DEI Questions to Ask in Your 1-on-1s with Direct Reports
1:1s or 1-on-1 meetings are the perfect time to connect with your direct reports on both a professional and personal level. They’re also the best time to check in with your direct reports on diversity, equity and inclusion. Checking in with your team about DEI can boost empathy, collaboration, belonging and productivity.
Here’s what you can ask your direct reports in your 1:1s to learn more about the state of inclusion within your team - and what you can do to enhance it.
How are you doing?/What’s going on?
It’s as simple as that. Give your direct reports the chance to talk about what’s changed since you last met, what’s going on for them currently, what’s coming up, and how they’re feeling about it. Make sure they know that what they talk about doesn’t necessarily have to be work-related. This adds an essential human-touch to your check-ins that employees will be sure to appreciate.
📝 Tip: Strive to make your check-ins feel “human”. Living in times of crisis through the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine and countless other world events has taken a massive toll on the mental health of employees everywhere. It can feel hard to separate the professional and personal sides of our lives, but being genuine will always resonate more with your team. Strive to address the impact that real-life issues have on your team and reach out to them accordingly. Your direct reports will feel more comfortable with being transparent to you.
What can I do to better support you?/How could we make this workplace more inclusive?
Regardless of whether you hear from your employee that they are struggling or if you hear that they’re doing well, be sure to ask this question in each check-in. You can also precede this question with “Do you feel included at work?” or “How would you rate inclusion at our workplace?”.
This is a great way to learn if your employee needs any accommodations - an important part of inclusion, that will help them deal with life and work better. This could look like helping them arrange their hours to suit caregiving needs, addressing their needs for the accessibility tech they need to get work done, discussing paternity leave, and more.
Your employee might also take this chance to give you personalized feedback or insight about what they need from you specifically. Let’s get into that a bit more.
Do you have any feedback for me and/or my leadership?
Asking directly for feedback on your leadership opens up the opportunity to see if you are meeting your employees’ DEI needs and cultivating an atmosphere in which they are able to maintain their physical and mental health, and work effectively.
See our resource on How to Invite Real, Honest Feedback from your Direct Reports to learn how to collect genuine feedback that you can use to improve your leadership.
Asking deeper questions
Asking your employees questions about discrimination and barriers to opportunity can help to narrow down the gaps in DEI at your organization. But these aren’t always easy to approach in check-ins. Not all employees will feel comfortable with talking about these and not everyone will be comfortable enough to be completely honest. For this reason you might opt to use a different style of collecting DEI information.
For instance,
You could send out a monthly anonymous survey to all your direct reports.
You could create a system where your employees are able to book time with you to speak on DEI and things that are impacting them. Emphasizing honesty and empathy through your leadership and having an open-door policy will help to make this successful.
You could facilitate shared spaces - such as Slack channels and monthly team lunches, during which your team is free to discuss DEI and share their learnings.
You could support and facilitate employee resource groups (ERGs) for underrepresented and minority employees.
Which deeper questions about DEI should I ask?
Here are some important DEI questions to consider:
Do you feel a sense of belonging at work?
Do you feel engaged at work?
Do you feel you can be your authentic self at work? Do you feel you have to conceal or hide aspects of your identity at work?
Are you discriminated against at work? Do you feel this organization tolerates discrimination and/or harassment?
Do you feel comfortable with raising concerns about discrimination or harassment?
What do you think about this organization’s policy against discrimination and harassment?
Do you experience stereotyping or microaggressions at work?
Do you feel you have the same access to opportunities for training and development as your colleagues?
Do you find the workforce to be diverse?/What do you think makes a diverse workforce?
How would you rate inclusion in the workplace?/What do you think makes an inclusive workplace?
How would you rate equity in the workplace?/What do you think makes an equitable workplace?
Are your colleagues respectful and/or committed to inclusion? Do you feel comfortable collaborating with them?
Do you feel your opinion is heard at work? Are you encouraged to share your perspective?
Do you feel free to express yourself and your ideas?
Do you have the necessary accommodations you need to succeed at work?
Does your manager provide you with the resources you need to succeed? What could they change to support you better?
Are you comfortable with reaching out to your manager/to others with questions or for help?
Do you consider leadership at this organization to be inclusive?
Do you receive ample opportunities to give feedback?
. . .
In your 1:1s, you can connect with your direct reports on a personal level to understand how inclusion impacts them, and what changes can be made to enhance it. Use these questions in your next 1:1 to take the next step towards DEI within your team.