These structured, small-group and one-on-one discussions allow employees to share their experiences, ideas, and concerns in a more detailed and nuanced way than surveys alone. Focus groups and interviews are a powerful qualitative data gathering tool for employees to elaborate on their perspectives and provide more concrete examples and recommendations that can guide targeted improvements.

An organizational documents review identifies policies, procedures, materials, and language that support, hinder, or do not appropriately address diversity, equity, and inclusion. The review can also help to compare the actual policies and practices that exist to the perceived policies and practices. When there is a gap, this may indicate communication challenges that lead to misinformation being passed through informal employee mechanisms and overall confusion over the organization’s commitment to equity. 

A 360-degree feedback assessment is a comprehensive tool that gathers input on an individual’s performance and behaviors from multiple perspectives—peers, direct reports, supervisors, and sometimes external stakeholders—alongside self-assessment.

Although these assessments are designed to evaluate an individual, they can also provide helpful data on behavioral patterns and trends related to how employees are experiencing leaders and managers across the organization. They can be used to assess how behaviors are reinforcing norms that help or hinder a culture of inclusion.

Gathering data from across many 360-degree reports can provide a well-rounded view of leadership and employee effectiveness; it can also determine collective strengths and gaps in terms of skills and behaviors that contribute to a culture of belonging.

MSM Global is certified in several well-tested 360 degree instruments, including the Leadership Circle Profile and EQ-i 2.0.