Goal setting is the process of creating an action plan to achieve a desired outcome.
Clear goals provide direction, indicate a desire to improve in areas needing improvement, foster a change mindset and drive accountability.
To achieve anything close to true inclusion, everyone within an organisation, and even those external to the organisation, must play their part. And things cannot be changed overnight, but instead clear and achievable goals must be set and met until a genuine shift in perception approach is realised.
Step 1: Define the Specifics of Your Goal
To clearly decide what needs to be done to become a more inclusive and diverse organisation, you need an unbiased starting point from which to build.
Conduct a survey. Consider conducting multiple surveys, what do your employees think? What do your customers think? What do people who have never bought your goods or used your services think?
What we hope the perception of our business is, and what it actually is can often be at odds and this false perception will hinder genuine and positive change.
You could also run a free scan of your website to assess how accessible it is to people with disabilities. Or download our Inclusive Communications Guide guide to cross reference the language you’re using online with best practice.
Once you have a clear understanding of where you’re starting from, you can use the disparity between that and where you hope to be to inform intentional goals.
Step 2: What to consider in your goals
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) shouldn’t exist in isolation – it should be seamlessly aligned with your broader business objectives. Achieving this requires a holistic approach to inclusive goal setting. Start by examining demographics across all levels of your organisation, considering factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and disability. Identify your company’s current challenges and future aspirations, and explore how DEI initiatives can help address those needs. Tie your DEI goals to specific business outcomes, such as driving innovation, enhancing employee engagement, or attracting top talent from a more diverse and expansive pool.
Step 3: Set your goals
As with all useful goals, you need to make sure your diversity and inclusion goals are SMART.
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound.
Having done your background research, it should be fairly easy to make your goals specific to the issue and relevant to your business and diversity and inclusion. In order to be measurable, you need to discuss the desired outcome and decide how you will tell when the goal has been met, and by when (time-bound).
That just leaves achievable – if the goal you set is not achievable, people will become demotivated, and worse, may lose trust that you can really do what you’ve promised.
This is where being transparent can really help. Explain where you’re starting, where you want to be, and then explain that you’re setting incremental goals to get you to the ideal outcome in an achievable way. As long as you’re acknowledging that you know there’s more to do, people will likely be pleased that you’re getting started.
If you are going to take it step by step, do your best to consider all the demographics who are impacted and make it as fair as possible. Better to progress all areas one step than ‘complete’ one area whilst overlooking others.
Example Smart Goals
- Train 100% of staff to an introductory level of digital accessibility best practices by the end of this quarter.
- Meet new EAA regulations by ensuring digital assets are accessible to people with disabilities June 28, 2025 by meeting WCAG 2.1 requirements to an AA standard.
Make sure to share your goals with the wider company so that everyone can play their part in achieving them. The more buy in your get from the wider company, the quicker you will see results from your goals.
Step 4: Track goal progress and celebrate achievements
Decide at the goal setting stage how you plan to measure progress and how often you’re going to revisit these goals.
Use employee surveys, focus groups, and social media polls to track D&I progress and address issues proactively. Don’t forget that what matters most is the outcome of the goal, not just ticking it off. People need to be reporting that your company feels more inclusive, diverse and accessible in order for you to have been successful.
If feedback is indicating issues, don’t be afraid to revisit and refine your goals so they align more closely with your desired outcomes.
Need Help Building a Business Case for Diversity and Inclusion?
Struggling to get buy-in for diversity and inclusion initiatives? Explore our article that breaks down how to demonstrate the tangible benefits of accessibility and inclusion for your organisation. Learn how to align D&I with your business goals, win stakeholder support, and create meaningful change.
