Each of these areas interrelate so you need to consider all four. E.g. If you can’t devote inhouse colleagues’ time to engaging in change, there is little point spending lots of money on external agencies as they won’t be able to achieve progress without your people’s engagement.
Questions to ask about time
Using external suppliers? Ditch the cap on number of days – what do you want them to achieve?
Commissioning agencies based on a specified number of days is far less effective than articulating your desired outcome and asking agencies how they would achieve it. Not only do day rates vary between agencies, methodologies will too. At Full Colour, for example, we cost based on value. Some projects need a higher level of expertise than others, and we cost accordingly regardless of the number of days we spend on a project. Also, if you are hiring external help, chances are you are not the experts in the work, so how would you know how many days a project will take?
Do you need to achieve everything in one year?
Can you structure your plans across more than one year, and would this ease budgeting? If you are clear about desired outcomes, it may even be better to plan across more than one year as this will help you bring everyone along a journey that embeds meaningful change.
Questions to ask about expertise
What inhouse skills do you already have?
Many of the skills you need to drive organisational change on EDI you will already have, e.g. how to develop effective strategies, how to analyse data, how to lead effectively etc. Could you keep costs down by getting external help for those things where you lack expertise and involve inhouse colleagues to do the rest?
Is it a specific skill you want to buy on EDI or are you filling a capacity gap?
Both are legitimate uses of your EDI budget, but without thinking this through carefully, you may waste money on commissioning external suppliers to do tasks that colleagues in house could do.
Are you clear what kind of external support you need?
EDI consultancies that are great at upgrading your systems and processes maybe less good at facilitating deep conversations or developing systemic change programmes. Be super clear what kind of support you need as the cost will vary depending on what you commission.
Questions to ask about money
How much does expertise cost?
If you are going to market for external support, do your homework. E.g. Ask some consultancies for a ballpark figure for the kind of work you are commissioning. We at Full Colour are always happy to help prospective clients for free to clarify what they need and offer rough costings. If what you want costs more than you have, reduce the scale of your ambition.
What level of competency do you need from external support?
You wouldn’t hire a CEO at the same salary as a receptionist, invaluable though both roles are. The same applies to hiring external support. Experienced leadership and strategic EDI experts will have years’ worth of expertise and will charge accordingly.
Questions to ask about ambition
Where are you starting from and therefore what is realistic to achieve?
If it took years to create the culture and issues you have now, it will take years to address them. That doesn’t mean change is not possible. It just means you need to get real about what you can achieve in one financial year and budget accordingly.
What other strategic goals does your EDI ambition relate to?
Equity, diversity and inclusion will help you achieve other organisational objectives. Can you think creatively about how wider goals and budgets connect to EDI? E.g. if you have employee retention issues, greater inclusion is likely to help you reduce attrition, so can you combine budgets or veer spending from one budget heading to another?
Can we help?
Want help with any aspect of your leadership and inclusion journey? Reach out to set up an informal, no obligation chat. Contact Izzy Taylor on [email protected] who can also send you a copy of the full briefing on how to budget for EDI.
