Hinton & Company founder and CEO Wade Hinton and Urban League of Greater Chattanooga President and CEO Candy Johnson have released the results of the first Community Culture Index, a data-driven tool designed to measure how well local employers are incorporating inclusive practices into their workplaces.
The CCI provides a localized assessment tailored to the employers in a specific metropolitan area. Based on the results, the tool generates a score indicating how effective the community’s efforts are in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.
The CCI surveyed small businesses, government agencies, nonprofits and major employers from throughout the Chattanooga region on a range of topics. The survey aimed to determine whether these organizations are adopting leading inclusive practices in areas such as recruiting, hiring, strategic plans and partnerships.
Over the course of several months, more than 100 representatives from Chattanooga-based organizations signed up to participate in the inaugural CCI, garnering responses from 60 employers representing every industry sector in the metropolitan economy.
The CCI generated insights across four categories: leadership and workforce; culture and retention; recruiting and hiring; and partnerships. Specific findings include:
Leadership and workforce
• More than 70% of participating organizations indicated they have an enterprisewide diversity, equity and inclusion strategy in place. Still, many of these organizations lack the resources, capacity, or commitment from leadership to implement the strategy.
• Fewer than 40% of the organizations have a workforce as diverse as the Chattanooga area.
• Nearly half of the respondents (42%) noted their senior leadership team continued to lack diversity.
Recruiting and hiring
• Almost half of the respondents reported recruitment efforts included hiring goals seeking talent from underrepresented groups, yet more than 65% identify BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) talent as the most challenging group to recruit.
• 80% of organizations had not completed an audit of their hiring process for potential bias.
Culture and retention
• More than half of respondents reported that their organizations have employee resource groups, inclusion councils, or task forces focused on improving inclusionary practices.
• More than 50% of respondents do not provide DEI training.
• Only 17% of organizations offer professional development programs specifically for underrepresented groups (such as executive leadership for women).
Partnerships
The majority of respondents had specific and clear diversity commitments related to their purchasing protocols and corporate social responsibility efforts. However, only a quarter of respondents note record keeping as part of the vendor diversity process.
“We know anecdotally that many employers have a sincere interest in building more diverse, inclusive and representative workforces, but they might not always know which actions will lead to the progress they want,” says Johnson.
Hinton & Company intends to expand the CCI to other markets interested in advancing inclusion in their community.
“By measuring the inclusivity of workplaces in the region, we believe CCI can help communities build actionable insights and practical steps toward progress,” says Hinton. “It’s a major step in helping communities begin to identify some potential areas for improvement and remain competitive.”
The CCI is funded in part by the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, the Benwood Foundation and the Footprint Foundation.
Learn more about the Community Culture Index and read the full report at hintonandco.com/cci-report-cha.
Sources: Hinton & Company and the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga