The enterprise world’s commitment to understanding and embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has never been stronger. DEI has taken center stage in workplaces worldwide for a noble reason—to create a sense of belonging and purpose for everybody involved. However, most companies lack a thorough sense of direction and strategy when it comes to pushing their way forward to have a DEI-influenced culture. They often lack the right resources or expertise to develop and implement impactful DEI strategies. Many companies also struggle from what can be described as the fear of compliance that inspires their DEI efforts, as opposed to concerns for their workforce and work culture. This half-heartedness results in an unfocused and disconnected approach to DEI.

To this end, Wisconsin-based Uplifting Impact positions itself as a DEI consulting firm that helps leaders and organizations find authentic connections to solve the most pressing issues that exist in internal and external organizational environments. The company helps organizations identify and eliminate inequitable and non-inclusive practices and adopt a culture that strengthens people, shows them their full selves, and uplifts them to success.

In an interview with Manage HR magazine Deanna Singh, Chief Change Agent, Uplifting Impact, talks about how infusing DEI within an organization’s culture can help organizations break the status quo and create an engaging and productive work environment where every person receives equal attention and opportunities.

Please elaborate on Uplifting Impact’s client engagement process and the services that it offers?

Uplifting Impact is a very collaborative organization, and everything that it does follow an inclusive framework. Our framework has nine different components to it, where the first step involves understanding the roadmap of an organization. We understand their vision regarding their work in the DEI space. Then, we focus on creating a baseline for the organization and its culture. We try to fold into what already exists within the business, from individual employees’ goals to the overall company culture. Based on initial assessments, we provide strategic recommendations on the key areas where clients can focus on to have the most positive impact.

We primarily provide three services: learning and development, consulting, as well as coaching and thought leadership. Firstly, with our proven learning and development program, we help organizations design concepts, skills, and tools to implement in their day-to-day practice. We adopt a consultative approach to provide tremendous support to clients looking to put together better strategies and push them forward. Uplifting Impact does everything from designing thorough outlining to helping organizations implement that strategy through our widely popular DEI strategy accelerator program. The program allows organizations to implement a plan in a timely fashion while maintaining the highest quality. The last leg of our service is all about coaching and providing thought leadership for organizations that we partner with. For instance, recently, we conducted a four-part series program with one hundred hours of instructional time for the Wisconsin School of Business. We brought in experts and leaders worldwide and delivered professional certificates in DEI to the participants. The program allowed the participants to come out the other end with a certification and a fundamental understanding of how all of these components come together.

Could you give us examples of the programs offered by Uplifting Impact?

We host a How to be an Ally Virtual Summit, a threeday program, where over 500 people can expand their knowledge, learn action-focused techniques, and create impactful DEI engagement. We understand that one of the most significant components of creating inclusive workplaces is bringing along people and giving them a safe space to become strong allies. The three days of the summit are spent in a fun but intense way where every participant undergoes thorough and deep training in the area of allyship.

Another program is the professional certificate in DEI in partnership with the Wisconsin School of Business. The four-course program follows a theory of change focused on how a participant can change as an individual by adopting the principles of DEI and impact their organization’s culture. We also conduct a weekly Uplifting Impact podcast, where world-class leaders come in and share their innovative insights and expertise about the DEI frontier.

Our DI strategy accelerator gives clients guidance on merging different ideas and concepts to get a baseline to identify their business objectives and understand the best possible strategy to achieve them.

Last but not the least, I have published several publications, of which the two prominent ones are - A Smart Girl’s Guide: Race and Inclusion (in partnership with the American Girl, an American line of dolls), and the other one is coming out on May 31st, 2022 called Actions Speak Louder, a guide book for leaders who want to create change within their organization.

Please provide us with a couple of case studies to exemplify how the company helps clients attain DEI success.

We had a client that was looking at diversifying their company’s population of new and existing employees to align with the rapid diversification of their clientele. They reached out to us, and we helped them take a closer look at their entire hiring process, from putting out job descriptions and ads to the interview process. After this detailed scrutiny of the process, they significantly diversified their potential candidates and revamped their team within a short period.

In another instance, we partnered with an organization that was aiming to ensure that every team, from manufacturing to administrative to marketing and sales, is in alignment with the core values of the business, including creating an inclusive space for employees. To achieve this, we designed and delivered an enterprise-wide training that connected their bigger objectives with the DEI values.

What does the roadmap look like for Uplifting Impact?

We are constantly exploring the latest methodologies to serve our clients better. One of the things that we’re looking forward to is materializing the ideas conveyed in the book - Actions Speak Louder. We want to make the content as widely accessible as possible. The book can become a learning portal for executives who want to be experts in thought leadership and help their organizations transition from doing everything to doing the right thing.