About DCA
Diversity Council Australia (DCA) is a leading advocate for workplace diversity and inclusion. They work with over 1300 member organisations across the nation, estimated to employ over 2 million Australians and representing almost 20% of the Australian workforce. DCA offers evidence-based resources, training and guidance designed to improve workplace inclusion. Helping to create workplaces where employees thrive and feel valued and respected.
In collaboration with partners Settlement Services International and Chief Executive Women , they were awarded government funding for an innovative project: RISE (Realise. Inspire. Support. Energise). RISE addresses access to senior leadership roles for Culturally and Racially Marginalised (CARM) women by taking a multi-pronged approach to the driving change in this area:
- Empowering Organisations. RISE helps organisations identify and dismantle systemic barriers within the organisation. Starting with a maturity assessment to identify barriers to advancement for CARM women. This is followed by a personalised plan of action to create systemic change.
- Supporting Aspiring Leaders. RISE will support 375 high-potential CARM women from 25 organisations. It will provide career coaching, mentoring and leadership development programs to participants.
The Challenge:
DCA needed a scalable way to assess organisations’ policies and procedures. Whilst also assess the experience of the CARM women within those organisations. Existing tools often relied on a single perspective and lacked an intersectional lens.
“DEI organisational assessment tools that we’ve seen don’t typically have an intersectional lens. They focus on just one cohort that is under-represented in leadership like women or people of colour. When you start looking at the intersections between for instance gender and race, that increases the complexity of this work no end. The reason that we haven’t encountered another intersectional diagnostic tool like this to-date is that it’s really hard to do.”
DCA developed a manual, excel-based assessment framework to measure this. But the time and resources involved in running this manually was unsustainable. They realised they needed a user-friendly way to use technology to scale this. They needed a tool to digitally capture the assessment data from participants. Then automate the organisational level analysis to identify detailed insights about their maturity.
“We knew from the outset that, as we are a lean not-for-profit, we didn’t have the technology capability or expertise in-house. This tool is very comprehensive. It has a hundred questions with different response options. And we also wanted to be able to assess and differentiate organisations into four levels of DEI maturity.”
The tool was developed in conjunction with Kind Enterprises, an anti-racism specialist consultancy, and created by Simple and Engaging.
Simple and Engaging’s Solution:
We partnered with DCA to help them launch an innovative technology platform. DCA provided their maturity framework and a template of the organisational analysis report. We then translated these requirements into a workable technology solution across 3 phases:
Phase 1: Data Collection
Working with DCA’s team, we guided them throughout the project on the data collection tool. Through collaboration we converted/translated DCA’s ‘on paper’ tool into an on-line data collection assessment tool that was:
- User-friendly, secure and simple to the end user
- Able to handle complex respondent qualification and branching logic. The tool guided respondents through one of two pathways based on their responses.
- Able to handle complex scoring logic
- Able to securely store the assessment data within Australia.
- Able to ensure anonymity for respondents
- Accessible to all users
- Designed in a way to incorporate future changes without inefficient re-work.
Phase 2: Automatic Data Aggregation and Analysis
After the data from an organisation was collected, it needed aggregation and analysis. We worked with DCA’s team to understand and translate their complex data analysis logic. This resulted in an automated workflow that:
- Calculates maturity ratings based on average scores across 12 areas
- Calculates comparative organisational benchmark scores based on existing responses
- Calculates highest scoring and lowest scoring areas
- Calculate averages scores and ratings for each individual question.
- Ranks average scores from lowest scoring to highest within their topic and category.
- Generates descriptive statements based on their ratings.
Phase 3: Automatic Generation of Aggregated Organisation Reports
The final part of the puzzle for DCA was being able to automatically generate a detailed 63 page report. The report provides aggregated and analysed results for an organisation based on responses. We helped DCA visualise and communicate the results in an accessible way. Our automation workflow:
- On-demand, automatically generates a personalised, designed PDF version of the report. Additionally an editable, accessible Word version of the report is also generated. Both are emailed to DCA representatives.
- Includes a range of personalised tables, colour highlighting, data visualisations and descriptive statements.
“When you start thinking about the volume of questions, the volume of response options, the scoring system behind them, the need for an automatically generated report, the need for cybersecurity, the need for people who can give practical advice on how to convert our idea, our concept into a fit for purpose online tool, we just needed to go with Simple and Engaging. We’d seen the work you’d delivered for Diversity Works in New Zealand with their organisational maturity assessment, and so we knew you could deliver for us on this tool.” “
Early Results and Impact
The RISE project is still underway but the initial impact has been very positive.
- Pilot organisations have reported finding the tool insightful and easy-to-use. They also noted how it has been sobering (in a positive way) to see their current state of maturity.
- CARM women participants appreciated the tool’s validation of their experiences. There was also a high level of confidence around the anonymity of responses.
- The project garnered interest at the UN Commission on the Status of Women Convention. The tool is unique through its approach to intersectional data collection and analysis.
- DCA can leverage data from the tool to identify and evolve best practice. Identifying ways to support CARM women into leadership positions.
Dr. O’Leary on the impact of the tool on CARM women participants: “They have said that they have found filling in the ASSESS to RISE tool very validating because they feel like the questions and the response options make it clear that DCA understands their workplace experiences. Not every survey tool output will capture this accurately and clearly.”
Simple and Engaging: A Trusted Partner for DCA
DCA loved the experience of working with Simple and Engaging. Their problem-solving skills and conceptual understanding helped address any complex challenges. DCA particularly appreciated Simple and Engaging’s:
- Agile and Bespoke Approach. We offered a flexible and collaborative development process. This resulted in us tailoring the solution to DCA’s specific needs.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Finding an effective balance between functionality and affordability.
- Technical Expertise: Experience in building easy-to-use online tools ensured a high-quality product.
Dr. O’Leary on working with us:
“We’ve loved it. As DEI researchers and practitioners, we were out of our depth in the technology space, and we knew that…having a trusted business advisor to guide us through the process of converting our DEI subject matter into an online tool. You knew how to create a very high-quality product in a streamlined way on time and on budget.”“
We pride ourselves on our ability to work in a collaborative and responsive way with our clients. Our approach helps organisations translate their requirements into a fit-for-purpose technology solution. We use right-sized technology to ensure a cost-effective solution that meets DCA’s needs.
Dr. O’Leary on the benefits of our approach:
“We found that Simple & Engaging were more agile and flexible in the approach they take with the client than other organisations. There was more capacity to produce a bespoke product…you didn’t say, ‘Oh no, we can’t do that!’ You’d say, ‘Oh, let’s have a think about how we can do it and how we can do it in a cost-effective way’. We found that to be such an invaluable way of working.”
Why Non-Profits Should Embrace Digital Transformation with Simple and Engaging
DCA are excited about other applications for an intersectional tool like this one. Given how impactful it has been, it could be adapted for other DEI challenges. They encourage other non-profits to embrace digital tools to:
- Reach a wider audience and achieve greater impact
- Offer a wider range of resources and cater to diverse stakeholder needs.
- Serve a larger number of organisations simultaneously and achieve greater impact
- Leverage data to identify trends and develop even more effective tools.
“Simple and Engaging were really good at finding that balance point between not over-engineering, but also making sure it was fit for purpose. We needed to work with someone like yourself who could sort of be a ‘partner in crime’ as we stepped through this process that we hadn’t done before.”
In Summary
This work demonstrates the power of digital transformation in advancing non-profit initiatives. The bespoke solution addressed the critical need for an intersectional assessment tool. The easy-to-use and secure tool streamlines data collection and analysis. Whilst also providing valuable automated insights for both organisations and participants. This innovative solution highlights our expertise in helping organisations do more with less. It highlights how we guide organisations to use technology to scale their impact.
Frequently Asked Questions
What other types of assessment tools does Simple and Engaging offer?
Every organisation has specific needs and a specific way of working. That’s why we offer bespoke, customised assessment tools, not a one-size-fits-all solution. We’ll work with you to build the tools based on your needs and budget.
How can Simple and Engaging help my organisation achieve its goals?
One of the common themes we see working with nonprofits is a lack of time. Nonprofit staff are passionate, subject matter experts but not with technology and automation. We come in as your technology partner, helping you scale your impact and do more with less.
What is the cost of developing a similar tool?
There are two costs for tools like this, the cost of setting everything up which is a one-off fee based on what you need. Then a monthly or yearly subscription fee to keep it up and running. We aren’t able to share the exact cost for each client due to confidentiality agreements. But, the total cost of developing tools like this can range from $10K AUD to $60K AUD depending on scope and volume.
How long does it take to develop a custom assessment tool?
We find this depends more on our clients than us. If we have all we need we can get these tools up and running within a matter of weeks. We work fast and in an agile way so that you can test and refine the tool over time.
Does Simple and Engaging offer ongoing support for the tool?
Yes absolutely. This is a managed service so we run it for you. If it breaks, we fix it. If you need changes we update it for you. Our aim is that you can focus on what you do best.
Check Out Our Other Services
AUTOMATED MATURITY ASSESSMENTS
Automated maturity assessments are a hugely impactful way to engage your prospects, customers or partners. Utilising a range of secure, cloud-based platforms to capture data, embed your expertise to produce some key insights and then hyper-personalise a PDF report, automated maturity assessments are now available to businesses of all sizes.
Some great use cases include:
- Maturity assessments
- Diagnostic assessment
- Consultancy framework
- Inclusion framework
- ROI Calculators
- Services selector
- Online quote builder
AUTOMATION TOOLS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Our small business automation tools are designed to help you do more with less, drive digital transformation, and scale effectively. With our tools and expertise, you can streamline your processes, improve efficiency, and free up valuable time and resources.
- Help you do more with less: Automation can help you get more done in less time
- Drive digital transformation: Our tools can help you modernise and digitise your processes, helping you stay competitive in today’s digital world.
- Scale effectively: Automation can help you scale your business without the need for additional resources, allowing you to grow without breaking the bank.
- Improve efficiency: Automation can help you eliminate errors and improve accuracy, resulting in more efficient and reliable processes.
We offer a range of different services to help you find the right processes and operations to be automated.
DEMONSTRATE IMPACT THROUGH DATA
Our data visualisation tools service is designed to help businesses turn raw data into compelling, actionable insights that drive your organisation and stakeholders forward.
- Demonstrate impact: Our tools can help you aggregate, analyse and visualise your data in a way that clearly communicates the value and impact of your work.
- Identify trends: Through the data visualisations, you can easily identify trends and patterns that may not be immediately apparent in raw data sets.
- Communicate more effectively: With visually appealing and easy-to-understand graphs, charts, and diagrams that effectively convey your message we can help you tell your story with data.
- Be more data driven: By helping achieve a single source of truth for information and giving you easy access to visualise and analyse that data, you can make more informed leading to more accurate and effective decision-making.
