and children, thank you for the space and your patience and understanding while I
completed this work. You are all my pulse, and I love you.

To the rest of my fabulous family, whom I also love dearly, it is time to catch up with some
celebration.

vi
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my organization, particularly my senior leaders, for supporting my
efforts to conduct this important work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. I would like to
thank all the study participants for their transparency and honesty.
I would like to thank my dissertation committee for their time and perspectives in
supporting my interest in this topic. I would like to acknowledge their incredible patience and
meaningful guidance, which made this a richer experience for me.
I would like to thank my mother and father for their unconditional love and support
throughout my life. I would like to acknowledge the strength and power that they shepherded in
me by allowing me to be just who God intended me to be.

vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xii
Chapter One: Overview of the Study .............................................................................................. 1
Background of the Problem ................................................................................................ 2
Organizational Context ....................................................................................................... 4
Description of Stakeholder Groups ..................................................................................... 7
Stakeholder Groups’ Performance Goals............................................................................ 9
Stakeholder Group for the Study ...................................................................................... 10
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions ................................................................ 10
Importance of the Evaluation ............................................................................................ 11
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology .................................................. 11
Definitions......................................................................................................................... 13
Organization of the Dissertation ....................................................................................... 14
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ........................................................................................ 15
Navigating the DEI Space in Organizations ..................................................................... 15
DEI Policy and Practices in Organizations ....................................................................... 21
Innovation Driving Business Performance ....................................................................... 25
KMO Gap Analysis........................................................................................................... 27
Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 33
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 36
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 38

viii
Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 38
Overview of Design .......................................................................................................... 39
Research Setting................................................................................................................ 40
The Researcher.................................................................................................................. 41
Data Sources ..................................................................................................................... 41
Credibility and Trustworthiness ........................................................................................ 45
Ethics................................................................................................................................. 46
Chapter Four: Findings ................................................................................................................. 48
Stakeholder group ............................................................................................................. 48
Research Question 1: What Do Hiring Managers Know About DEI Strategies in
Order to Hire Diverse Leaders? ........................................................................................ 54
Research Question 2: What Motivates Hiring Managers to Consider DEI
Strategies When Hiring Diverse Leaders? ........................................................................ 70
Research Question 3: How Does the Organization Support Managers’ Ability to
Hire Diverse Leaders Through DEI Strategies? ............................................................... 74
Summary of Findings ........................................................................................................ 79
Chapter Five: Recommendations .................................................................................................. 80
Discussion of Findings ...................................................................................................... 80
Recommendations for Practice ......................................................................................... 81
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan ............................................................... 90
Organizational Purpose ..................................................................................................... 93
Limitations and Delimitations ......................................................................................... 108
Future Research .............................................................................................................. 109
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 109
References ................................................................................................................................... 111
Appendix A: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 126

ix
Demographic Information for Interview ......................................................................... 126
Introduction to the Interview .......................................................................................... 128
Appendix B: Codebook............................................................................................................... 133
Appendix C: Immediate Evaluation Instrument (L2–L1) ........................................................... 135
Appendix D: Delayed-Blended Evaluation Instrument (L4, L3, L2, L1) ................................... 138

x
List of Tables
Table 1: Stakeholder Groups’ Performance Goals 9
Table 2: Knowledge Dimensions 28
Table 3: Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences on Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion in Leadership

33
Table 4: Data Sources 40
Table 5: Profile of Interview Participants 49
Table 6: Percentage Distribution of Participant Role 50
Table 7: Percentage Distribution of Years in Leadership 51
Table 8: Percentage Distribution of Years of Insourcing Division Leadership 52
Table 9: Percentage Distribution of Age of Leader 53
Table 10: Summary of Knowledge Findings and Recommendations

83
Table 11: Summary of Motivation Findings and Recommendations

86
Table 12: Summary of Organizational Support Findings and Recommendations

89
Table 13: Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 98
Table 14: Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation of
Human Resources
99
Table 15: Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors of Hiring Managers 101
Table 16: Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program 105
Table 17: Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 106
Table A1: Interview Protocol Questions 130
Appendix B: Codebook 133
Appendix C: Immediate Evaluation Instrument (L2–L1) 135

xi
Appendix D: Delayed-Blended Evaluation Instrument (L4, L3, L2, L1) 138

xii
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework 35
Figure 2: Participants’ Factual Knowledge of Terminology 56
Figure 3: U.S. Workforce Composition by Race/Ethnicity 61
Figure 4: BAS Global Workforce Composition for Women

62

1

Chapter One: Overview of the Study
Research supports the implication that organizational culture is closely connected to an
organization’s people. Schneider et al. (1996) assert that organizational culture is the sum of the
beliefs and values of an organization and its members. As Waters (2004) states, organizational
culture is something that is created over time and includes the collective experience of
individuals who work together in the organization. More recently, Schein and Schein (2017)
updated their work to include the importance of organizations finding new ways to create
workable relationships as their environments become more multicultural. Schein emphasizes that
leaders’ roles include “creating new cultures” along with “maintaining and consolidating the
existing culture” (p. 125) within their organizations.
In this way, culture is an important element in defining how employees feel included in
and belong to a work environment. Therefore, when considering changes to organizational
culture, it is not enough to focus solely on the diversity of the organization. Creating workplace
environments rich in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) presents opportunities for
transformational change, including advancing organizational performance (Gill et al., 2018). Gill
et al. (2018) add that senior leaders share accountability with middle managers in leading this
change. However, research is scarce in terms of showing a direct association between DEI and
business performance. Kochan et al. (2003) emphasize the need for a workforce, particularly
human resources (HR), to be skilled in diversity management to orchestrate the transition of DEI
strategies into advancing business performance. However, the authors also warn that
organizations rarely collect the data needed to evaluate the impact that DEI has on business
performance. Key performance indicators (KPIs) should be tied to the organization’s business
strategy to determine how DEI strategies impact business performance (Jayne & Dipboye, 2004).
2

According to Jayne and Dipboye (2004), organizations can correlate diversity program strategy
to business outcomes with careful planning and metrics.
This study focuses on the knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) influences
of hiring managers attempting to apply DEI strategies when hiring leaders to support the building
of an organizational culture that promotes innovation and may lead to advancing business
performance.
Background of the Problem
Hiring based on a focus on diversity is increasing, but more work needs to be done to
achieve transformational change within organizations. Resistance to change occurs when
employees become complacent and develop a false sense of security in an organization’s
policies, culture, and success (Kotter, 2012). Transformational change empowers organizations
to overcome the status quo, introduce new policies and practices, and benefit from sustainable
shifts in the organization’s culture relative to the change that was introduced (Kotter, 2012). A
lack of urgency, low expectations, and complacent leaders may drive the completion of
underdeveloped goals, as opposed to a focus on vision and strategy that advances business
performance (Kotter, 2012). This makes sense in relation to the DEI conversation; as Sabharwal
(2014) notes, diversity management alone will not drive organizational performance. Rather, an
inclusive workplace supported by leadership increases organizational performance. Sabharwal
(2014) describes diversity management and inclusion as two parts that make a whole when
creating a strong, productive workforce. Therefore, strategy, innovation, and inclusion are
critical in linking diversity to business performance (Martinez-Jimenez et al., 2020). Although
DEI presents an opportunity to advance organizational performance, the implementation of DEI
strategies within organizations remains problematic.
3

According to Carter and Peters (2016), only 16% of executive leaders in U.S.
corporations in 2016 were women; only 5.3% of these individuals were African American
women. Additionally, only four African Americans held the position of CEO at Fortune 500
companies in 2015 (Carter & Peters, 2016). In 2021, Deloitte reported that the Fortune 500 had
seen a 4% increase in diversity across board seats since 2018. However, a closer look at the data
reveals that less than 1% of this increase consisted of people of color. In total, White men and
women still account for 82.5% of Fortune 500 board seats (Deloitte, 2021). This leaves 17.5% of
seats dispersed among Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Asian/Pacific Islander individuals. Indeed,
gender and racial diversity are only two facets of the disparity seen across organizations when it
comes to DEI. In their study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports from organizations
that had received national recognition for their disability inclusion efforts, Gould et al. (2020)
found that only 29% of these organizations had targeted recruitment plans for individuals with
disabilities. The authors further emphasize that HR researchers and practitioners have barely
considered the complex nature of the experiences that individuals face based on their disability
and intersectionality.
Attention should be paid to this knowledge gap because organizations that opt out of
inclusion and diversity (I&D) practices are 29% less likely to achieve above-average profitability
when they fall in the bottom quartile of both gender and ethnic/cultural diversity (Hunt et al.,
2018). Martins (2020) points to a diversity dividend whereby “the enhancement in an
organization’s performance [is] attributable to its diversity” (p. 1192). Research shows that
organizations are 21% likelier to exceed profitability expectations when they sit in the top
quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams, and 33% likelier to lead their industry in
profitability when they sit in the top quartile for ethnic/cultural diversity in their executive teams
4

(Hunt et al., 2018). Indeed, Moore et al. (2020) reveal how hiring individuals with disabilities
may serve as a catalyst for organizational change, potentially compelling leaders to shift from
autocratic leadership styles to more inclusive and people-focused leadership. For example,
managers cite having greater humility and making an effort to build adaptive relationships in
response to meeting the challenges of individuals with disabilities (Moore et al., 2020). This is
important to organizations because inclusive, people-focused leadership drives innovation and
change, with managers working with their teams to exceed production targets (Moore et al.,
2020). Jankelová et al. (2021) confirm that business performance can be advanced in
organizations that focus on innovative solutions by their employees with strong support from
management. In addition, diversity in skills and knowledge within the workforce is associated
with a positive impact on innovation and business performance versus a lesser impact from
diversity in beliefs and worldviews (Jankelová et al., 2021).
Organizational Context
Best Analytical Services (BAS) is a pseudonym for a global organization serving clients
in 59 countries with a workforce of 61,000 employees. BAS cultivates a culture of innovation
and entrepreneur-led businesses by deploying a decentralized framework as its business model.
Business unit presidents or managing directors are charged with matching their client’s specific
needs. Of note, specific cultures are developed within their individual business units, which in
turn influences the global culture of the organization. The primary focus of this study will
explore the KMO influences of managers during the hiring process for leaders within the
insourcing division of BAS, given the division’s unique operating model.
The BAS insourcing division (hereafter, ISD) was founded in 2002. The division has grown to
over 3,000 employees at more than 85 different client sites and across 16 countries. ISD has a
5

unique identity and model that portrays a leading-edge, innovation-driven culture. The
philosophy of the division is to hire staff and support them so will provide outstanding service to
clients. By taking care of their employees, ISD maintains lower overhead, higher retention rates,
and notable levels of employee and client satisfaction. As noted, ISD exudes a culture of
innovation. While evaluating the KMO influences of managers, this study also seeks to
determine what DEI practices and procedures, if any, are helping establish this division’s culture,
which in turn drives the innovation and business performance seen in recent years.
The decentralized model under which ISD operates empowers local ISD hiring managers
to influence DEI strategies within the organization through their hiring practices. The HR
department within BAS plays a limited role in the hiring process for ISD. In lieu of relying solely
on corporate-centered human resources management (HRM) practices, hiring managers
collaborate directly with recruiters to determine the talent pool for open positions. Hiring
managers and recruiters conduct initial screenings and determine which candidates will attend
on-site interviews with the hiring managers. A team of hiring managers then conducts panel
interviews on-site or virtually to determine which candidate will be offered the open position.
Leadership positions filled with internal applicants follow a similar process, or hiring managers
work directly with the internal candidates to determine if they are qualified for promotion
without entering the formal interview process. In this way, recruiters and hiring managers are
key stakeholders in these processes for BAS ISD, which together offer opportunities to promote
DEI strategies for hiring internal and external candidates.
In 2019, BAS launched its Better Equality Program (BEP), which initially targeted
gender equality. Today, the program’s purpose is to promote greater equality across the
organization and to create a formalized approach to addressing diversity and inclusion for all
6

within the organization. As shown on the BAS website, the organization defines diversity as “a
workforce reflective of different genders, generations, cultures, professional experiences,
nationalities, race, origins, and all the other unique differences that make each employee
individual.” This definition represents cognitive and identity diversity.
To effectively address gender equality, BAS aligned its policies and standards with the
Women’s Empowerment Principles established by UN Women and the United Nations Global
Compact to improve women’s quality of life:
• Principle 1: Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality.
• Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work—respect and support human
rights and nondiscrimination.
• Principle 3: Ensure the health, safety, and well-being of all women and men workers.
• Principle 4: Promote education, training, and professional development for women.
• Principle 5: Implement enterprise development, supply chain, and marketing practices
that empower women.
• Principle 6: Promote equality through community initiatives.
• Principle 7: Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality (de
Souza Mauro et al., 2019, pp. 2–8).
Although these Women’s Empowerment Principles focus primarily on gender diversity,
Principles 2 and 3 consider the fair and balanced treatment of women and men. According to
Cook and Glass (2015b), these principles would provide work-life benefits to employees and can
therefore be considered a DEI strategy. The principles also provide a framework for establishing
KPIs through which DEI strategies can be linked to business performance.
7

In its public environment, social, and governance (ESG) report, BAS shares on its
corporate website that its workforce is composed of about 56% women. Across the global
organization, women represent over 40% of leadership roles at all levels within the organization.
Most notable in BAS’s quest for gender equality is the equal representation of men and women
on the board of directors; the BAS board has four men and four women. BAS’s results are
impressive to note, especially given that Hunt et al. (2018) report only 19% of women sharing
executive roles in U.S. companies and 26% of women sharing board seats. Nonetheless, BAS
still seeks to increase equal representation of women in the most senior-level leadership across
the organization; having reported 10% female representation in these positions in 2020, this
figure grew to 18% within one year.
Finally, the civil unrest and social injustice experienced throughout the United States in
2020 following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, as well as
recurring police brutality experienced by marginalized communities, led BAS to expand its focus
of diversity from gender equality to taking a stand against racism and increasing support for
LGBTQ+ rights. With continued growth in the DEI space, BAS hired a U.S. Recruiting
Specialist who works to expand gender, ethnicity, and LGBTQ+ outreach. For example, targeted
outreach initiatives to increase DEI in the BAS talent pool have included working with Black
Girls Do Stem, O-Stem, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and Women in
Engineering.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
Recruiters are responsible for the first point of contact for applicants. Their assigned tasks
include initial resumé screening, phone screening, communication with hiring managers, and
communication with the candidate. All tasks directly impact the talent pool based on the
8

recruiter’s perception of the candidates’ qualifications. Hiring managers are responsible for
evaluating possible internal candidates for promotion to leadership and contacting recruiters,
making them aware of job postings and the requirements to fill the positions when no viable
internal candidates are presented. Once recruiters have completed the initial screening process,
hiring managers lead the interview process and make final decisions on which candidates are
hired or promoted.
HR professionals are stakeholders who also support the process of hiring leaders by
conducting leadership training for hiring managers, which includes the following topics:
• introduction to employee relations
• general management
• employee performance and discipline
• diversity sensitivity training
• summary of regulations
• the Americans Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation process
At BAS, HR is responsible for training leaders on additional DEI policies and
procedures, along with the insourcing division’s Organizational Development (OD) group. These
courses provided by HR directly support the KMO influences that hiring managers encounter
when hiring leaders.
The stakeholder groups’ performance goals shown in Table 1 are examples of KPIs that
can be correlated with metrics and business strategies to evaluate the impact that DEI has on
business performance.
9

Stakeholder Groups’ Performance Goals
Table 1
Stakeholder Groups’ Performance Goals
Organizational mission
To contribute to a safer and healthier world by providing our customers with innovation and
high-quality laboratory, research, and advisory services while creating opportunities for our
employees and generating sustainable shareholder value.

Organizational performance goal
By December 2024, the BAS insourcing division will increase their diversity hiring of senior
leaders by 20% for groups beyond gender diversity.

Recruiters
By December 2023, 50% of
recruiters will increase
their knowledge and
motivation in promoting
DEI strategies while hiring
leaders.

Hiring managers
By December 2023, 50% of
hiring managers will increase
their knowledge and
motivation in promoting DEI
strategies while hiring
leaders.

Human resources
By May 2024, HR will
conduct training on
“promoting DEI strategies
while hiring leaders” with
100% recruiters and hiring
managers.

10

Stakeholder Group for the Study
Given that the completion of all the stakeholder goals presented in Table 1 will contribute
to the achievement of the overall organizational performance goal of increasing ISD diversity
hiring of senior leaders by 20%, it is important to evaluate hiring managers and their specific
performance goal. Therefore, the stakeholder group of focus for this study will be hiring
managers seeking to increase their knowledge and motivation in promoting DEI strategies when
hiring leaders. Hiring managers make the final decision on hiring leaders into the organization.
Achieving this stakeholder goal was determined based on the access hiring managers have to
available training content. This stakeholder goal is important to achieve, as it directly influences
hiring managers’ knowledge and motivation to hire more diverse leaders into the organization.
Otherwise, not achieving this goal could have a negative impact on the business performance of
the organization.
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of KMO influences that support
managers as they apply DEI strategies while hiring leaders in the pursuit of promoting
innovation and advancing business performance. Currently, BAS has increased recruiting efforts
at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and organizations like Black Girls Do
STEM and Women in Engineering. BAS reports the goal of equal representation of women in
the most senior leadership positions.
A typical, purposeful sampling reveals the influences that inform a study’s purpose
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Hiring managers are the key stakeholders in this study. Recruiters
directly impact the talent pool based on their job responsibilities to pre-screen candidates. Hiring
managers then make final decisions on which candidates are hired or promoted. The analysis of
11

this study will focus on hiring managers’ knowledge and motivation to apply DEI strategies. It
will also focus on the organizational resources available to hiring managers to be effective
change agents who influence the organization’s culture by promoting DEI strategies. A strong
organizational culture promotes innovation and may advance business performance.
This study will be guided by the following research questions:
1. What do hiring managers know about DEI strategies in order to hire diverse leaders?
2. What motivates hiring managers to consider DEI strategies when hiring diverse
leaders?
3. How does the organization support hiring managers’ ability to hire diverse leaders
through DEI strategies?
Importance of the Evaluation
It is important to evaluate the KMO influences that impact managers as they apply DEI
strategies when hiring leaders. The underrepresentation of all women and people of color
remains a problem in leadership positions. This disparity is seen in the current literature, and its
impact is global. BAS will not be able to assess its performance in achieving diversity goals
unless it is able to measure tangible outcomes from promoting DEI strategies. Approaching this
problem of practice through an evaluation model can help explain how KMO influences support
managers as they apply DEI strategies when hiring leaders at BAS. This support can then be
used to establish KPIs that correlate DEI initiatives with innovation and business performance.
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology
According to Clark and Estes (2008), shared work goals do not always constitute likeness
in perceptions toward problems and solutions. Gap analysis provides a mechanism for revealing
the perceptions of individuals within organizations that allow us to close performance gaps.
12

Clark and Estes identify KMO support as the critical influences that must be aligned to produce
the intended achievement of goals. This gap analysis framework will be used to identify such
influences that impact work performance. When performance goals are not met at work, Clark
and Estes reveal that a gap in knowledge and skills needs to be addressed. This is also the case
when a leader or trainer recognizes that future problems cannot be addressed without additional
learning (Clark & Estes, 2008). Clark and Estes (2008) identify motivation as a second
influencer of the performance of employees; the choice to do work, persistence to continue work,
or mental effort to impact work are all facets of motivation that may reveal themselves as
performance gaps. Finally, organizational processes and resources may influence how employees
perform when completing their tasks at work (Clark & Estes, 2008). This may equate to
performance improvement, or performance gaps.
Clark and Estes (2008) link culture and performance in organizations. They state that
culture is at play in the overall work environment, within groups of people, and in individuals.
The conceptual framework developed for this study examines how KMO influences support
managers when they apply DEI strategies when hiring leaders. When alignment exists between
the organization’s policies and procedures and the organization’s culture, change occurs (Clark
& Estes, 2008). Additionally, the existing literature supports a direct link between innovation and
business performance. Within the conceptual framework of this qualitative study, the
relationships between organizational culture, innovation, and business performance are
interrogated.
13

Definitions
DEI
An acronym used to describe diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI typically refers to an
organization’s initiatives or policies intended to gauge the experience of all its employees
relative to race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, and disability.
Culture
When a group adopts a set of thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and behaviors to solve
problems and act intuitively act (Schein & Schein, 2017).
Workplace Culture
The shared values, belief systems, attitudes, and set of assumptions shared by individuals
in a workplace (Agarwal, 2018).
Inclusive Workplace
A workplace that values individual differences in the workforce and makes employees
feel welcomed and accepted (Agarwal, 2018).
Belonging
An individual’s feeling that his or her contributions and values are accepted and
integrated into the practices of the organization (Adejumo, 2021).
Innovation
The act of discovering and implementing breakthrough ideas (Dyer et al., 2019).
Business Performance (BP)
A business’s ability to implement its business plans and meet the needs and expectations
of clients (Riberolles, 2021).
14

Organization of the Dissertation
This dissertation is organized into five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the research
problem, provides background on the organization of study, and details why this problem is
important to address. Chapter 2 presents a review of the current literature surrounding this study.
Connections to the Clark and Estes (2008) KMO gap analysis as the theoretical framework and
each of the key components of the conceptual framework are also detailed in Chapter 2. Chapter
3 details the study’s methodology for data collection and analysis. Chapter 4 provides
assessments and analysis of the data and results. Chapter 5 presents solutions and
recommendations to address the gaps identified during the study.

15

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
The following literature review focuses on the KMO influences that support hiring
managers when they apply DEI strategies to support the building of an organizational culture that
promotes innovation and may lead to advancing business performance. The first topic considers
how organizations navigate and understand the DEI space. The second topic considers specific
DEI policy and practices implemented by organizations. The third topic explores how innovation
drives business performance through a DEI lens. The fourth topic explores the KMO influences
through a Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis. Finally, the literature review concludes by
introducing the conceptual framework for this study.
Bernstein et al. (2020) state that for inclusion to become an integral part of organizational
practices, exclusionary practices must be replaced by knowledge and skill development. This
will then support an organizational culture that makes individual contributors feel included and
experience an increase in self-efficacy (Bernstein et al., 2020). Therefore, organizations must
form practices that counter behaviors such as self-isolation, limited cross-cultural
communication, and negative encounters due to stereotyping and stigmatizing (Bernstein et al.,
2020). According to Clark and Estes (2008), people’s knowledge and skill is one of three causes
of performance gaps for organizations, alongside motivation to achieve goals and organizational
barriers. This study utilizes these authors’ gap analysis to evaluate the KMO influences that
managers encounter when promoting DEI strategies while hiring leaders.
Navigating the DEI Space in Organizations
Commitment to DEI continues to be recognized as crucial for organizational leaders, but
how leaders prioritize and implement DEI strategies remains elusive (Ng & Sears, 2020). Ely
and Thomas (2020) make a powerful point that organizations are missing the target of creating
16

effective DEI strategies mostly due to partial commitment to the objectives. According to Clark
and Estes (2008), critical alignment and support are necessary for the organizational change
process to work. Ng and Sears (2020) stress that managers need to perceive commitment from
their organizational leaders to determine how to prioritize DEI strategies over competing
demands. They also emphasize that while HR managers are primarily responsible for the design
and implementation of DEI change initiatives, middle managers are also responsible for the
implementation of these changes (Ng & Sears, 2020). This is important because the way in
which leaders recruit, select, promote, and disassociate from employees is one of the primary
mechanisms embedded in leaders’ beliefs, values, and assumptions (Schein & Schein, 2017).
According to Schein and Schein (2017), artifacts, espoused beliefs and values, and basic
underlying assumptions are the three major levels of culture. For leaders to create and sustain
change in organizational culture, they must lead change within these levels of culture (Schein &
Schein, 2017).
Key Terms and Perspectives
It is critical to establish an understanding of terms when discussing difficult topics so that
participants in the debate are educated on the meaning of the words they choose to use. In
actuality, the lack of harmonizing and utilizing consistent terminology can contribute to
boundaries being created for marginalized men and women in the workplace. Cox (1994)
challenges practitioners and academics to consider the language we use to define diversity and to
be inclusive of individual difference, inter-group, and individual–organization interactions.
Human Resource Management (HRM) Functions
Certain studies list recruitment, compensation and benefits, training and development,
performance management, and legal compliance as HRM functions (Ahammad, 2017; Glaister et
17

al., 2018). In turn, the recruitment, retention, and development of employees are HR functions
that align closely with critical DEI initiatives (Pellecchia, 2019). HR can seamlessly facilitate
DEI programs, since their teams are already staffed and trained to manage such programs
(Pellecchia, 2019).
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Diversity and inclusion are the extent to which the members of the workforce are made to
feel welcome and included with respect to personal characteristics like gender, race, social status,
and education (Gambatese et al., 2019). Equity is defined as workers feeling as though they are
being treated, compensated, and evaluated fairly, with no discrimination regarding “personal
characteristics, employment level, payment, workload and responsibilities, promotion, work
opportunities, and so forth” (Gambatese et al., 2019; Karakhan et al., 2021, p. 7), many of which
are synonymous with various HRM functions. Diversity and inclusion are still used
interchangeably (Shore et al., 2018), as seen in Gambatese et al. (2019). To add clarity, diversity
is the process of bringing marginalized groups into the workplace, while inclusion creates an
environment of equal access where marginalized people will be heard, able to make decisions,
allowed to advance, and receive the same resources as all others (Shore et al., 2018).
Nevertheless, further definition and validation of the tenets of DEI, as well as more empirical
research, are still needed for inclusion to reach its full potential (Shore et al., 2018).
Belonging
The existing research reveals that the association between an organization’s attempt to
promote DEI strategies and an employee’s sense of belonging is not yet well developed or
understood (Kuntz & Pandaram, 2022). Nonetheless, Kuntz and Pandaram (2022) report that a
greater sense of belonging is dependent on congruence and buy-in with respect to DEI strategies
18

from both individuals and their organizations. Lampinen et al. (2018) list six factors that foster
such a sense of belonging:
• open interaction
• effective conversation culture
• support and encouragement
• common values
• a shared vision of the work and its objectives
• structure of leadership (p. 472).
They also share five factors that prevent a sense of belonging:
• negative work atmosphere
• lack of common time
• structural solutions in the organization
• problems that occur at the organizational level
• problems related to leadership and management (Lampinen et al., 2018, p. 474).
Complementary to these factors, Georgeac and Rattan (2023) observe that the success of
an organization’s DEI programs could be negatively impacted by social identity threat among
marginalized groups. Social identity threat is present when marginalized groups are threatened
by stereotyping, devaluation, or various forms of unconscious bias (Steele et al., 2002). In
response, Georgeac and Rattan (2023) suggest that organizations may want to simply align their
DEI programs with the organization’s core goals and refrain from overly justifying commitment
to such programs, which could undermine their efforts.
19

Marginalization
Marginalization does not have a clear definition, which is particularly problematic given
its increasing usage across various platforms (Causadias & Umaña-Taylor, 2018). Causadias and
Umaña-Taylor (2018) define marginalization as “a multidimensional, dynamic, context-
dependent, and diverse web of processes, rooted in power imbalance and systematically directed
toward specific groups and individuals, with probabilistic implications for development” (p.
707).
Stereotyping and Unconscious Bias
Hiring managers should receive training on how to mitigate unconscious bias and
stereotyping prior to participating in the hiring process. Bias or discrimination that occur during
the hiring process impact the organization’s culture. Bornstein (2016) reveals that employment
discrimination can be litigated by alleging disparate treatment using stereotype theory; as such,
workplaces are responsible for the outcomes of unlawful stereotyping, whether unconscious or
explicit, according to stereotype theory. Fiske (1993) defines stereotyping as beliefs about an
individual based on a particular group to which the individual belongs. In addition, stereotypes
are defined in relation to power and control: Those in power seek to maintain control over
individuals or groups by limiting options to those who are stereotyped (Fiske, 1993).
Influences on Managers When Hiring Leaders
In their research, Tresh et al. (2019) examined the specifics of how women and older
leadership candidates’ self-rated their leadership potential. A common theme for both men and
women was that they felt a better fit in feminine organizational cultures, and that this could
impact how their self-efficacy is perceived and interpreted by hiring managers. Tresh et al.
(2019) also found that gender and age stereotypes were more prevalent against older workers,
20

both male and female. This is also supported by Zaniboni et al. (2019), who highlight the
presence of implicit and explicit age stereotyping during resumé evaluations. Here, negative
implicit age stereotypes were seen in the general evaluation and task performance ratings of
older employees versus those recorded for younger applicants. Even more concerning, when
evaluators held high sexual prejudice, they perceived gay men as less effective leaders relative to
heterosexual men, regardless of the organization’s culture (Pellegrini et al., 2020). The same
study revealed that the masculinity stereotype of gay men further influenced the level of
effectiveness as perceived by evaluators with high sexual prejudice.
For women, the level of emotion shown is often a contributor to gender stereotyping.
Hiring managers make decisions about candidates based on their responses to situational or
scenario-based questions. Brescoll (2016) notes that women may be negatively perceived for the
display of moderate to minor emotions, while also highlighting the self-regulation and the
emotional toll that female leaders must endure to navigate the leadership space. This self-
regulation may create instances in which female candidates do not appear as viable as their male
counterparts. Similarly, the impact of stereotypes is often pivotal for women of color in their
workplace experiences and career outcomes (Tabassum & Nayak, 2021). HRM practices should
therefore play a role in mitigating biased and negative perceptions of underrepresented
candidates during the hiring process. However, Mastracci and Arreola (2016) predict that
stereotyping will continue in the workplace irrespective of the influx of women into the
workforce. They blame HRM practices for continuing to propagate gender norms that promote
inequity within organizations (Mastracci & Arreola, 2016).
Approaching DEI through a stereotyping lens adds clarity to the magnitude of issues that
marginalized groups face in the workplace. Applying DEI strategies during the hiring process
21

helps mitigate the power and control dynamics that may have previously existed in the process
due to prevalent stereotyping and bias in the workplace. HR managers tend to hire and develop
employees who share common values with current leaders within the organization (Shen et al.,
2009). Organizational leaders and HR professionals must be aware of this behavior and the
impact it can have on the interview process, particularly surrounding the beliefs, attitudes, and
stereotypes carried by the interviewer (Shen et al., 2009). This is a recurring challenge
throughout the research. More recently, HR departments have had to consider possible bias and
misinformation caused by AI tools used in recruitment and selection (Albert, 2019). Using a
literature review and interviews, Albert (2019) points to the widespread use of these AI tools in
the recruitment and selection process. Chatbots, screening software, and task automation tools—
primarily used by large, tech-focused companies—are the most applied AI tools (Albert, 2019).
Caution is suggested when implementing such technology into HRM practices given the many
unanswered questions around bias, misinformation, return-on-investment, and reliability (Albert,
2019).
DEI Policy and Practices in Organizations
To grasp the complexity of promoting DEI strategies in organizations, one needs to
understand the traditional functions of HRM. First, the research reveals specific changes to HRM
in the late 1970s. These changes sought to address new laws and regulations surrounding
employment, the introduction of novel technologies, and the expanding global market
(Ahammad, 2017). Second, these changes were implemented to establish a more purposeful
strategic positioning of HRM to deliver measurable employee activities (Ahammad, 2017).
Szierbowski-Seibel (2018) confirm that these HRM functions are consistent across multiple
regions, including the United States, Europe, and China. Indeed, Szierbowski-Seibel’s (2018)
22

evidence highlights a purposeful alignment of HRM functions (practices) across these parts of
the world. More specifically, Szierbowski-Seibel points to the pressure that organizations face
not only to make HRM practices systematic and transferable, but also to discuss the implications
behind this shift. Therefore, how an organization implements HR practices and policy may
impact the organizations’ ability to incorporate DEI strategies into the overall organizational
culture. As it applies to this study, this could be a precursor to identifying and addressing
performance gaps within organizations.
Bakhri et al. (2018) establish a connection between managing diversity and
organizational culture. They highlight that an organization’s ability to innovate is enhanced
through diversity, along with opportunities for increased individual performance. Cox (1994)
also details this distinction and suggests that understanding diversity applies to a component of a
workforce and not to individual members of any group. Cox cautions that while maintaining the
integrity of programs like affirmative action is important, “managing diversity” is a more
comprehensive concept that requires more identifying of groups beyond race and gender, all
within the constraints of organizational activity.
Cook and Glass (2015b) list the following as identifiable strategies for organizations seeking to
promote DEI:
• Hiring and promotion of women and minorities.
• LGBT policies—two forms of progressive LGBT policy are benefits to domestic
partners of employees and the prohibition of discrimination based on gender and
sexual orientation.
• Hiring people with disabilities—organizations promoting innovative hiring practices
and developing targeted opportunities for people with disabilities is DEI-centered.
23

• Work-life benefits—flexible work schedules, dependent care programs, and
maternity/paternity leave are work-life centered and are seen as excellent benefits for
employees. Such programs add to the equity and inclusivity of all employees.
• Supply-chain diversity—identified organizations that use at least 5% minority- or
women-owned businesses as suppliers are seen as influential in DEI.
Affirmative Action
Discussions of diversity in the workplace can serve as a catalyst for sensitive situations
that impact organizational culture. In the US, affirmative action is a polarizing term, so
organizations will typically not name their DEI policies as affirmative action programs
(Scarborough et al., 2019).
Affirmative action is a program that has taken its share of criticism, which is ongoing. It
was founded in the 1960s and sought to provide more equal opportunities to marginalized groups
and to help individuals overcome biases that were built into the selection process for businesses
(Sturm & Guinier, 1996). Sturm and Guinier frame the perspective of advocates for affirmative
action, highlighting the continued need and fairness of the program. They also question merit
systems, often presented by opponents to affirmative action, and paint them as unfair and invalid.
Additionally, Thomas (1990) shares that individuals perceived to not benefit from affirmative
action feel passed over, which also negatively influences the opinions of program beneficiaries.
Thomas (1990) argues that affirmative action is sufficient and necessary for meeting diversity
metrics within organizations, but feels that the program will eventually die out. Going forward,
diversity management will instead be necessary to create upward mobility for women and people
of color (Thomas, 1990).
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Diversity Management
Defining DEI strategies also leads to the evaluation of issues that arise when
organizations look to implement such strategies. Numerous challenges can be found in the
literature when assessing this: the barriers to diversity management include prejudice,
discrimination, stereotypes, harassment, and blaming the victim (Patrick & Kumar, 2012).
Thomas (1992) proposes that addressing these barriers can take on several different hues. Civil
rights, women’s rights, humanitarianism, moral responsibility, and social responsibility are all
equally legitimate approaches to counter resistance to DEI strategies (Thomas, 1992). Thomas
(1992) also suggests the use of a management lens, which can assess and prioritize the equality
and inclusion of employees alongside the prioritization of business performance. Likewise,
Bakhri et al. (2018) suggested that closing the gaps between managing diversity and strong
organizational culture is dependent on management’s commitment to diversity, mentoring
programs, diversity skills training, and organizational support for employees.
Diversity management involves fostering a workplace culture that is DEI-centered while
meeting the organization’s business goals and performance objectives (Patrick & Kumar, 2012).
Thomas (2010) provides a four-quadrant strategic approach to diversity management, as shown
in the following list:
• managing workforce representation
• managing workforce relationships
• managing diverse talent
• managing all strategic diversity mixtures (p. 23).
Thomas (2010) posits that business outcomes, particularly around advancing business
performance, are relative to the organization’s understanding and approach to diversity
25

management. However, according to Yadav and Lenka (2020), age, gender, and racial diversity
have been covered in much greater detail than other forms of diversity within the diversity
management research.
Innovation Driving Business Performance
DEI enhances the number of perspectives and creativity based on unique experiences.
Increased operational performance, employee satisfaction, and financial performance have been
observed in companies with high levels of gender and racial diversity (Gomez & Bernet, 2019).
Gomez and Bernet (2019) report a 38% increase in revenue from innovation in companies with
above-average diversity, while the greatest innovation gains came from companies that exceeded
a representation level of 20% women in their top management positions.
Leaders must lead the way on innovation, and organizations are constantly looking to see
how leaders seek and embrace innovation. Conversely, Bocquet et al. (2019) report minimal
impact on results when CSR drives gender diversity. They suggest the need for strategic CSR
when looking to sponsor “nationality” or ethnic/racial diversity. They also make a clear case for
innovation resulting from highly creative cross-cultural teams. Cook and Glass (2015b) accept
some of the reservations around CSR programs that emphasize diversity, contributing instances
where minority-dominated leadership teams may be less effective than racially/ethnically mixed
teams. This contrast between minority-dominated versus racially/ethnically mixed teams makes
sense when DEI goals are not aligned with corporate strategy and organizational culture, or when
organizations lack diversity management.
Cook and Glass (2015b) propose that the best opportunity to advance equity policies and
practices is through racially/ethnically mixed leadership teams. They reveal a complex set of
results in their study into the race/ethnicity of corporate CEOs and boards, suggesting that
26

businesses experience higher levels of performance in corporate governance, product strengths,
and product innovation when white CEOs are paired with boards that include diversity (Cook &
Glass, 2015a). Additionally, they conclude that diversity policies driven by minority leaders
yield organizational outcomes like “LGBT” benefits, reliance on minority-owned suppliers,
promotion of minorities, and work-life benefits (Cook & Glass, 2015b).
Diverse workforces lead to innovation and change acceptance (Chaudhry et al., 2021).
Chaudhry et al. (2021) link this specifically to diversity being an integral part of the
organization’s culture and the omission or removal of negative stereotypes and exclusion.
Furthermore, Hunt et al. (2018) correlate profitability and value creation to gender diversity and
higher profitability due to ethnic/cultural diversity. They find that organizations are 43% likelier
to experience higher profits when leading through ethnic and cultural diversity on their boards
(Hunt et al., 2018).
Strategic HRM practices—which include assessing many external factors in an
organization’s policies and practices—tend to reveal more about an organization’s performance
than the typically cited HRM practices (e.g., performance management, training and
development, and recruiting) (Burke, 2018). Dezsö and Ross (2012) assert that organizations
with top female leadership experience improved business performance when they adopt
innovation as part of their business strategy. An inclusive workplace makes everyone feel like
they belong and gives the business an opportunity to stay ahead of the competition. More
importantly, innovation increases business performance. This assertion is not without its
challenges. Male managers, for example, may feel overlooked by DEI initiatives (Dezsö & Ross,
2012). Frijns et al. (2016) add that cultural diversity is a contested topic in corporate boardrooms
but believe the potential benefits of such diversity are outweighed by the negative connotations.
27

They also conclude that this negativity impacts business performance. As a result, Frijns et al.
(2016) warn against “romanticizing” cultural diversity and suggest that any opportunities to
achieve positive outcomes are by no means straightforward.
KMO Gap Analysis
The connection between promoting DEI strategies when hiring leaders and achieving
advances in business performance can be complicated to prove. Additionally, the research
describes the gaps between effective leadership and organizational performance as “complex and
multifaceted” (Zeb et al., 2018). Zeb et al. (2018) argue that looking through a leadership
paradigm lens only limits the research and contributes to these gaps. In response, Clark and
Estes’ (2008) gap analysis framework offers an excellent tool for determining the organizational
gaps that influence organizational culture and performance.
Knowledge and skills, motivation, and organizational barriers are the three critical causes
of performance gaps in organizations (Clark & Estes, 2008). According to Clark and Estes
(2008), organizations cannot afford for their people to work at less-than-optimal performance if
they are to advance business performance. This includes managers during the hiring process.
Therefore, this study utilizes the Clark and Estes gap analysis framework to interrogate how
BAS hiring managers are influenced when applying DEI strategies to advance business
performance.
Knowledge and Skills
According to Krathwohl (2002), items requiring the recall or recognition of information
should be classified as knowledge. This knowledge can then be parsed into four dimensions:
factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive (Krathwohl, 2002). Table 2 provides a more
detailed description of each of these knowledge types.
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Table 2
Knowledge Dimensions
Knowledge dimension Description
Factual Basic elements of information, such as terminology
or specific detail/elements

Conceptual Interrelationships among basic relationships, such as
theories, models, principles, classifications, and categories

Procedural How to do something; subject-specific skills

Metacognitive Cognition and strategic knowledge

Note. Adapted from A revision of Bloom's taxonomy: An overview, by Krathwohl (2002).

Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis framework provides a tool for determining whether
people know how to perform the duties and assigned tasks relevant to their position. When
individuals are not prepared to accomplish their performance goals or to problem-solve,
knowledge and skills enhancement needs to take place (Clark & Estes, 2008). Maintaining a
focus on DEI initiatives while completing the hiring process requires the full use of the hiring
manager’s knowledge and skills, and this directly impacts the organization’s culture. Therefore,
hiring managers must receive training to build or reinforce knowledge and skills in DEI practices
and policies, as well as the hiring process itself, to be effective. Accordingly, the factual,
procedural, and metacognitive dimensions of knowledge are influencers that need to be
evaluated in this study.
29

Factual Knowledge
Clark and Estes (2008) define information as giving people something they need to know
to succeed in their work. When stakeholders can perform their tasks after receiving information
and terminology (Clark & Estes, 2008), this supports factual knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002).
Krathwohl (2002) defines the most basic understanding of a discipline or the problems
associated with that discipline as factual knowledge.
Stakeholders need to be knowledgeable in DEI strategy that is inclusive of leadership
terminology, trends, and workforce composition data. Bacouel-Jentjens and Yang (2019) make a
clear case for stakeholders having factual and conceptual knowledge when tending to diversity
management within the organization. They focus on how understanding workforce composition,
power, and trends influence diversity management. They argue that organizations should center
their diversity management practices around aspects like the employees’ job function and overall
workforce composition. Their study shows that a lack of clarity and context can lead to different
perceptions based on the individual gathering information (Bacouel-Jentjens & Yang, 2019).
Procedural Knowledge
According to Clark and Estes (2008), job aids provide employees with step-by-step
instructions on how to achieve their performance goals. Stakeholders need to be knowledgeable
of the organization’s hiring policies and procedures and to be able to implement them. BAS’s
model is heavily reliant on training its managers to deploy the policies and procedures that make
up the hiring process; deficiencies in this knowledge can have an impact on organizational
culture. Villegas et al. (2019) emphasize that safeguards for individuals and organizations exist
when managers are aware of and follow the corresponding ethical and legal procedures.
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Metacognitive Knowledge
Metacognitive knowledge focuses on one’s ability to complete complex and higher-order
problems in organizations (Krathwohl, 2002). Training and education are necessary when
seeking to tap into higher-order thinking and skill development to perform more complex
problems in the workplace (Clark & Estes, 2008). Stakeholders need to be able to assess and
adjust to meet the organization’s DEI goals. Context is also necessary for diversity management
to hold the meaning and attention that the organization wants (Pringle & Ryan, 2015).
Understanding that power differentials may be at work, Pringle and Ryan (2015) also note that
context—particularly as it relates to diversity management—may be dependent on the country or
region involved, as well as the organization’s own intentions. Managers should therefore look for
added context around diversity to enhance team outcomes and reduce negativity (Yadav &
Lenka, 2020). Yadav and Lenka (2020) suggest that the use of cross-cultural training and team-
building activities as diversity management practices can lead to more cooperation and
communication.
Motivation
Scarborough et al. (2019) report that their study respondents were likelier to support
racial diversity policy when addressing discrimination as opposed to simply increasing diversity.
Elsewhere, Tasoulis et al. (2019) note that HR directors believe that an organization’s culture is
the primary factor in HR’s ability to influence an ethical working environment.
Task Value
Hiring managers need to be motivated to achieve the organization’s DEI goals. Clark and
Estes (2008) suggest that an individual’s own motivational beliefs and attitudes can be the first
barrier to motivating others. Leaders may discourage performance in followers when they
31

mishandle cultural differences and stereotypes (Clark & Estes, 2008). Hence, organizations
should not assume that individuals value cultural initiatives solely based on how they self-
identify or their connection to that culture (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Self-Efficacy
In simple terms, self-efficacy refers to an individual’s self-belief to learn and perform
(Bandura, 2001; Schunk & Usher, 2019). Additionally, Bandura (1977) posits that performance
accomplishment, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal are the major
sources of efficacy information. Self-efficacy plays a key role in how individuals choose
activities in which to partake and where they are willing to participate in them (Bandura, 1977).
When faced with situations that may cause fear or threat, individuals may adjust their coping
strategies to address them accordingly (Bandura, 1977, 1982). Results from poor performance or
being in the presence of highly confident individuals are examples of where self-efficacy can be
compromised (Bandura, 1982).
The BAS staffing division model places the responsibility of hiring leaders on recruiters
and hiring managers. Therefore, these stakeholders need to feel positive about their abilities to
promote DEI initiatives when hiring leaders. Typically, HR departments are responsible for
creating a workplace climate that has systems and policies that link employee self-efficacy,
development, engagement, and well-being led by trainers and OD practitioners (Singh et al.,
2019). Singh et al. reinforce the role that self-efficacy plays in generating intrinsic motivation,
employee satisfaction, and better work-life balance. These tenets support the application of DEI
strategies to promote innovation and business performance.
32

Organizational Influences
Effective and efficient work processes and resources are organizational components that
impact performance outcomes (Clark & Estes, 2008). Clark and Estes (2008) suggest that
organizations consider process changes to an employee’s work as changes to that employee’s
job. Therefore, work processes, material resources, and value chains and value streams directly
influence how managers do their jobs, including the hiring of leaders (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Cultural Setting
Organizations need to actively promote policies and procedures that sustain DEI in
leadership. To do so, they must curb their thirst for profits and become champions of DEI
effectiveness (Ely & Thomas, 2020). Therefore, organizations must be intentional when looking
to adopt a multicultural environment that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive (Holvino, 2008).
Organizations should lead with creative tension, whereby change creates movement toward the
organization’s vision (Senge, 1990). In doing so, employees will need space to practice and learn
from their mistakes, all the while feeling supported by their leaders and the organization (Garvin
et al., 2008; Senge, 1990). During change, it is critical to have the right people and leaders “on
the bus” to the organization’s intended destination (Collins, 2001). Table 3 provides a more
detailed description of each of these KMO influences on DEI in leadership hiring.

33

Table 3
KMO Influences on DEI in Leadership Hiring
Influence Influence type
Hiring managers need to be knowledgeable in
applying DEI strategies alongside leadership
terminology, trends, and workforce
composition data.

Knowledge: Factual
Hiring managers need to be knowledgeable of
the organization’s hiring policies and
procedures and to be able to implement them.

Knowledge: Procedural
Hiring managers need to be able to assess and
adjust to meet the organization’s KPIs.

Knowledge: Meta-cognitive
Hiring managers need to be motivated to
achieve the organization’s KPIs.

Motivation: Task value
Hiring managers need to feel positive about
their contribution to increasing DEI when
hiring leaders.

Motivation: Self-efficacy
The organization needs to actively promote
policies and procedures that sustain DEI
strategies when hiring leaders.

Cultural setting

Conceptual Framework
A search of the literature produces limited empirical evidence to support a direct link
between DEI and business performance. However, Yadav and Lenka (2020) suggest that the
existing studies have not evaluated factors relating to HRM and diversity management (DM)
practices that could mitigate negative influences between diversity and advancing business
performance. Indeed, the literature does show strong support for DEI promoting innovation
within workplace cultures and advancing business performance.
34

The conceptual framework of this study evaluates the KMO influences that impact
managers as they apply DEI strategies while hiring leaders. Organizational culture is supported
by the organization-wide promotion of DEI strategies. Additionally, Clark and Estes (2008)
suggest that performance improvements are possible when policies and procedures align with the
organization’s culture and performance goals and are then supported by evaluation and feedback.
Thus, the improved performance of hiring managers when applying DEI strategies leads to
increased diversity. Strategic DM is then required to achieve DEI within organizations (Ozturk &
Tatli, 2016) while also supporting innovation. Such innovation then drives business performance
by way of increased firm effectiveness and performance, financial performance, new ideas,
creativity, and organizational competitiveness (Yadav & Lenka, 2020). Figure 1 outlines the
conceptual framework being proposed with this study.

Figure 1
Conceptual Framework

35
36

Clark and Estes’ (2008) KMO gap analysis is a theoretical framework that serves as a
tool for diagnosing performance gaps caused by people within organizations. This model is
particularly useful in diagnosing the factual, procedural, and meta-cognitive knowledge gaps that
may be showing up for hiring managers when organizations themselves are looking to close
equity gaps for marginalized groups. KMO gap analysis also will reveal deficiencies in
motivation when recruiters and hiring managers are expected to perform and hire high quality
candidates while paying close attention to DEI initiatives that are in place for the organization.
Task value and self-efficacy are two areas that may offer challenges to recruiters and hiring
managers when they do not share value in supporting DEI initiatives or believe they cannot
impact such initiatives.
Organizational culture is influenced by the things that are apparent and can be seen,
particularly when it comes to the hiring process in organizations. Therefore, the cultural setting
of an organization has a direct impact on the overall organizational culture with the knowledge
and motivation of key stakeholders having an impact on the cultural setting.
Summary
Marginalized groups of people still face significant underlying issues as organizations
seek to promote DEI strategies. Hiring managers face internal and external factors that influence
their ability to apply DEI strategies when hiring leaders. While some of these factors can be
directed to organizational policies and procedures, many are related to the knowledge and
motivation of hiring managers and their ability to influence outcomes. This literature review
supports the conceptual framework presented in this work. Business performance increases when
organizations invest in their workforce (Clark & Estes, 2008). The literature review also shows
how challenges with KMO influences can impede the application of DEI strategies at the
37

organizational level. Conversely, when the practice of diversity management is aligned with
strategic business goals, advances in business performance can be attributed to effective DEI
strategy; the key here is for organizations to establish KPIs that measure DEI strategies. Finally,
when employees feel included and empowered, workplace cultures produce innovation, and this
literature review supports the assertion that innovation drives business performance.

38

Chapter Three: Methodology
A lack of diversity and creating a sense of inclusivity continue to be issues facing
marginalized groups of people in the workplace. The literature shows that organizations need to
take a purposeful approach to solving this problem, and that doing so starts with senior
leadership. Bacouel-Jentjens and Yang (2019) suggest that organizations consider job function,
workforce composition, and makeup of social background as criteria to consider across their
workforces as part of their diversity management practices. They also note that this should be
handled with great care. Ultimately, the intent is to enhance the organizational culture and drive
greater innovation and business performance. This research aims to evaluate the KMO influences
on managers as they apply DEI strategies when hiring leaders. This chapter maps out the study
by revealing the research questions, design, setting, and data sources.
Research Questions
Knowledge, motivation, and organizational barriers are the three root causes of
performance gaps within organizations (Clark & Estes, 2008). The research questions in this
study were broad, central ideas that interrogated these root causes and reflected what was viewed
as the most important factors in the study and helped determine how to collect relevant data
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
This study was guided by the following questions:
1. What do hiring managers know about DEI strategies in order to hire diverse leaders?
2. What motivates hiring managers to consider DEI strategies when hiring diverse
leaders?
3. How does the organization support managers’ ability to hire diverse leaders through
DEI strategies?
39

Overview of Design
The problem of practice for this study concerns a phenomenon that may exist within Best
Analytical Services (BAS); therefore, evaluating the organization’s performance will determine
how effectively it is implementing DEI strategies to increase diversity in leadership. This
qualitative study sought to understand participants’ experience of applying DEI strategies when
hiring leaders through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Merriam and Tisdell
(2016) state that qualitative studies deal in understanding “how people interpret their
experiences, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they attribute to their
experiences” (p. 6). BAS ISD hiring managers from various sites across the United States were
interviewed for this study. Table 4 presents the data sources in response to the study’s research
questions in greater detail.

40

Table 4
Data Sources
Research questions Interviews Document analysis
RQ1: What do hiring managers
know about DEI strategies in
order to hire diverse leaders?

Interview Questions 1–12, 14,
and 15
ESG reports
Annual reports
Websites
RQ2: What motivates hiring
managers to consider DEI
strategies when hiring
diverse leaders?

Interview Questions 8, 12, and
13

RQ3: How does the
organization support
managers’ ability to hire
diverse leaders through DEI
strategies?

Interview Questions 1, 2, 6–8,
and 11–15
ESG reports
Annual reports
Websites

The interview protocol shown in Appendix A was used to collect data while the
interviews were conducted. It was preformatted to collect the data deemed essential for the study.
Research Setting
This research consisted of 13 interviews with BAS ISD hiring managers. They were
conducted virtually and via a non-work platform. All interviews were conducted in a private
office, where no responses could be heard by outsiders. Participants were also asked to choose a
private office or conference room setting to promote sharing information freely during the
interview.
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The Researcher
Qualitative research is interpretive and immerses the researcher in situations where past
experiences may shape interpretations of the information collected during the study (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018). According to Creswell and Creswell (2018), reflexivity—documenting past
experiences and how those past experiences may shape interpretations—helps keep the
researcher aware of potential biases in data interpretation.
Positionality Statement
I am an African American man of predominantly non-European descent. These are the
only two identifiers that place me in less dominant cultural identities, according to Morgan
(2018). I have experienced career growth and success in corporate America given this
positionality. Conversely, such growth and success have led me to question why so many other
people of color do not share the same successes.
I am confident and embrace my identity, which has allowed me to advance
professionally. I have been able to overcome issues of bias and racism by recognizing and
addressing them early whenever such issues presented themselves. I feel responsible for
understanding when and why study participants may be oppressing or suppressing marginalized
groups when hiring leaders. I believe that the hiring managers in this study will see themselves
as always hiring the “best” candidate for the position. To curb further bias and marginalization
from those in power, the data acquired from study participants should reveal the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational gaps that impact DEI strategies when hiring leaders.
Data Sources
Qualitative research is open-ended and allows study participants to share freely without
being limited by instruments or set scales to analyze the data (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). For
42

this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with hiring managers selected through
purposeful sampling and following a preset interview protocol (Appendix A). All interviews did
not have to be completed prior to conducting the document analysis, which was ongoing
throughout this research project. Website pages, annual reports, and corporate responsibility
reports were the types of documents referenced during the study.
Interview
During this study, it was not feasible to conclusively observe the KMO influences applied
by the participants throughout the process of hiring leaders. Rather, interviews were conducted to
discover things that could not be directly observed (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Patton, 2002).
Qualitative interviewing allowed greater perspective on participants’ feelings, thoughts, and
intentions (Patton, 2002).
Participants
Purposeful sampling revealed reflections from the participants that addressed the
phenomenon of study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Care was taken not to influence the study by
using interview participants who were pre-determined as outliers in performance; therefore,
typical purposeful sampling was deemed the best approach. Thirty hiring managers were
identified and emailed asking for volunteers to participate in the study. Each participant was
asked the following questions as a pre-screening for the purposeful sampling:
• How many years have you worked at Best Analytical Services?
• How many years have you been in leadership at Best Analytical Services?
• How many years have you been in leadership over your career?
Confirmation was received from nine volunteers, who were then scheduled for
interviews. Thirty additional hiring managers were emailed asking for additional volunteers, and
43

an additional four participants were scheduled for interviews. As a result, this study included
interviews of 13 hiring managers who encompassed a mixture of race and gender. Although
recruiters are also key stakeholders in the hiring process, directly impacting the talent pool based
on their job responsibilities to pre-screen candidates, it is the hiring managers who make final
decisions on which candidates are selected for hiring or promotion.
Instrumentation
This study deployed a semi-structured interview protocol, which allowed flexibility to
switch focus with follow-up questions during each interview based on the participants’ responses
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This less structured approach was chosen to help the interviewees
feel more relaxed and to respond openly and freely to questions. The study interview protocol
contained 15 questions that were directly related to the study’s research questions (RQs). Each
interview question was intentionally aligned with the RQs, at least one key concept being
explored in the study, and at least one of Patton’s (2002) good question guidelines. This was
done to engage the interviewee and best inform the study.
Data Collection Procedures
The qualitative interviews were designed to draw out the views and opinions of the
interview participants using open-ended questions (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Virtual
interviews, each lasting approximately 60–90-minutes, were conducted and recorded with
transcription via the Zoom platform. All interviews were conducted on a personal computer, and
all recordings were stored on an external hard drive to further protect the integrity and
confidentiality of the process. Interview transcripts were produced on conclusion of the
interview. All interview participants were informed of the study’s purpose and how their
44

responses would be handled prior to starting the recording to build additional rapport with the
interviewees.
Data Analysis
The qualitative data analysis from the interviews included breaking down the collected
data into categories and themes and then relating the data back to the RQs (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). The interview protocol was pre-formatted to draw alignment between the RQs and
responses from the interview participants, which was helpful during the collection phase of the
study. Field notes were coded by making annotations on the documents that were deemed
relevant to the RQs (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Interview transcripts from the study were
reviewed and loaded into ATLAS.ti for analysis. The analysis included adding notes and memos
through ATLAS.ti prior to coding the interviews; the codebook produced from coding all the
interviews is presented in Appendix B. Once the data were coded from the interviews, the data
from the document analysis were also coded prior to combining all sources of data. All the
individual analyses were combined in ATLAS.ti and broken down into conceptual elements or
categories (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Document Analysis
As a publicly traded organization, BAS makes its annual reports, CSR reports, and other
public documents available on the corporate website; these were used to inform this study. While
public records, personal documents, popular culture documents, visual documents, and artifacts
typically exist prior to starting a research study, Merriam and Tisdell (2016) also note that
research-generated documents or artifacts may become available after the study has begun. The
documents used to support this study were acquired online throughout the study.
45

Participants
All document records used as part of this study were publicly available; as such, no
additional approvals were required by the executive management team.
Instrumentation
Documents were reviewed via computer through public access to for the data used in this
study. The documents revealed workforce composition statistics and goals for the organization
related to its DEI initiatives.
Data Collection Procedures
Documents were saved from public domains to a separate hard drive allocated solely to
this study. All data were erased upon completion of the study.
Data Analysis
Documents relevant to this study were evaluated for connections to the RQs. They were
reviewed and loaded into ATLAS.ti for analysis. This analysis included adding notes and memos
through ATLAS.ti prior to coding the documents; the resulting codebook is presented in
Appendix B. The data from the interviews were coded first, followed by the data from the
document analysis; all sources of data were then combined.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
The researcher is the primary instrument in qualitative research studies that take an
inductive approach, telling readers a story whereby they arrive at their own conclusions based on
the information provided (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This means that the researcher builds
concepts, hypotheses, and theories based on the data gathered during the study (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). In addition to inductive thinking, the researcher asks good questions, tolerates
ambiguity, observes carefully, and is comfortable revealing data through words (Creswell &
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Creswell, 2018; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This helps to establish trust and credibility. In
addition to building rapport and offering full transparency about the intentions of the study, each
participant was reminded that they could skip questions or stop the interview at any time.
Prior research shows that multiple procedures help establish the validity and credibility of
research (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016), triangulation is
known as a best practice for shoring up the credibility of qualitative research. Multiple collection
methods, sources of data, investigators, or theories all increase the credibility of a given study
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Interviews and document analysis were conducted and combined
during this study. Prior to conducting the interviews, all participants were informed of their
opportunity to member-check the responses captured during the interview (upon request). No
participants requested member-checking. According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016), member-
checking and reflexivity help establish a study’s credibility and trustworthiness. Therefore, a
positionality statement was included in this report to address any personal assumptions and
biases. Finally, mechanically recorded data and verbatim quotes were used to establish the
credibility and trustworthiness of the findings revealed in this report.
Ethics
All data were coded and labeled so that only the researcher could link any personal
information back to participants. All data were collected and maintained outside of work and
client computer systems. Data were also handled under the following provisions to protect the
participants’ privacy:
• All data were captured and reviewed in a private setting.
• Only the researcher will present the findings from this study.
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• Information collected about participants was limited to the extent necessary to
achieve the aim of this study.
The data from all interviews were stored electronically on a removable external hard drive. This
device was password-protected and only accessible to the researcher. Direct identifiers and keys
to codes were destroyed, paper documents shredded, electronic files purged, and electronic
media securely erased at the conclusion of the study. When the results of the research are
published or discussed in conferences, no identifiable information will be used.

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Chapter Four: Findings
The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of the KMO influences that
support managers as they apply DEI strategies while hiring leaders in the pursuit of promoting
innovation and advancing business performance. Participants shared their thoughts, feelings, and
intentions during the interviews conducted for this study. Thirteen hiring managers from various
US-based sites were interviewed for this study. The document analysis from this study revealed
critical goals and data that align with the organization’s DEI initiatives. The organization’s ESG
reports, annual reports, and corporate websites were evaluated during the document analysis. The
information gathered during the interviews and the document analysis revealed findings that
were then used to construct recommendations for the organization that support the
implementation of DEI policies and practices.
Stakeholder group
Hiring managers play a critical role in the hiring and succession processes within BAS
ISD. The knowledge, motivation, and organizational support for these managers impacts the
outcomes of DEI strategies in practice by the organization. Not achieving the goals and
outcomes anticipated by the organization may have an impact on innovation and business
performance. As part of this report, participants’ information that details their specific role and
tenure are not captured in a single table, as this could be used to determine the identity of a
participant. Therefore, general information is summarized in Tables 15 to 19 to highlight the
roles and leadership experience of the stakeholder group participating in the study.
Hiring managers from different levels were selected to participate in this study. Group
Leaders revealed that they are being introduced and transitioned into the hiring process.
Managers and Senior Managers explained how they work closely with recruiters and the overall
49

hiring process for one or more sites. Regional Managers revealed that they are doing the same
job as Senior Managers but typically across multiple geographical locations. Directors and
Senior Directors are still part of the hiring process within ISD but focus more on the
organization’s business goals and objectives. Table 5 outlines the leadership role for each
participant from the study.
Table 5
Profile of Interview Participants (n = 13)
Participant Leadership role
1 Group leader
2 Senior director
3 Group leader
4 Manager
5 Director
6 Manager
7 Manager
8 Regional manager
9 Manager
10 Manager
11 Manager
12 Regional manager
13 Senior manager

50

The participants’ roles within the organization have some relevance to their level of
experience and exposure to the ISD hiring process. Since managers are primarily concerned with
hiring leadership candidates, nine out of 13 (70%) study participants were selected from this
management level. Directors understand the hiring process and have often served as managers in
previous roles. Given that most of their current roles are focused more on the business side of
supporting the organization’s growth and business performance, a smaller sampling of two out of
13 (15%) participants was selected from this management level. Group leaders are often new to
the hiring process and have limited exposure and experience with the ISD hiring process;
however, it was important to understand how they are influenced in the hiring process.
Therefore, two out of 13 (15%) participants were selected from this level of leadership. Table 6
shows the percentage distribution of the participants’ roles represented in the study.

Table 6
Percentage Distribution of Participant Roles (n = 13)
Role f Percentage
Director/Sr. director 2 15
Manager/Sr. manager/regional manager 9 70
Group leader 2 15

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Total years of leadership experience may also impact how hiring managers are able to
draw from previous experiences. Table 7 shows the percentage distribution of years in leadership
for all participants. Five out of 13 (39%) participants had held a leadership position for three to 5
years. Next, three out of 13 (23%) participants had 5 to 10 years of leadership experience, while
participants with more than 10 years also made up three of the 13 (23%) participants. The
remaining population, two of 13 (15%) participants, had held leadership positions for 3 years or
less.

Table 7
Percentage Distribution of Years in Leadership (n = 13)
Years in leadership f Percentage
0 to 3 2 15
3 to 5 5 39
5 to 10 3 23
10+ 3 23

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BAS ISD is unique and challenges leaders to take on specific functions that may
otherwise be covered by HR groups within other organizations. Given the importance of
exposure to ISD practices and procedures, Table 8 shows how many years participants have been
part of the ISD leadership team. Almost half of the study participants (six of 13; 46 %) had been
in ISD leadership for less than 3 years. The remaining study participants all had more than 3
years of ISD leadership experience. Hiring managers with three to 5 years of ISD leadership
experience made up four of the 13 (31%) study participants. Hiring managers with five to 10
years of ISD leadership experience comprised three of the 13 (23%) participants. No participants
had more than 10 years of experience in ISD leadership.

Table 8
Percentage Distribution of Years of Insourcing (ISD) Leadership (n = 13)
Years of insourcing leadership f Percentage
0 to 3 6 46
3 to 5 4 31
5 to 10 3 23
10+ 0 0

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Finally, participants were asked to share their age to inform the generational influence on
this study. Table 9 shows a breakdown of Generation Z, millennials, Generation X, and baby
boomers who participated in the study. Generation Z was represented by one of the 13 (8%)
participants. Millennials were represented by nine of 13 (69%) participants in the study, while
Generation X was represented by three of 13 (23%) participants. No (0%) Baby boomers were
selected as part of the study.

Table 9
Percentage Distribution of Age of Leader (n = 13)
Years of ISD leadership f Percentage
Generation Z (26 and younger) 1 8
Millennials (27–42) 9 69
Generation X (43–58) 3 23
Baby boomers (59–77) 0 0

54

The participants in the study were not asked to share their race/ethnicity or gender.
However, each participant was given an opportunity to share how they self-identify. This
approach was used to strengthen the ethics of the study and to build additional credibility and
trustworthiness.
Research Question 1: What Do Hiring Managers Know About DEI Strategies in Order to
Hire Diverse Leaders?
Knowledge and Skills Findings
Hiring managers need to be knowledgeable in applying DEI strategies along with
understanding DEI and leadership terminology. They also need to understand trends related to
the composition of the organization’s workforce. Here, the participants confirmed that they have
a general working knowledge of the terms diversity, equity, inclusion, and DEI. Additionally,
some participants revealed a lack of familiarity with course offerings and training programs that
support their roles as hiring managers. This has a direct impact on hiring managers’ knowledge
and skills. Participants responded with suggestions on how to improve training specifically
geared toward DEI initiatives when they were asked what training they needed. Factual,
procedural, and meta-cognitive knowledge influences on participants were evaluated as part of
this study, as outlined in the following subsections.
Factual Knowledge
Terminology. Hiring managers are expected to attend leadership training, which includes
reviews of the policies and practices that govern the hiring process for the organization. These
courses are delivered by HR and the OD group. Understanding terminology is one of the basic
elements that is also covered during these courses.
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Words matter. Figure 2 shows the percentage of understanding for the specific DEI term
listed among the study participants. Participants were credited with understanding the term
diversity if they responded with an affirming statement about including, involving, or bringing
marginalized groups into the workplace or creating variety within the workforce composition.
Participants were credited with understanding the term equity if their response included meeting
the specific needs of individuals by compensating, evaluating, or allocating resources and
opportunities to create equal outcomes. Participants were credited with understanding the term
inclusion if they responded with a statement on creating an environment for individuals to be
welcomed, heard, able to contribute, promoted, and empowered. Participants were credited with
understanding the term DEI if they responded with a statement that frames policy or practice
within the organization that shapes the experience of marginalized groups to feel welcomed,
included, and treated as equals. For the purposes of this study, participants received credit for
understanding a given term even if they only included a partial description of its meaning.
Figure 2 shows that all 13 participants (100%) were familiar with the term diversity.
Inclusion was the second most understood term, with 10 of 13 (77%) participants meeting the
described criteria. When asked what the term DEI meant to them in the workplace, nine out of
the 13 (69%) participants responded with a description that met the criteria. Finally, equity was
the term that was least understood, with only eight of 13 (62%) participants responding with a
description that matched the study’s criteria.

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Figure 2
Participants’ Factual Knowledge of DEI Terminology

Diversity. Each participant was asked the following question: “What does diversity mean
to you?” Participant 2 responded, “What that means is that we’ve got people, we’ve got a variety
of people, of education levels, of backgrounds of different races, experiences, religions, and, and
it’s okay.” Participant 7 stated, “there’s too many definitions” to define diversity clearly but
added, “somebody who thinks, looks, or from a background that’s different than yours.”
Participant 10 said, “What diversity means to me, it’s just having variety. A variety of
backgrounds, of experiences, of even personalities and thought patterns. It’s more or less a
foolproof way to not have that echo chamber.”
It is important to reveal what the participants themselves were including as criteria when
they defined the term diversity. Participant 5 shared, “It's not just let’s say gender or just skin
color, but it’s people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. That’s just generally
how I like to think about diversity.” In this way, going beyond race and gender showed that
participants were thinking beyond the most common areas typically used to define diversity.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Equity
DEI
Inclusion
Diversity
percentage
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Participant 9 added, “it would be in the context of our, our world. Not discriminating, based upon
skin color, religion, politics, identity. Even to some aspects, how I said disability, you know.”
Overall, then, all 13 participants shared a clear understanding of the term diversity.
Equity. Equity proved to be more challenging to define for some participants. Participant
12 said, “I always think about the equity would be, I guess it would be kind of like time spent
honestly.” This does not meet the criteria used in this study to classify understanding of the term
equity, particularly in the context of DEI terminology. Participant 3 said, “Equity. I guess
everything needs to be… Or, where there needs to be. Well, there’s not any hierarchy or
anything that like separates, you know. The common good or the common goal.” This view of
equity does not address the possible need to shift resources to meet the needs of individuals to
create equal outcomes.
Clearer understandings of the term equity were revealed in the responses from
Participants 1 and 4. Participant 1 said, “equality is about giving uniform treatment, equity is
meeting people’s needs to an equivalent degree.” Participant 4 added, “equity to me means
providing that equal, and it’s not equal, it’s a level playing field with adjustments for the person.
But again, something that enables them to be happy and find value in the job, for them.”
Participant 07 shared that an infographic was shown during an OD training exercise explaining
the difference between equality and equity. As Participant 7 described, “Not everybody has been
given the same shake in this lifetime. I think of that photo. So, to give everyone the same
opportunity, some people are going to need a little bit more assistance to get to that same starting
line,” which is equity.
Inclusion. Most participants understood the term inclusion. Participant 7 defined
inclusion as follows: “Making people feel welcome. Like they’re part of the team. Like they’re
58

safe and cared for. That their opinions matter, and that their contributions matter.” When asked
to define inclusion, Participant 6 added:
Ensuring that not only those resources for equity are made available, but that
they’re really championed for and at the forefront. So, it’s not enough to have
them there if you need it, but making sure to take it a step further, and go out of
your way to ensure that people feel welcome and included and supported.
Participant 10 also offered meaningful dialogue around hiring managers recognizing their
own biases during the hiring process, describing this as the “trickiest part of inclusion.”
Referring to all the terms addressed during the study, Participant 10 also shared that inclusion
“might be the easiest one to define, but it might also be the hardest one to implement because it
is based so much on human bias.”
Conversely, some participants were unfamiliar with the term inclusion. Participant 4 was candid
and reported that “it sounds like the same thing to all of them.” Participant 12 added:
I think inclusion. I think it comes back to the same thing, so far as a
representation. I just want to make sure that any group or any area that I’m
putting together, I really try to put first and foremost who is going to be the best
fit for the role, regardless of any external circumstances.
It was clear when considering participant responses to defining equity and inclusion that training
could be used to strengthen hiring managers’ understanding of DEI terminology.
DEI. Asking participants to clarify their usage and understanding of the term DEI was
also helpful, especially immediately after asking them to define each component of DEI
separately. Facial expressions, posture changes, and pauses during responses to this question
made it apparent that many participants were realizing how they may be using the term DEI
59

interchangeably with all its individual components or terms, while Participant 9 even said, “It’s a
new term to me. Diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Participant 01 added:
It’s not the first term for the concept I came across because ISD uses BEP. Better
Equality Program is their umbrella term for it, and I would see those as kind of
equivalent. But the ISD term is more of a positive spin. It is trying to state the
benefits of the idea rather than just describing it.
Responses to defining what DEI means in the workplace rendered longer and much more
drawn-out responses that sometimes cycled back to defining the individual components
themselves.
In the end, nine of the 13 (69%) participants managed to define DEI as the organization’s
initiatives and policies that shape the experiences of its underrepresented groups. Participant 5
said, “Collectively, this is what it means. It’s a framework that I think makes the work
environment a place that supports its workers, right, broadly. The whole field of workers.”
Participant 12 added:
There’s been systematic approaches that have been put in place to you know, not
to go against diversity initiatives. And so being able to have a company that
focuses on diversity, inclusion, equity, all these things, they really strive to show
that these things are not just, they’re not just quota fillers, but they are drivers to
really help take the company to the next level.
Participant 7 summarized the term as follows:
I feel like for me, DEI, as a leader is making sure that everybody understands
what the rules of engagement are inside of our circle of trust. In order to have
this circle where everybody feels included, we must respect people’s preferred
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pronouns, and preferred names. We must include every single person and have a
seat at the table, for every single person as well as a place for every single idea,
and we don’t judge people. We give basic common decency and respect inside
of these relationships. And for those that won’t buy into that, at the very least,
we can go in the direction of, that won’t be tolerated. So, you can choose to
distance yourself from this situation, or we can go down the path of working
with Employee Relations to figure out what the next steps are.
These are examples of DEI referring to the policies and practices of the organization.
Workforce Composition. The participants did not refer to any CSR documents in
relation to questions about demographics. The responses from participants to the interview
questions about demographics addressed the cultural setting of the organization. However, the
document analysis of ESG and annual reports revealed details of ethnicity and leadership
composition data, which were found on the company’s website.
In its 2021 ESG report, BAS provided data comparing the BAS workforce to National
Science Foundation (NSF) data on scientists and engineers working full-time in the United States
based on race/ethnicity categories. BAS trends favorably when compared to the NSF data. It has
less of a white majority in its workforce composition, with 68% versus 75% NSF. BAS also
reports a 14% workforce composition of Asian staff versus 10% NSF. BAS reports Hispanic,
which is listed as an ethnicity classification in the report, at 8% workforce composition versus
7% NSF. Finally, BAS reports a 6% Black workforce composition versus 5% NSF. Additional
groups are listed in Figure 3, which are two or more races, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander,
American Indian/Native Alaskan, and unknown.
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Figure 3
US Workforce Composition by Race/Ethnicity

Gender equality was the first DEI initiative for the BEP. The data from the ESG report
show successful growth for women in executive leadership positions during the period 2019–
2021, as shown in Figure 4. Growth for women in executive leadership has steadily increased
from 10% in 2019 to 18% in 2020 and is most recently reported at 21% in 2021. Figure 4 also
shows that BAS is already close to or has surpassed its gender equality goal of 50% female
representation across several categories. For 2021, the organization reports 56% women across
all employees, 49% women for line leaders, and 50% women on the board of directors.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
unknown
Native Hawiian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/North Alaskan
2 or more races
Black
Hispanic
Asian
White
Percentage
BAS NSF
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Figure 4
BAS Global Workforce Composition for Women

Notably, it was unclear from the data used to create Figure 4 whether gender-neutral
identities were considered when gathering the data. However, acceptance of the use of gender
pronouns within the organization was clear from the interviews. Participant 4 shared, “We had
hired someone who was like, my pronouns are they/them. And I was so excited. It sounds odd
that, that was never, we’re like, okay, they/them we got it.”
Training. To understand how knowledge related to hiring leaders is delivered across the
organization, the participants were asked to share what training was available to them.
Participant 6 responded as follows:
There is the standard set of, you know, onboarding trainings that are rolled out
by different teams like the OD team and things like that. That’s sort of the, the
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Executive Leaders
National Level Leaders
Line leaders
Board of Directors
All employees
Percentage
2021 2020 2019
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base model right, the standard. But in terms of what we each introduce to our
leaders and on what cadence, we find that the four of us do things a little bit
differently.
Participant 5 is relatively new to the ISD leadership team:
Hmm! You know I might not be the best person to answer that just because I
haven’t gone through. So, I know we have some, like a hiring class that I think
[one of our OD trainers] teaches and there was, you know, right questions to ask,
questions you shouldn’t. But I don’t recall its focused on hiring leaders per se. I
won’t say that’s not offered. I’ll just say I’m not familiar on any specific, you
know, training.
This signals a knowledge gap whereby a newly hired leader may not be familiar with the
practices expected of them as a hiring manager. The manager may be experienced and familiar
with the laws governing hiring, but not familiar with specific practices that they should be using
or mentoring direct reports on regarding ISD policy and practice. Participant 5 added:
So, a blind spot I could have is disabilities right. Obviously, I’m aware of that
but I, you know, I don’t have any physical disabilities, and there’s been times
where I realized. Oh, I never thought about the fact that there’s no ramp here,
right? I’m not in a wheelchair right?
This is where additional training could have a positive impact on hiring managers being
more aware of the needs of marginalized groups.
Some participants spoke directly about training related to ISD DEI programs and
initiatives. Participant 4 said:
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What I like about the training, and I, I forgot to mention just the specific BEP
training and offerings, is that they do a great job. I think, in particular, defining
what [DEI] is, giving examples and then giving you an idea of what it looks like
when it's in action.
The Better Equality Program (BEP) was mentioned often throughout the interviews.
Participants commented on how the program has been driving a solid DEI culture within the
organization. Participant 1 said, “we have a training where they emphasize the distinction
between equity and equality.” Some participants also spoke of the need to guide hiring managers
who report into them. Participant 7 revealed:
I forget how much my Group Leads probably need support in terms of these
things and support in the way of maybe some formalized conversations where
we get really intentional about making sure we all are on the same page about it.
The participants were asked to provide insight into what they believe training should look
like to support their efforts in applying DEI strategies when hiring leaders. Participant 4 said,
“From what I’ve experienced, I would say more specific examples of what differences are, and
how they actually enhance the job as well as the company. I think, learning more about different
aspects of equity and diversity.” Hiring managers need to know which strategies the organization
expects them to deliver on. Participant 3 observed the following:
What I’m looking for, may or may not necessarily match, you know, what the
the company’s idea, or you know, what the company’s looking for. It’s not
because, you know, I don’t. It’s not for anything more than, you know, I may not
be a 100% on the same page, just for lack of knowledge of what the company
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needs. So under, I guess, understanding the company needs, you know, whatever
that looks like. I’m all about it.
No clear consensus was apparent on the training that is made available to the participants
relating to hiring leaders or DEI initiatives. Additionally, no measures or expected outcomes
seemed to be in place for these initiatives. Participant 7 added, “I feel like the BEP conversations
are definitely a great place to start, but I wish we would formalize those into training.”
Procedural Knowledge
The participating managers were confident in their personal approaches to hiring. They
shared practices of targeted selection interview training and the use of tools like Smart
Recruiters. A consensus also emerged from the participants that the organization expects them to
hire the “best fit” candidate for the job. Participants also revealed their approaches to succession
planning, which focuses on the hiring and promotion of internal candidates.
Hiring Process. The participants did not reveal a specific training curriculum that they
had encountered to prepare them for hiring internal or external candidates. Rather, they mostly
shared their personal and sometimes site-specific approaches to hiring leadership candidates.
Participant 11 said, “So, we do things on our site that I think help with the hiring of a leader. But
I wouldn’t say BAS offers direct leadership hiring training.” Participant 1 spoke about the
perceived intent of the organization around the hiring process:
I mean, they train a certain interview process, that is focused on, for instance,
soliciting specific examples from the interview candidates. And rating people on
their ability to provide specific examples of their capabilities. Focused on asking
everyone similar questions. I can see the outline of the compliance requirements
in the structure of interviewing that they teach. But at the same time, somebody
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may say that like this has proven very effective. For them, they want everyone to
use the same criteria. They have a model that they’re trying to follow. And I am
doing my best to in turn, to follow along with the model they presented.
Participant 9 added, “I think it’s something that we can work on. If I’m being completely
honest, you know. I’ve had some group leaders where it’s just, here’s an email for your Smart
Recruiter login. And now you’re, you’re ready.” It appeared that the participants wanted to do
the job expected of them but were challenged by fully understanding the process. Participant 8
responded as follows:
I would say, it’s a big learning curve as far as the process and the, the
interviewing process, and using Smart Recruiters. Because I had access to Smart
Recruiters, so everybody assumed I would just, knew how to use it and was up
and running, and I wasn’t. So, learning the systems.
Hiring managers need to be knowledgeable of all policies and procedures to be able to
implement them. On hiring, participants also reported that they must be aware of client
specifications and expectations when hiring. Participant 1 shared the following:
Since we are placing a candidate in a client site, I talk to the client about what
experience is most important to them. What kind of skill set that they're really
looking for. And I also talk to the site manager about, you know, what they’re
comfortable with.
Succession Planning. Question 11 from the interview protocol specifically addressed
how hiring managers go about selecting internal candidates for succession planning, which often
leads to internal promotions into leadership positions. Inclusion is difficult to examine during the
hiring process of external candidates, but it should be very prevalent when considering internal
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candidates. It is important that hiring managers understand that an opportunity for inclusion
exists during this process. Based on the responses, it was clear that no specific procedures are
being followed that guide how succession candidates are selected to matriculate into leadership
roles.
Metacognitive Knowledge
Hiring managers need to rely on their metacognitive knowledge when assessing the
organization’s goals and KPIs. They must then look for creative ways to achieve such targets.
Metacognitive knowledge was revealed in the participant responses related to innovation and
business performance. Participants shared examples of seeing the bigger picture. When
discussing what comes from promoting DEI in leadership, Participant 11 shared, “That’s where
you get new ideas. That’s where you get innovation, and you know, just different viewpoints.”
Participant 11 also added the following:
I think it gives the opportunity to address things in a different way. To set your
company and your teams up for success by having the most ways of addressing
a problem at the table. But you need someone that can see that and lean on it.
Participants shared clear examples of metacognitive knowledge when assessing the value
added to the organization through hiring more diverse candidates. Some participants appeared to
support an approach of measuring DEI outcomes that drives the BEP and empowers the program
to heights beyond the status quo. Participant 7 summarized this as follows:
We don’t rise to meet our loftiest goals, we fall to our best systems. And I think
that that’s really, we have lofty goals around DEI. But we don’t have good
enough systems in place to make sure that the default is compliance. And the
default is not just compliance. It’s compassion, and it’s passion for doing the
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right thing by our teams too where we can. It’s not just a checkbox. It’s a way of
life and it’s something that we can really make sure is happening. And then, the
accountability follows. You don’t have to check up on somebody, because it’s
not a checkbox that you’re checking, that they check the box. It becomes
something that you know is alive and well on that site, because you have made it
to where the systems exist, that the baseline is success.
No clear examples were found in the document analysis or from the interviews to suggest
that BAS tracks specific metrics that correlate DEI to innovation or business performance. While
some documents showed metrics related to demographics, which is an example of diversity
management, no ties were evident to any outcomes other than gender diversity tracking.
Additionally, even though the organization tracks workforce composition for race/ethnicity, the
document analysis did not reveal any overarching goals or KPIs related to race and ethnicity or
for any other underrepresented groups outside gender representation.
Martins (2020) emphasizes that diversity and inclusion are not going to just naturally
occur within organizations. He holds senior leadership to account for the “diversity dividend”
necessary to add value to DEI programs. Metrics are critical to show this value; such metrics
were absent from BAS. Leaders will need metacognitive knowledge to pull this off, because they
will be constantly required to assess and adjust to new information and data as they come in. As
Participant 06 stated, “if you don’t have that really strong intrinsic foundation of putting DEI at
the forefront of all your decision making, it’s going to impact the business ultimately, and not in
a positive light.”
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Summary of Knowledge and Skills Findings
Factual, procedural, and metacognitive were the knowledge influencers evaluated during
this study. Participant responses from interviews revealed that ISD hiring managers have a basic
working knowledge of DEI terminology. However, it was evident that training needs persist, and
that training is needed to strengthen the understanding of DEI terminology across all hiring
managers. The participants cited HR, OD, and the BEP as resources available to them for
training content. However, some participants revealed their unfamiliarity with specific course
offerings and training programs that support their roles as hiring managers.
Document analysis was used to uncover data addressing the current workforce
composition within BAS; the interviews did not reveal any findings related to workforce
composition. The document analysis also revealed that gender equality was the first initiative
taken on by the BEP. The data revealed clear success within BAS in addressing gender gaps
within the organization.
The literature review states that stakeholders need to be knowledgeable of the
organization’s practices to be able to implement them. The interviews revealed that hiring
managers are not universally following a specific process for hiring new leaders or hiring leaders
through succession planning. This could have an impact on business, particularly should any
ethical or legal issues arise.
Metacognitive knowledge is activated when having to address complex or higher-order
problems. Here, the hiring managers did not report that ISD is currently connecting DEI
strategies to innovation and business performance. This was also not seen across any of the
document analysis conducted throughout the study.
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Research Question 2: What Motivates Hiring Managers to Consider DEI Strategies When
Hiring Diverse Leaders?
Motivation Findings
Most of the hiring managers felt empowered to promote DEI strategies when hiring or
promoting leaders. The participants mentioned that this seemed intrinsic to the organization’s
culture. This is important to consider when the organization assigns additional tasks that will tie
DEI strategies to business performance; leaders will then need to be motivated to understand and
complete the assigned tasks to manage the new metrics and outcomes. This may pose a problem
because participants reported some difficulty in prioritizing the attendance of training over their
other assigned tasks. Additional tasks related to strengthening the BEP may also be deprioritized.
Task Value
Most of the leaders shared that the organization does not explicitly provide motivating
factors to drive any specific DEI practices. As mentioned above, the participants instead spoke of
this motivation being more intrinsic to the culture of the organization. Some participants pointed
to this as a place for improvement within the organization. Participant 8 also shared the
following:
There’s a lot of training available. The issue that I find is time management, and
finding the time, making the time, to use all of the resources we have. When I’m
so caught up in my day to day, I have to get this out, I have to get these invoices,
I have to approve this, I have to. I’m so caught up in the stuff, that I don’t take
the time. So, I can’t say that we don’t have resources available. I’m sure that we
do. I just have not yet taken, you know, full advantage of them. Yet!
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This ties directly back into the participants’ acquired knowledge and skills to do their
jobs. When discussing motivating factors, Participant 7 said, “I feel like it should be a
conversation that we’re having more frequently.” This was a significant finding: some
participants were unsure what information they may be missing as a result of not fully
prioritizing attending training.
In relation to DEI strategies, the BEP was seen as a step in the right direction. In response
to the question “What motivates hiring managers to consider DEI strategies when hiring
leaders?”, Participant 5 replied:
I can’t speak to that in the sense that we haven’t had that direct discussion, as it
relates to hiring but what I can say is we do have that Better Equality program,
you know. And we, we talk about it and so, it’s something that, you know, is that
we are aware of right. It’s something that is not being swept under the rug.
That’s out in the open.
Participant 11 supported this by sharing the following:
There’s always another BEP conversation. There’s always a follow-up. There’s
always something going on that brings it [DEI] to the forefront of your mind. So
hopefully when you’re considering a candidate or hiring or in that (moment), it’s
still present right? So, you’ve been so involved in it that it’s taking hold in your
hiring process as well.
Additionally, senior leaders were given as a primary source of motivation. Participant 6
shared the following:
It’s very much intrinsic to the organization. You know, I think there is a lot of
involvement from our director with bringing on new group leaders. You know,
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she always wants to be involved in either the interview process or that very first
touch point. When we do promote somebody into group leadership, and, you
know, really just make it very apparent that we, we want to do right by people.
Participant 2 added:
Because everybody is involved. Then I think that we have a lot of opportunities
for our, to motivate our group leaders, to be developing the people under them
and to motivate the managers to be developing the people under them. So,
everybody’s got the job of who is your successor. But the way that I talk to them
is, who is your successor?
Participant 9 also shared
Leaders are motivated by incorporating it into our culture. I mean it’s instilled in
BAS ISD from the leadership. It’s a trickle down, I’m trying to put this into
words. You know [our global head]. You know she’s one of the most captivating
people. When you hear her, she speaks from the heart, and you can feel it. And I,
I think that’s what it is. It’s a feeling, you know. And I know she likes to talk
about love, but you feel it. And I think that trickles into what we look for, or
what my idea, at least of a BAS ISD leader is.
While feeling compelled to do the work is important, hiring managers must also be
confident in their ability to do that same work.
Self-Efficacy
Most of the leaders felt supported and good about their ability to hire the best-fit
candidate, which is the prevailing culture based on the responses from participants. Hiring
managers need to feel positive about their ability to contribute to the increase in diversity in
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leadership positions. When asked how they felt about their ability to promote DEI when hiring
leaders, the participants mostly responded favorably. Participant 5 shared the following:
I feel very good because this was always in the back of my mind. I always told
myself, if you ever become a leader or somebody with significant influence, I
would be deliberate with how I use that to make sure I promote, you know,
equality and diversity within my organization. So, that’s always been something
in the back of my mind that I wanted to do, and no one’s gonna stop me. I don’t
think anybody’s gonna try to stop you.
Participant 6 responded as follows:
I feel this is a strong skill for me. I think there’s always room to further flex that
muscle if you will. You know, no one’s an SME on it, certainly right. But I, I do
find that to be a strength of mine.
Participant 11 shared, “I think I do a good job, right. It is… It is an aspect that I look at right,
when I’m hiring and promoting leaders.” Similarly, Participant 7 reflected that:
I don’t necessarily know that I’m promoting diversity inside of those promotions
specifically, because when I have a small pool of people that I’m choosing from,
that’s not part of the selection criteria, you know. I’m, I’m looking at who has
the best track record showing up for other people.
Some participants also observed that they were not totally confident to go against the
grain when facing their senior leaders to choose a more diverse candidate if such a situation
arose. Participant 1 shared the following:
I would say that I don’t. I wouldn’t feel confident to back a candidate against a superior
on the basis of diversity. Like, I would stand behind the merits of a candidate. I don’t, I
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wouldn’t feel safe saying if everyone’s equal maybe we should consider whether we
should go for diversity as a goal in our leadership team. I don’t feel confident in saying
that. I’m a little nervous. I guess I feel empowered to disregard ethnicity, origin,
neurodiversity and focus on a person’s capabilities. I do not feel empowered to encourage
it.
Summary of Motivation Findings
Task value and self-efficacy were the motivation influencers evaluated in this study. The
participants reported that motivation toward DEI practices felt intrinsic to the organization,
primarily because of senior leadership’s involvement. However, the participants also reported
some difficulties in prioritizing attending training over their other tasks. This was not perceived
to impact their belief in themselves to participate in DEI programs. Most of the participants
reported that they felt empowered to promote DEI strategies when hiring or promoting leaders.
Research Question 3: How Does the Organization Support Managers’ Ability to Hire
Diverse Leaders Through DEI Strategies?
Organizational Influence Findings
The participants foregrounded a strong DEI culture at BAS ISD and their motivation to
hire the “best fit” candidate. Significantly, however, the organization does not track or correlate
leadership workforce composition to any specific business performance metrics, as found during
this study. Organizations must actively promote policies and procedures that sustain applying
DEI strategies when hiring leaders if they are to see an impact on innovation and business
performance. Considering ISD’s approach to hiring leaders, this may leave the hiring process
prone to the influence of stereotyping and bias, especially if hiring the “best fit” candidate is
solely at the discretion of the hiring manager.
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Cultural Setting
According to the 2021 ESG report, the Better Equality Program (BEP) is helping to drive
a safe and inclusive work environment. The participants in this study consistently revealed that
they liked the ISD culture. The “people first approach” and hiring the “best fit” candidate
resonated across the interviews as a prevailing tenet of this culture. As part of the final comments
when wrapping up the interview, Participant 11 shared the following:
I think BAS ISD does better than most with viewing equality, diversity,
inclusion, equity. You know, those ancillary things that have huge impacts on the
business operation, and how you perform. So, you know, that’s my opinion of
what ISD does. ISD implemented a mindset in all of us, especially for me.
Participant 9 shared a similar belief:
The BEP global committee, it’s actually, I'll say a selling point, you know, in our
interviews. It is a hot button issue that is on, especially the new generation’s
minds. They want to be recognized for who they are, no matter what they are
and how they identify. They want to know that there’s a place that’s safe for
them. So, that’s definitely something that we discuss in our, you know, the sales
pitch in an interview.
The goal for hiring leaders was consistently revealed as recruiting the “best fit”
candidate. As Participant 13 shared:
Our emphasis was always, just pick the best candidate. Doesn’t matter what they
look like, where they came from, pick the best candidate. So, I believe that’s a
rough around the edges way of addressing diversity/inclusion, because you
know, at its core, that’s what we’re looking for. Doesn’t matter. Yeah, it’s … it’s
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inclusive, if you’re just looking for the best person. It doesn’t matter how they
got, how they became the best, who they, you know, whatever it is. It’s just they
are.
Participant 12 echoed this sentiment:
I would say that the way that the organization motivates leaders to hire who
would be, to keep an open…From my experience they have taught me to keep
an open mind, and when you're looking at all of the candidates, look for the best
fit.
On the surface, this seems like an acceptable approach to hiring practices. However,
reflecting on the literature review for this study, various influences on managers when hiring
leaders—especially the possibility of stereotyping and unconscious bias—could enter the actions
of leaders. This is another key finding from this study. Organizations can mitigate situations that
arise around hiring practices if they have viable data to counter questionable practices. Digging
deeper into the interview transcripts from the study, the goals and outcomes for hiring a diverse
workforce were not well understood by the participants. Moreover, these same goals and
outcomes were not clear from the document analysis. This leads to the question of how
workforce composition is being promoted to hiring managers as they hire new leaders into the
organization.
Demographics
The hiring managers were cognizant of the demographics that they saw on their
respective sites for all employees, in leadership at their sites, and the diversity spread across the
ISD senior leadership team. The ESG reports, annual reports, and corporate websites list the
goals established for gender diversity by the BAS board of directors and executive team, with
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mention made of outreach efforts, through recruitment, to expand beyond gender to include
ethnicity and LGBTQ+.
Conversely, no participant from the study specifically mentioned any demographic data
that could be found on corporate websites or within the ESG and annual reports. Rather, the
participants mostly cited demographic information related to their sites. This showed that
participants were considering the impact of DEI on their sites. Participant 7 shared, “But we’re
starting to get a little bit of neurodivergence kind of sprinkled in there, in my teams.” Participant
4 added the following:
As far as describing it, I would say that I see diversity even, you know, I guess,
as a huge microcosm of the organization. I’ve seen a real, unique variety, I think,
unique to a lot of companies. People that are in leadership roles. I look at my
team, and I see varieties of background. Whether it’s in the socioeconomic or
ethnic area.
Participant 7 also shared the following:
My site is really beautifully diverse. Our leadership team, still very white. Which is
interesting when I think about it. But I think our team overall actually is more than 50%
female, and our leadership team is more than 50% female.
One participant highlighted African American leadership as a growth area for ISD at
higher leadership levels. This participant shared that “I was the only African American that was
there. And now we’re expanding. We have two. We’re continuously growing. Not just from an
African American standpoint. But we do, there’s other representation from a lot of the other
minorities.”
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BAS has clearly driven its goal of getting more women into leadership roles. As
Participant 5 said:
I thought it was great when I started my role. I noticed all my managers were
women, so that’s the leadership team of that site. It was all women, and so I
thought that was just very interesting. Out of [all] managers. right? They are all
women.
When speaking of leadership diversity on-site, Participant 13 shared that “I don’t know if it
reflects [the] same diversity. I don’t believe it reflects the same diversity that we have within our
staff. I think gender is well, well represented on both sides within our leadership team.” In turn,
demographics outside of race and gender were highlighted by the participants, which underpins
diversity management as mentioned by Thomas (1992, 2010). Participant 2 talked about:
A couple of different categories. The early career folks. But we also have some more
experience staff as well. And that is because of the types of work that we’re doing. And
so, I think, really, our work and the need, you know, more experienced folks is driving
some of the demographics that we find. The other area that I have up there is a lot of
technician levels, which is the non-degree. And that’s bringing in a very different kinda
demographic than our scientists’ levels.
Summary Organizational Influence Findings
Cultural setting was the organizational influencer that was evaluated during this study.
The participants consistently reported during their interviews that BAS ISD actively promotes
hiring the “best fit” candidates for open roles. The document analysis found that the BAS BEP
initiative drives a safe and inclusive work environment for all employees, and the participant
responses supported this claim. However, no data from the interviews or the data analysis
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mentioned mechanisms to assess how hiring managers were determining “best fit.” This means
that hiring managers seeking to hire the “best fit” person for a job could be influenced by
stereotyping or unconscious bias.
Summary of Findings
The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of KMO influences that support
managers as they apply DEI strategies while hiring leaders. This is relatively straightforward,
and the influences can be seen throughout the participant’s responses. However, striving to
promote innovation and advance business performance is hard to prove and heavily dependent
on the work that management is doing to support the hiring managers. This can be seen in the
conceptual framework developed in this study.
The participants openly shared their thoughts, feelings, and perceptions during their
interviews. The document analysis was also helpful in evaluating the influences that were
impacting hiring managers. Recommendations can now be made in support of these findings.
Chapter 5 reveals three guiding recommendations, developed to address the performance gaps
determined using the KMO gap analysis framework.

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Chapter Five: Recommendations
The recommendations from this work are grounded in the Clark and Estes (2008) gap
analysis framework, which is used to determine operational gaps related to KMO influences.
They all represent critical behaviors and required drivers, as determined using the new world
Kirkpatrick model (NWKM; Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). NWKM provides an
implementation and evaluation framework that can be used to maximize the transfer of
knowledge to critical behaviors that drive business performance.
First, this chapter discusses the findings from the study and aligns them with the literature
review and the conceptual framework. Next, the recommendations are revealed and supported by
the existing research. An integrated implementation and evaluation plan using NWKM then
details the steps required to lead this change. Finally, this chapter concludes with limitations and
delimitations, future research, and a conclusion.
Discussion of Findings
BAS ISD has a strong DEI culture where leaders feel confident in their abilities to
promote DEI strategies. However, key findings were discovered during the study that need to be
addressed by the organization.
The knowledge influences reveal that hiring managers at BAS ISD need to strengthen
their understanding of DEI terminology and familiarize themselves with training programs that
support their roles. Currently, they are not following a specific protocol when hiring new leaders
or promoting internal hires into leadership positions. Hiring managers are also not routinely
connecting their work to apply DEI strategies back to the organization’s innovation and business
performance, nor does this appear to be a requirement or expectation from the organization.
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The motivation influences highlight that the participants have encountered difficulties in
prioritizing their tasks to include DEI training. While the participants were interested in applying
DEI strategies during the process of hiring leaders, they may lack the motivation to move tasks
from this initiative ahead of other tasks that they view as higher priority. Somewhat contrarily,
the participants reported that they felt empowered to promote DEI strategies when hiring or
promoting leaders.
The organizational support influences revealed that the organization is not correlating
DEI strategies to organizational goals and outcomes. This makes it difficult to identify positive
or negative contributing factors and outcomes from deploying the Better Equality Program or
other DEI strategies. This may be necessary, as the prevailing culture in the organization is to
hire the “best fit” candidate for leadership positions. Indeed, none of the findings suggest any
assessment of metrics to ensure that DEI strategy goals are being met during the hiring process
for leaders. This may be important to assess to counter instances of stereotyping or unconscious
bias.
In the following section, recommendations are made to improve performance based on
these KMO influences. Tables 10, 11, and 12 offer a summary of the findings and
recommendations as a result of conducting this study. Each table presents the finding, finding
type, a research-supported principle to address the finding, and a context-specific
recommendation. These context-specific recommendations are critical behaviors and required
drivers, as determined using the NWKM (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Recommendations for Practice
In this section, three guiding recommendations are presented in line with the KMO gap
analysis model. Recommendation 1 addresses the knowledge and skills findings,
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Recommendation 2 addresses the motivational findings, and Recommendation 3 addresses the
organizational support findings. Each guiding recommendation reveals the drivers and critical
behaviors needed to address the problem of practice, which are listed as context-specific
recommendations in Tables 10 to 12.
Recommendation 1: Implement Training Programs that Support the Organization’s DEI
Strategies and Performance Goals.
Hiring managers need to know what training is available and how this training supports
the policies and practices of the organization, particularly those that support programs like the
Better Equality Program. Training helps individuals gain the knowledge and skills needed to do
their jobs. This includes factual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge. Table 10 presents a
summary of the knowledge findings and context-specific recommendations under
Recommendation 1.

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Table 10
Summary of Knowledge Findings and Recommendations
Knowledge finding Knowledge type Principle and citation Context-specific
recommendation
Some participants
revealed unfamiliarity
with course offerings
and training programs
that support their
roles as hiring
managers.
Factual On-the-job training
(OJT) is a tool used
to reinforce learning
that should be
occurring when
trying to drive
critical behaviors.
(Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Require senior
leadership to
actively review
OJT forms of
hiring managers
in support of the
hiring process and
hiring diverse
leaders.

Hiring managers are not
universally following
a specific process for
hiring new leaders or
hiring leaders through
succession planning.
Procedural Safeguards are in
place for applicants
and the organization
when hiring
managers are aware
and follow ethical
and legal procedures
related to the hiring
process (Villegas et
al., 2019).

Require hiring
managers to
follow and
complete a
checklist
throughout the
hiring process.
Hiring managers are not
connecting DEI
strategies to ISD’s
innovation and
business
performance.
Metacognitive Training and
education allow
organizations to tap
into higher-order
thinking and skill
development for
trainees who will be
required to solve
more complex
problems in the
workplace (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
Require senior
leadership, along
with OD, to
review project
team and
committee rosters.

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Factual Knowledge
The study participants each shared their understanding of DEI terminology. This revealed
that participants have some basic knowledge of DEI terms, but still need strengthening and
clarity in this area. One possible contributor to this is that some participants revealed
unfamiliarity with the course offerings and training programs that support their roles as hiring
managers. Therefore, the context-specific recommendation for factual knowledge is to require
senior leadership to actively review the on-the-job training (OJT) forms of hiring managers in
support of the hiring process and hiring diverse leaders. This will help drive the behaviors
needed by hiring managers to increase their factual knowledge of DEI strategies, along with
knowledge of leadership terminology, trends, and workforce composition data. OJTs are a tool
used to reinforce learning that should be occurring when trying to drive critical behaviors
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Self and Jolly (2019) list OJTs as an important training tool
when delivering training on basic job functions. Hence, senior leadership should check to ensure
that proper DEI training topics are included on the OJTs and confirm that hiring managers are
completing their training in a timely manner. Hiring managers should not only be training to gain
basic factual knowledge, but they should also train to understand the process and practices to hire
new leaders as established by the organization.
Procedural Knowledge
The study participants consistently shared processes for hiring leaders that were
individualized and specific to their sites, notwithstanding the use of the recruiting team and smart
recruiters. As such, it was clear that they were not universally following a specific process for
hiring new leaders or hiring leaders through succession planning. This could be risky when new
hiring managers are unfamiliar with the policies and practices of the organization. Safeguards are
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in place for applicants and the organization when hiring managers are aware and follow ethical
and legal procedures related to the hiring process (Villegas et al., 2019). Therefore, the context-
specific recommendation for procedural knowledge requires hiring managers to follow and
complete a checklist throughout the hiring process to ensure that all hiring procedures are being
followed. Chamberlain (2016) posits that such a checklist for interviewers helps them recognize
assumptions and bias in their thinking. Checklists specifically designed to focus on bias
recognition can also be helpful in drawing out personal thoughts, judgements, and reactions
during the interview process (Chamberlain, 2016).
Metacognitive Knowledge
Metacognitive knowledge can be thought of as higher-order thinking or cognition and
strategic knowledge. This knowledge is required when addressing complex issues within
organizations, such as implementing DEI programs and strategies. According to Clark and Estes
(2008), training and education allow organizations to tap into higher-order thinking and skill
development for trainees who will be required to solve more complex problems in the
workplace. During this study, it was determined that hiring managers are not currently
connecting DEI strategies to ISD innovation and business performance. Therefore, the context-
specific recommendation for metacognitive knowledge requires senior leadership, along with
OD, to review project team and committee rosters to assess their diversity. Jones et al. (2020)
suggest that careful team assembly—coupled with appropriate assessment of the team’s thinking
styles and cultural diversity—drives innovation. They also suggest the use of psychometric tools
like DiSC, the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator (MBTI), and Belbin’s role assessment to identify
members’ characteristics or personality contributions to the team.
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Recommendation 2: Align the Hiring Manager’s Responsibilities with the Organization’s
DEI Strategies and Performance Goals to Drive Behaviors and Accountability.
Improved performance occurs when motivation is combined with knowledge and skills in
organizations, as seen in the conceptual framework for this study. Individuals must see value in a
task to pursue it, and they need to be confident in their abilities to achieve the task. Table 11
summarizes the motivation findings and context-specific recommendations under
Recommendation 2.

Table 11
Summary of Motivation Findings and Recommendations
Motivation finding Motivation type Principle and citation Context-specific
recommendation
Hiring managers report
some difficulties in
prioritizing attending
training over their
other tasks.
Task value Individuals take a
more active
approach to
completing tasks
when they are held
to account (Hall et
al., 2017).
Include
performance
goals related to
critical behaviors
that support DEI
strategies in the
annual review
process for hiring
managers.

Hiring managers feel
empowered to
promote DEI
strategies when hiring
or promoting leaders.
Self-efficacy Self-efficacy
includes one’s
ability to participate
in leadership
development, but
also their motivation
to search for the
development in the
first place
(Fitzsimmons &
Callan, 2020).
Pair all hiring
managers with an
accountability
partner, coach, or
mentor.

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Task Value Motivation
Participants reported some difficulties in prioritizing attending training over their other
assigned tasks. This is problematic because not attending training can lead to gaps in knowledge
and skills. Research has shown that individuals take a more active approach to completing tasks
when they are held to account (Hill et al., 2017). Therefore, the context-specific recommendation
for task value motivation is that the organization should promote including performance goals
related to critical behaviors that support DEI strategies in the annual review process for hiring
managers. Establishing goals that are strategic and aligned with organizational goals drives
mastery learning, where learners seek to enhance their knowledge and skills over merely
completing a task (Sitzmann & Weinhardt, 2018). Sitzmann and Weinhardt (2018) also note that
the prioritization of training tasks is influenced by a culture focused on training, the employee’s
planning and time management skills, awareness of corporate goals, and the training level of the
individual. Training prioritization can also be impacted by an employee’s self-efficacy.
Self-Efficacy Motivation
Most study participants reported that they felt empowered to promote DEI strategies
when hiring or promoting leaders. This was clear from the study interviews. In those instances
where hiring managers did not feel confident to speak up and promote DEI strategies, these
leaders may be struggling with self-efficacy. Self-efficacy centers around an individual’s self-
belief to complete tasks but also to learn (Bandura, 2001; Schunk & Usher, 2019). Fitzsimmons
and Callan (2020) add that self-efficacy includes one’s ability to participate in leadership
development but also one’s motivation to search for said development in the first place.
Therefore, the context-specific recommendation for self-efficacy is to pair all hiring managers
with an accountability partner, coach, or mentor. This will drive accountability for those hiring
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managers who may struggle with self-efficacy, whether consistently or intermittently. Seibert et
al. (2017) propose that leadership effectiveness and promotability are influenced by the leader’s
self-efficacy and the size and quality of a leader’s mentor network. In this way, it is important for
hiring managers to be effective in their roles.
Recommendation 3: Add Metrics to the Performance Management Program That Measure
Correlation Between Diversity and Inclusion with Goal Outcomes From Innovation and
Business Performance
Recommendation 3 is critical to tie diversity and DEI strategies to business performance.
Without metrics, the organization has no way to determine the impact of its DEI strategies on
business performance. Organizations and their members want to know whether DEI programs
are adding value to their work. Here, no evidence was found that showed that BAS was tracking
the correlation of DEI with innovation and business performance. Table 12 summarizes one
organizational support finding and context-specific recommendations under Recommendation 3.
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Table 12
Summary of Organizational Support Findings and Recommendations
Organizational support
finding
Organizational
support type
Principle and citation Context-specific
recommendation
Hiring managers seek to
hire the “best fit” person
for the job, which may
be influenced by
unconscious bias.
Cultural Setting Advancing business
performance and
other strategic
outcomes correlate
to the organization’s
understanding and
approach to diversity
management
(Thomas, 2010).
Require senior
leadership, along
with HR, to
establish KPIs
that correlate DEI
strategy with
innovation and
business
performance.

Cultural Setting Evaluation reveals
the value associated
with attempts to
address performance
gaps (Clark & Estes,
2008).
Require senior
leadership to
review DEI
performance
goals twice-
annually.

Cultural Setting
This study found that ISD has instilled a culture that promotes hiring managers hiring the
“best fit” candidate when looking to hire new leaders. The participants confidently shared this
during the interviews. Instances where the actual “best fit” candidate is hired strengthen the ISD
workplace culture. However, as hiring managers are seeking to hire the “best fit” candidate for a
leadership role, they have no way to determine whether stereotyping or unconscious bias is at
play without feedback and measures. Thomas (2010) states that an organization’s understanding
and approach to diversity management correlates with advancing business performance and other
strategic outcomes. Therefore, the first context-specific recommendation for cultural setting is to
require senior leadership, along with HR, to establish KPIs that correlate DEI strategy with
innovation and business performance. For example, demographic data could be tracked to
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specific innovations that occur across the organization; innovation can thus be tied to the
diversity factors and components of the project teams who discovered the innovation. Similarly,
Andreski et al. (2020) highlighted a DEI net promotor score (NPS), which quantifies culture and
predicts employee engagement by taking a surface-level assessment of DEI strategies and
programs.
Transparent Culture
Howson (2021) suggests identifying gaps in the data collected and moving toward
tracking more inclusive data to tell a more transparent and honest story. Howson also suggests
making this data available across the organization and confronting the details in the data. Clark
and Estes (2008) state that evaluation reveals the value associated with attempts to address
performance gaps. Therefore, the second context-specific recommendation for cultural setting is
to require senior leadership to review DEI performance goals twice-annually as part of ISD’s
evaluation of the BEP. These recommendations must be based on research to drive employee
acceptance and buy-in.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
To move from recommendations to outcomes, training needs to occur for hiring
managers. This integration implementation and evaluation plan first describes the framework to
be used for this work. Next, it establishes the organizational purpose, states the accountability
factors at play, and restates the organizational performance goal. The plan then maps out a
training plan using the NWKM. To ensure that KMO gaps from the study are addressed, Clark
and Estes (2008) stress that evaluation is required to measure improvements in performance.
Therefore, completing a well-designed plan to evaluate a training program is essential prior to
starting the evaluation.
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Implementation and Evaluation Framework
Training programs need to be evaluated to determine effectiveness and to drive
accountability among practitioners. According to Hall et al. (2017), individuals prepare
themselves when they are aware of pending evaluations that hold them to account. More
specifically, training programs should be evaluated for program improvement, to maximize
transfer of knowledge, and to reveal value to the organization (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
The levels presented in the Kirkpatrick model enable organizations to effectuate change through
training and development.
As part of his dissertation work in the 1950s, Dr. Don Kirkpatrick shared four key
concepts that later became the Kirkpatrick training model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Reaction, learning, behavior, and results are the four levels that construct the model. Kirkpatrick
and Kirkpatrick, with the blessing of Dr. Don Kirkpatrick, enhanced his model to produce the
NWKM. The authors note that revisions were made to the original model to drive its proper use
and clear up common misinterpretations. One of the most important aspects of the new model is
the fact that it accounts for today’s training and development climate (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2016). The NWKM is presented in an inverted format to the original model and starts with the
end in mind.
Level 4 of the NWKM focuses on desired outcomes and leading indicators. It is also
known as the results level. According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), the Level 4 result is
all-encompassing. They explain that every organization should have only one Level 4 result.
Determining the targeted outcomes of training and linking those outcomes to that training is
essential, and it also centers accountability. Another important aspect of Level 4 is to check in
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and confirm progress using short-term observations and metrics. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick
(2016) refer to these as leading indicators.
Level 3 in the NWKM considers behavior. Training and development (T&D) groups
utilize required drivers and critical behaviors to foster on-the-job learning. Drivers motivate and
cultivate critical behaviors on the job (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2016) reveal that these critical behaviors occur routinely and lead to targeted
outcomes. This is supported in Tetlock’s (1992) assumptions that people seek to be accountable
to expectations of them, while also seeking approval in meeting those expectations.
While Levels 3 and 4 provide data primarily to stakeholders on the effectiveness of
training that has been delivered, Levels 1 and 2 of the NWKM focus on how effective the
training is during delivery and are most useful to the trainers themselves. Specifically, Level 2
evaluates the knowledge, skill, attitude, confidence, and commitment acquired as a result of
attending training (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Level 1 (reaction) evaluates how favorable,
engaging, and relevant the training is for the participant (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Better understanding of the levels of the NWKM also helps in understanding why this
revised model starts with the end in mind. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) inform the reader
that starting with Levels 3 and 4 appropriately directs attention to demonstrating the training
program’s value. They stress that key business stakeholders need to see this value at the
beginning of the training process. All programs and training do not yield equal returns, and
because training programs do not produce a revenue-generating product like other areas of a
business, T&D is typically focused on return on expectation (ROE). The ROE value is the degree
to which expectations have been met for key business stakeholders based on successful training
initiatives (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) reiterate that
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this is critical because ROE and a compelling chain of evidence demonstrate the bottom-line
value of T&D. Ultimately, this can determine the continued existence of a training program (or
not).
Organizational Purpose
BAS is a global analytical services testing laboratory that prides itself on being an
industry leader in the services provided. More importantly, the firm prides itself on how it
supports and takes care of its employees. This study reveals examples of ontological and
epistemological accountability present within BAS; and the process of hiring managers looking
to apply DEI strategies when hiring leaders has both.
Accountability
The act of a hiring manager seeking to hire an external candidate represents a non-
contractual relationship prior to a candidate being hired by the organization. This is an example
of ontological accountability. Dubnick (2014) lists two ontological views of accountability: one
that is more formal and institutionally grounded, and another that is more basic and relational.
Dubnick (2021) proposes the basic properties of accountability as relationality, spatiality,
temporality, ethicality, and constitutive.
Exploring this further in the context of BAS ISD, the HR department is based out of the
U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Therefore, many aspects of the hiring process trickle
down to local on-site hiring managers in relation to HR functions. This is why a good training
program for hiring managers is critical. Dubnick (2021) clearly identifies that spatiality can
include physical and social spaces. At ISD, spatiality and accountability occur in physical space
for the site hiring managers, whereas the relationship established with HR is more social in
nature. For example, if hiring managers have questions during the hiring process (or simply a
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routine question related to an HR issue), they are expected to utilize an email distribution list to
pose their issue to HR. With no established relationship with HR staff, hiring managers instead
typically rely on their leaders or recruiters to address any issues around the hiring process. This
can create a strain in spatiality and pose challenges in relationality.
Dubnick (2021) explains that relationality can be formal and explicit, or imagined, or
implied. The opportunity to interact face-to-face and address issues or build rapport is
challenging in our business model and impacts relationality. The previous HR example
represents this dilemma. Temporality is also a challenge when communication across digital
platforms may be delayed due to availability or technical issues in lieu of connecting physically
and socially. Accountability is tested when responsibility items are seen as time-sensitive and
individuals have challenges connecting.
BAS is known for its highest standards of ethics, which are introduced to all staff during
the onboarding process and reinforced via annual training for hiring managers at all levels
throughout the organization. Dubnick (2021) suggests that all accountability relationships reflect
norms, values, rules, and standards within space and time, which is considered ethicality. Closely
related to this, accountability to clients and leadership candidates is very important within the
organization; according to Dubnick (2021), it is synonymous with and constitutive of the
company identity.
Accountability can be defined as a “contractual” relationship (Hentschke & Wohlstetter,
2004). Therefore, relationships that are inclusive of leadership, strategy, organization, and human
capital are epistemological in nature (Donato, 2021). Donato also clarifies the accountability
binary as a descriptor of essential elements expressed in organizational accountability
relationships. This accountability binary is activated when interactions and communication take
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place in business relationships. Conversely, challenges arise when communication is lacking.
Hentschke and Wohlstetter (2004) describe “adverse selection” and “information asymmetry” as
problems resulting from a lack of information. When hiring managers lack information during
the hiring process, the entire process can suffer.
Examining accountability systems more closely, BAS practices include professional,
bureaucratic, and legal accountability. Our clients rely on us to vet all our employees for
adequate professional and scientific skills. We deliver services to our clients and must maintain
our skills through up-to-date training and development. If professional accountability is not
maintained, reprimands or termination are expected actions for failure to maintain the
appropriate standards (Romzek & Dubnick, 1987). As such, bureaucratic accountability can be
seen across all levels of the reporting structure within BAS ISD. Organizational leaders
consistently drive tasks to completion based on rules, practices, and policies, which Romzek and
Dubnick (1987) give as examples of bureaucratic accountability. Finally, BAS ISD and its
clients are accountable to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory bodies.
Testing results must meet the standards and guidelines that have been produced by these
regulatory bodies. According to Romzek and Dubnick (1987), this is an example of legal
accountability. As the organization seeks to promote DEI strategies when hiring leaders, all types
of accountabilities need to be evaluated.
Operational Performance Goals
ISD stresses that “we take care of our people so our people will then in turn take care of
our clients.” Here, professional and bureaucratic accountability to marginalized groups at BAS
can be seen as lacking relative to the number of senior leaders within the organization who are
people of color. This may be the case across other underrepresented groups, but this is unknown
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without data. In this way, hiring managers can influence growth in these areas by applying DEI
strategies when hiring leaders.
Hiring managers are the primary stakeholders who are most accountable for hiring these
impacted groups. Marginalized groups are at the epicenter of power and need opportunities to
grow within the organization. From an ontological perspective, hiring managers make the final
decision on who is hired into leadership positions. The epistemological accountability
components of the organization, such as performance management and succession planning, are
managed by managers, including group leaders, managers, and directors. This solidifies their
place as the primary stakeholders in this problem. Additionally, hiring managers have a direct tie
to executive leadership through the organizational accountabilities (professional, legal, and
bureaucratic) mentioned previously. To address the problem of practice discussed here, the
following organizational performance goal can drive outcomes for underrepresented groups
within the organization: By December 2024, BAS ISD will increase its diversity hiring of leaders
by 20% for groups beyond gender diversity.
Planning and training will be necessary for the key stakeholders to achieve this goal.
Evaluation and accountability will be even more critical in ensuring that this happens. To do so,
the New World Kirkpatrick model offers an excellent framework for driving results and
behaviors in an organization. Finally, the accountability binary and associated relationships
center practitioners in the values, decision rights, and information that at a minimum make us
consider addressing this problem (Hentschke & Wohlstetter, 2004).
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
The Better Equality Program (BEP) within BAS is a clear DEI initiative. Therefore,
monitoring and measuring data as leading indicators will help determine whether the
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organization is on track to meet the organizational performance goal. According to Chilazi and
Bohnet (2020), data drive action and create accountability within organizations. The authors
offer the following four key insights when utilizing diversity data:
• Present data in a clear, simple, and comparable way.
• Leverage data to empower the right people to act.
• Increase follow-through by setting diversity goals to drive accountability.
• Shift norms around DEI by leveraging diversity data.
Table 13 provides external and internal outcomes that will drive participation and create
accountability for hiring managers at BAS ISD.

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Table 13
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Data collection method(s)
External outcomes
Exceed the reported
average workforce
composition for diverse
leaders, among industry
leaders
Number of diverse leaders
employed across the
organization
Outsource collection and
analysis of DEI data

Receive recognition as an
industry leader for work
surrounding Better
Equality Program
(BEP) initiatives
Number of times the
organization is publicly
recognized for its BEP program
Track blogs, social media, and
other forms of press
Gain additional clients
based on the business’
support for DEI
initiatives
Increased sales and business that
specifically list DEI as reason
for becoming a client
Questionnaire or interview
with the client
Internal outcomes
Increased innovation
directly attributable to
DEI initiatives
Track demographic data of
published authors and
contributors to key innovation
projects
Booklet of innovation stories,
scientific conferences
Increased retention of
diverse leaders across
the organization
Monitor retention data for
employees
HR reports on retention
Increased employee
satisfaction reported for
all employees within
the organization
Direct feedback from employees End-of-year survey, monthly
one-on-ones
Increased coaching and
mentoring for hiring
managers
Number of hiring managers
participating in
coaching/mentoring
HR reports on
coaching/mentoring
Increased skills for hiring
managers
Track progress of OJT forms
and completion of other
leadership training
Training files
Increase business unit
revenue related to
innovation projects
Track revenue increases and
new sales
Annual report/financials

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Level 3: Behavior
Critical Behaviors
Critical behaviors are just that: critical. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) posit that a
behavior is not truly critical unless it is required to meet 100% compliance. BAS must enforce
critical behaviors that drive strong DEI initiatives. By demanding that its hiring managers are
properly trained, the organization can form habits that ultimately bring about its targeted
outcomes. Table 14 lists the critical behaviors and associated metrics, data collection methods,
and timeframes needed to meet the organizational performance goal.

Table 14
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timeframes for Evaluation of Hiring Managers
Critical behavior Metric(s)
Data collection
method(s)
Timeframe
Conduct monthly
meetings to review
HR reports on
retention, coaching
and mentoring, and
workforce
composition data
Number of monthly
meetings conducted

Number of hiring
managers participating
in coaching/mentoring
Outsourced DEI data
and HR reports
Monthly
Seek job satisfaction
feedback from
employees
Completed survey and
one-on-one feedback
forms
Survey and one-on-
one feedback form
Every 3 months
Track impact of DEI
(BEP) initiatives
Number of completed
questionnaires or
interview feedback
forms with clients
Questionnaires and
interview feedback
forms
Every 3 months
Review training files
every quarter for
hiring managers
Number of completed
training file reviews
OJT forms and
training files
Every 3 months
Senior leadership,
along with OD,
review project team
and committee
rosters
Demographics of
project teams
Meeting
minutes/notes

Monthly
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Required Drivers
ISD needs required drivers for hiring managers that tie their performance to the critical
behaviors expected of them by the organization. This includes aligning their opportunity for
growth with the service that they provide to others within the organization. Based on the ISD
business model, hiring managers are providing support to leadership candidates and the
organization with spatiality challenges occurring. Therefore, reinforcing, encouraging,
rewarding, and monitoring those same hiring managers is essential to support 100% compliance
with the expected critical behaviors. Table 15 presents a list of the drivers required to keep hiring
managers on track.

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Table 15
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors of Hiring Managers
Method(s) Timing
Critical behaviors supported
1, 2, 3, etc.
Reinforcing (K-related)
Senior management and OD
staff actively review on-
the-job training forms of
managers in support of
hiring diverse leaders.
Ongoing 4
Hiring managers are required
to follow and complete a
checklist throughout the
hiring process.
Ongoing 1, 2, 5
Asynchronous training added
to LMS as self-directed
learning for hiring
managers.
Ongoing 4
Encouraging (M-related)
Pair all hiring managers with
an accountability partner,
coach, or mentor.
Ongoing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Rewarding (M-related)
Tie recognition and rewards
to metrics and above-
average performance as a
group.
Ongoing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Include performance goals
related to critical behaviors
in the annual review
process.
Yearly 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Monitoring (O-related)
Establish KPIs that correlate
DEI to innovation and
business performance.
Yearly 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Senior leaders review DEI
goals.
Twice-annually 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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Organizational Support
Senior leadership must connect with hiring managers to ensure this performance goal is
met. This starts with the senior leadership team setting clear KPIs for hiring managers. These
KPIs must also be in alignment with the DEI initiatives. Senior leadership’s support sets the tone
for the rest of the organization. As Brandenburg et al. (2021) report, many board directors are
willing to tie executive compensation to DEI initiatives to drive change. Such an approach would
signal the seriousness and commitment of the organization to its DEI initiatives. Seeking
outsourced diversity data, investing in training, effective coaching and mentoring programs, and
additional feedback tools will come at additional costs to the organization; the senior leadership
therefore needs to be prepared to spend or provide resources to make this performance goal
achievable.
Level 2: Learning
To support the required drivers and achieve the new critical behaviors for hiring
managers, the learning program described below has been developed to target Level 3 of the
NWKM (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Learning Goals
Following completion of the hiring manager training program, the stakeholders will be
able to:
1. Recognize disparities in workforce composition data (K-M).
2. Classify contributing factors to innovation (K-F).
3. Understand the process for hiring diverse leaders (K-P).
4. Understand cultural differences (K-F).
5. Understand the impact of marginalization (K-M).
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6. Recognize the “do’s and don’ts” of interviewing (K-P).
7. Advocate for diverse leadership candidates during the hiring process (K-M).
8. Feel positive about DEI’s impact on innovation and business performance (Mood).
9. Value hiring diverse candidates for leadership roles (Value).
10. Be confident in promoting DEI strategies (Confidence).
Program
Hiring managers should value and support the work that they are doing to apply DEI
strategies that promote innovation and potentially advance business performance. The learning
goals listed above can be achieved through the delivery of the proposed training program for
hiring managers. This one-month program consists of six asynchronous e-learning modules and
two instructor-led (ILT) sessions. Participants have three weeks to complete the asynchronous
portion of the course, with the ILT sessions hosted in the first and last weeks of the program. The
intention is to support learners with guided instruction and allow them the opportunity to share
and glean knowledge from other participants in the program. The asynchronous modules are
designed to take approximately 60 minutes each; each ILT session runs for 120 minutes. The
total time for completion of the program is 600 minutes (10 hours).
Throughout the asynchronous e-learning modules, learners will be exposed to articles,
charts, infographics, reports, and videos to introduce the concept of each respective module. A
module pre-test and knowledge checks are used as formative assessments throughout the
asynchronous modules to support learning of the program components. The following list reveals
each module planned for asynchronous learning:
• reviewing HR records, reports, and data
• interpreting feedback
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• the impact of DEI initiatives
• leadership qualities
• maximizing creativity and innovation
• strategic hiring
Checklists and job aids will be used to reinforce procedural knowledge of the BAS ISD
hiring process. A checklist will also be used to solidify the learner’s knowledge of specific
leadership qualities that should be identified based on the organization.
The instructor-led sessions focus on learners sharing what they have learned during the
asynchronous modules and then applying this knowledge by creating their own checklists and
job aids. ILT session 1 covers “Strategic Hiring”; ILT session 2 covers “Driving Innovation to
Advancing Business Performance.” Breakout groups in these sessions will be led by experienced
leaders who will later serve as coaches and mentors for program participants. Participants will be
guided in the implementation of their checklists and job aids through discussion and roleplay.
Evaluation of the Components of Learning
Knowledge, confidence, and commitment will be essential for hiring managers to
effectively implement changes from this program. Table 16 lists the evaluation of the
components for this learning program, along with the corresponding timings.

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Table 16
Evaluation of Program Learning Components
Method(s) or activity(ies) Timing
Declarative knowledge “I know it.”
Knowledge checks using multiple choice During asynchronous modules

Pre-test and post-test

At beginning and end of asynchronous
modules

“Hiring leaders” checklist

Asynchronous module and ILT

Course evaluation

Up to 3 days after the course

Survey (Delayed evaluation tool)

4–6 weeks after the course
Procedural skills “I can do it right now.”
Scenario discussion during ILT During ILT sessions

Checklist of hiring process

Asynchronous module and ILT

Job aid on strategic hiring

Asynchronous module and ILT

Course evaluation

Up to 3 days after the course

Survey (Delayed evaluation tool)

4–6 weeks after the course
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Discussions about value and contribution During ILT sessions

Course evaluation

Up to 3 days after the course
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
Discussion during ILT During ILT sessions

Course evaluation

Up to 3 days after the course

Survey (Delayed evaluation tool)

4–6 weeks after the course
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
Discussion during ILT During ILT sessions

Self-reports and performance management
process

After the course

Course evaluation

Up to 3 days after the course

Survey (delayed evaluation tool)

4–6 weeks after the course
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Level 1: Reaction
A learning management system (LMS) will be used to track engagement and
participation in the course’s e-learning modules. In addition, the course instructor will be able to
assess each of the Level 1 components during the ILT sessions. Table 17 outlines the
components to measure participant reactions throughout the program.

Table 17
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method(s) or tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Instructor observation During ILT sessions
Module (and course) completion in LMS During asynchronous modules
Metrics in LMS surrounding activity During asynchronous modules
Attendance during ILT During ILT sessions
Course evaluation Up to 3 days after the course
Relevance
Poll during ILT During ILT sessions
Course evaluation Up to 3 days after the course
Customer satisfaction
Survey at end of asynchronous modules On completion of asynchronous work
Course evaluation Up to 3 days after the course

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Evaluation Tools
Immediately Following the Program Implementation
Evaluation of Levels 1 and 2 occurs throughout this program during both the
asynchronous and synchronous modules. A course evaluation form has been created to glean the
Level 1 and Level 2 learning from exposure to the entire program. The course evaluation form
asks learners to assess their experience relative to declarative knowledge, attitude, confidence,
commitment, and all Level 1 components by selecting their level of agreement using a seven-
point Likert scale. Since procedural knowledge requires more detail in expressing learning, two
open-response questions are included to reflect knowledge of the hiring process and selecting the
strategic candidate for leadership positions. This immediate evaluation instrument is presented in
Appendix C.
Delayed for a Period After the Program Implementation
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) emphasize allowing time for required drivers to be in
place before utilizing the suggested delayed evaluation tool. For this program, a course survey is
sent to participants to complete four to six weeks after completing the course. A seven-point
Likert scale is used to assess their agreement around how they are utilizing the skills learned
from the program. This blended evaluation tool asks a single question each for participant
reaction, learning, behavior, and results. This delayed-blended evaluation instrument is presented
in Appendix D.
Data Analysis and Reporting
Upon complete implementation of the hiring manager learning program, data will be
tracked and charted from the current date to the target performance goal completion of 2024.
Data will be represented in the form of a bar chart and will include the individual growth of US-
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based BAS leaders by race/ethnicity categories and as a percentage of the total leadership. These
results will be reported directly to the BAS ISD senior leadership team.
Summary
The knowledge, motivation, and organizational support (KMO) influences outlined above
lead to recommendations for ISD that may drive the organizational performance goal of
increasing diversity hiring of leaders by 20% for groups beyond gender diversity by 2024. The
recommendations also focus on closing the gaps in training and motivation identified using a gap
analysis framework (Clark & Estes, 2008). The NWKM provides an implementation and
evaluation framework that will be used to maximize the transfer of knowledge to critical
behaviors that drive business performance.
Limitations and Delimitations
Given the limited amount of time to complete this study, only one group of stakeholders
was included: hiring managers. This limits the ability to identify gaps from recruiters, OD, or HR
that may also impact the organization. This study also relied on quantitative data from public
records and document analysis; careful consideration needs to be taken when assessing the
quantitative data provided in this report. The data presented are specific to BAS and may not
represent trends that are occurring within ISD.
Equity and inclusion are additional components of DEI that are influenced by the actions
of the organization, and these elements can be evaluated on some level with limited input from
stakeholders. Belonging would be a meaningful aspect of this work to study. However, this
would require direct feedback from leaders who have been hired into the organization, as well as
employee feedback to gauge how greater diversity impacts the experiences of all employees. As
such, this work fell outside the scope of this study.
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Future Research
Future research should consider all the stakeholders presented in the Stakeholder Groups’
Performance Goals section. Recruiters heavily influence the initial screening of candidates and
the final selection pools that come before hiring managers. Future research should therefore
assess the information that is being passed from recruiters to hiring managers to determine which
factors, if any, may be influencing hiring managers and their decision-making prior to talking to
leadership candidates. Equally, HR and OD teams support this process by training hiring
managers on the policies and procedures that govern the hiring process. Future research should
also evaluate HR and OD’s support for the hiring process within BAS ISD and assess how the
decentralized model impacts hiring managers compared to a centralized business model.
Conclusion
As shown in the literature review, marginalized groups of people still face significant
challenges in the workplace, even as more organizations seek to promote DEI strategies. Within
BAS ISD, hiring managers play a critical role in addressing this problem in their work to apply
DEI strategies when hiring leaders. This study examined the knowledge, motivational, and
organizational influences on hiring managers during the hiring process for leaders. The literature
also supports the conceptual framework presented, which traced a pathway from hiring diverse
leaders to advancing business performance.
Findings from the study suggest that hiring managers will require training to enhance
their understanding of factual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge related to their roles.
Hiring managers reported feeling empowered to promote DEI strategies but some lacked the
motivation to prioritize training over their other responsibilities. Finally, hiring managers are
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missing evaluation and feedback on their hiring decisions. This study shares the premise that
only pursuing the “best fit” candidate can be influenced by stereotyping and unconscious bias.
These key findings help shape recommendations that focus on closing gaps in BAS ISD
training and motivation that should lead to increased organizational performance. Additionally,
these recommendations should drive the organizational performance goal of increasing diversity
hiring of leaders by 20% for groups beyond gender diversity by 2024. This report details how
increased diversity would then require diversity management to reach the ultimate goal of
advancing business performance. In support of this, equity and inclusion produce a culture where
individuals show up and feel welcomed, valued, and ready to contribute, which leads to
innovation, and this innovation leads to business performance.

111

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126

Appendix A: Interview Protocol
Interview Date:

Participant:

Job Title:

Site Location:

Department #:

Interview Start Time:

Interview End Time:

Demographic Information for Interview
I would like to ask you a few preliminary demographic questions that will help further
inform the study as I am coding the data from my interviews. You may choose not to provide
this information, and it will not have an impact on my decision to use your responses in this
study.

127

How many years have you worked at Best Analytical Services?

How many years have you been in leadership at Best Analytical
Services?

How many years have you been in leadership over your career?

Please state how you identify yourself (race/gender, etc.)?

How old are you?

Interviewer notes:

128

Research questions:
1. What do hiring managers know about DEI strategies in order to hire diverse leaders?
2. What motivates hiring managers to consider DEI strategies when hiring diverse
leaders?
3. How does the organization support managers’ ability to hire diverse leaders through
DEI strategies?
Respondent type: hiring managers.
Introduction to the Interview
Hello! I want to thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this interview. I
am Darius Grissom, a Technical Training Manager for Best Analytical Services. I am conducting
this interview as a critical component in the completion of a study that supports my dissertation
work through Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Do you have
any questions that I can answer before I continue?
I am researching a problem of practice that investigates how hiring managers are
applying diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies when hiring leaders at Best Analytical
Services. I have prepared an interview protocol from which I will be asking you questions. The
format of this interview will be semi-structured, so I may ask you follow-up questions to further
inform the study based on your initial responses. You have signed an informed consent form, but
as a reminder, you may decline to answer any question you do not wish to answer or withdraw
from the interview at any time. Do you have any questions at this point?
I also want to assure you that your identity will be kept confidential. All responses given
during this interview will be transcribed and coded shortly after the conclusion of our interview.
I am the only person who will have access to your responses. Your name will never be included
129

in any documents written for my study and dissertation. I will only use acronyms to identify
participants and organizations discussed during this work. As an example, I will use Best
Analytical Services to identify the organization. Please feel free to utilize your organization’s
name, and I will substitute any reference to the organization with Best Analytical Services
(BAS).
For me to accurately capture and transcribe this interview, I am going to ask now for your
permission to record the interview. If you agree, I’ll start by asking you a couple of questions
that establish and document your consent to conduct this interview and recording.
Do you have any questions that I can answer?
May I start the recording?
I am starting the recording for this interview now. May I ask you to state your name?
Thank you.
Do I have your permission to conduct this interview?
Do you agree that there has been no promise of reward or compensation for completing
this interview?
Do I have permission to record this interview?
Thank you!
We will now get started.

130

Table A1
Interview Protocol Questions
Interview questions Potential probes RQ
addressed
Key concept(s) addressed
Part 1

Describe for me your
experience as a leader
with Best Analytical
Services.

Tell me more
about your
experience as a
hiring manager.

1, 3

Knowledge: Factual
Knowledge: Procedural
Organization: Cultural
setting

What is your process for
hiring leaders within the
organization?

Tell me more
about how you get
prepared to follow
this process.

1, 3

Knowledge: Procedural
Organization: Cultural
setting

What does diversity mean
to you?

1

Knowledge: Factual

What does equity mean to
you?

1

Knowledge: Factual

What does inclusion mean
to you?

1

Knowledge: Factual
What does the term DEI or
diversity, equity, and
inclusion mean to you in
the workplace?
Can you give me
some examples of
how applying DEI
strategies are
playing out, or not,
in hiring at BAS?
1, 3 Knowledge:
Metacognitive
Organization: Cultural
setting

Can you describe the
demographics that you
see across the
organization?

Tell me more
about the
demographics of
the leadership
team.

1, 3

Knowledge: Factual
Organization: Cultural
setting

How does the organization
motivate hiring
managers, if at all, to
consider diversity,
equity, and inclusion
when hiring leaders?

Tell me more
about this.

1, 2, 3

Knowledge: Procedural
Motivation: Task value
Organization: Cultural
setting

131

Interview questions Potential probes RQ
addressed
Key concept(s) addressed
What training, if any, is
conducted on hiring
leaders?
Tell me more
about the training.
1 Knowledge: Factual
Knowledge: Procedural
Knowledge:
Metacognitive

What training do you need
to be able to show up
and contribute to
diversity, equity, and
inclusion initiatives as
you understand them?

Tell me what that
training would
look like.
Can you tell me
more
about the process?

1

Knowledge: Factual
Knowledge: Procedural
Knowledge:
Metacognitive

How do you go about
selecting internal
candidates to participate
in succession planning?

Which DEI
strategies, if any,
are being
promoted during
this process?

1, 3

Knowledge: Procedural
Knowledge:
Metacognitive
Organization: Cultural
setting

Part 2

What do you believe
comes from promoting
diversity, equity, and
inclusion in leadership?

Can you give me
an example of
what this looks
like within your
organization?

1, 2, 3

Knowledge:
Metacognitive
Motivation: Task value
Motivation: Self-efficacy
Organization: Cultural
setting

How do you feel about
your ability to promote
diversity, equity, and
inclusion when hiring
leaders?

Tell me more
about that.

2, 3

Motivation: Task value
Motivation: Self-efficacy
Organization: Cultural
setting
What is your opinion of
diversity, equity, and
inclusion and the impact,
if any, that it has on
innovation within the
organization?
Can you give me
some examples of
that?

1, 3

Knowledge:
Metacognitive
Organization: Cultural
setting

As a follow-up, what is
your opinion of
diversity, equity, and
inclusion and the impact,

Can you give me
some examples of
that?

1, 3

Knowledge:
Metacognitive
Organization: Cultural
setting
132

Interview questions Potential probes RQ
addressed
Key concept(s) addressed
if any, that it has on
business performance
for the organization?

Conclusion to the Interview:
I want to thank you so much for your time. This has been great, and I appreciate your
contribution.
Is there anything else that you would like to share?
Thanks again! This concludes our interview; I’ll stop the recording now.
133

Appendix B: Codebook
Code
(word or phrase)
Description of code
(What is the inclusion/exclusion criteria for each code?)
Business performance How study participants define and connect business
performance to DEI.
DEI Study participants’ understanding and use of the term DEI and
how it relates to practices and policies within the organization.
Innovation How study participants define innovation in connection to DEI.
Knowledge According to Krathwohl (2002), items requiring the recall or
recognition of information should be classified as knowledge.

Factual When stakeholders can perform their tasks after receiving
information and terminology (Clark & Estes, 2008), this
supports factual knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002).
Procedural Stakeholders need to be knowledgeable in the organization’s
hiring policies and procedures and able to implement them.
Metacognitive Metacognitive knowledge focuses on one’s ability to complete
complex and higher-order problems in organizations
(Krathwohl, 2002).
Task value Hiring managers need to be motivated to achieve the
organization’s DEI goals.
Self-efficacy In simple terms, self-efficacy is an individual’s self-belief to
learn and perform (Bandura, 2001; Schunk & Usher, 2019).
134

Code
(word or phrase)
Description of code
(What is the inclusion/exclusion criteria for each code?)
Self-efficacy plays a key role in how individuals choose
activities in which to partake and where they are willing to
participate in them (Bandura, 1977).
Organization Effective and efficient work processes and resources are
organizational components that impact performance outcomes
for organizations (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Cultural setting Organizations need to actively promote policies and procedures
that sustain DEI in leadership.

Training What training is occurring or perceived as a need to meet
personal and organizational goals.

135

Appendix C: Immediate Evaluation Instrument (L2–L1)
Course evaluation form
(To be completed 1 week after course)
Name: Today’s date:
Course title: Course completion
Date:
Course instructor: Course code:
Please complete this form based on your experience from taking our course.
Part A: For questions 1–8, please indicate
your level of agreement with each of
the following statements.
Highly
disagree
Highly
agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Declarative knowledge
I am confident in my ability to hire
diverse leadership candidates.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

I am confident in my ability to follow
the hiring checklist.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Attitude
I am happy to be contributing to the
increase of diverse leaders within
our organization.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Confidence ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
136

I am confident in my ability to
promote DEI strategies.
Commitment
I plan to use the skills learned during
this course to help increase the
number of diverse leaders within
our organization.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Engagement
I remained engaged throughout the
asynchronous and ILT portions of
this training course.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Relevance
I believe this course is valuable to our
organization.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Customer satisfaction
I am satisfied with achieving the
learning outcomes of this course.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Part B: For questions 9–10, reflect on the
procedural knowledge gained and
answer each question as completely as
possible.

Procedural knowledge

137

Describe the hiring process based on
the checklist from the course.

What are the key factors in making the
strategic decision to hire a
leadership candidate?

138

Appendix D: Delayed-Blended Evaluation Instrument (L4, L3, L2, L1)
Course survey
(To be completed 4–6 weeks after completion of course)
Name: Today’s date:
Course title: Course completion date:
Course instructor: Course code:
Please complete this survey to inform us how you are utilizing the skills learned during our
course.
Highly
disagree
Highly
agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I continue to track the demographics
of our leadership team.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
I continue to utilize the job aids and
checklists from the training
program to drive the increase in
diverse leaders within our
organization.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
I can perform all tasks associated with
selecting diverse leaders.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
139

I believe that increasing the number of
diverse leaders in our organization
is important.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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Asset Metadata

Creator Grissom, Darius B. (author)

Core Title Promoting DEI to increase business performance: an evaluation of hiring practices

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2023-05

Publication Date 04/17/2023

Defense Date 04/07/2023

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag business performance,diversity,equity,inclusion,innovation,OAI-PMH Harvest,organizational culture

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Combs, Wayne (committee chair), Hinga, Briana (committee member), Tobey, Patricia (committee member)

Creator Email darius@mindovertutors.com,grissom@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113017574

Unique identifier UC113017574

Identifier etd-GrissomDar-11644.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-GrissomDar-11644

Document Type Dissertation

Format theses (aat)

Rights Grissom, Darius B.

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20230418-usctheses-batch-1024 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu