NRAEF : Blog
The 2022 DEI Survey Report & MFHA’s ELEVATE Framework
There’s a big gap between how hospitality enterprises view their diversity and inclusion policies and how their employees actually experience them. The new 2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) survey report measures the awareness and perceived effectiveness of DEI practices among employers and employees in the restaurant industry.
Conducted through a collaboration of the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA), the National Restaurant Association, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, and Cornell University Nolan School of Hotel Administration, this landmark research measures the DEI environment in the hospitality industry to understand the impact of DEI strategies on foodservice workers’ job satisfaction.
Key findings:
- When restaurant employees leave the industry, many do not return. Respect and a culture of belonging influence job satisfaction and intent to stay in the industry.
- 92% of enterprises report having dedicated DEI initiatives, however employees’ awareness of those policies is very limited.
- While 73% of enterprises believe that a diverse workforce improves a company’s innovation, 54% of enterprises don’t believe the money spent on diversity programs has a noticeable impact.
- Only 30% of current employees (and 14% of former employees) believe the diversity programs at their restaurants have a positive impact on the workplace.
This report reinforces the critical importance of effective DEI policies in driving employee engagement and retention in the restaurant industry.
Download the DEI Report today!
How can you develop an effective DEI policy?
Introducing ELEVATE – DEI Framework for the Restaurant Industry
To drive positive change in DEI initiatives for enterprises and employees, MFHA created ELEVATE – A Menu for Change – a framework for building successful DEI programs and cultural fluency within the restaurant industry.
ELEVATE – A Menu for Change works for organizations of all sizes. Each step in the ELEVATE framework reflects actions to betaken by company management to create and foster effective DEI policies and practices.
The framework includes tools to help an enterprise assess its current DEI policy, identify stakeholders, and establish a strong foundation for meaningful change to a DEI policy, change that achieves a true culture of inclusion, equity and opportunity.
The ELEVATE framework helps set that foundation by showing how enterprises can foster stakeholder communication, establish goals, and measure success.
Included in the framework:
- A step-by-step toolkit showing proven best practices of effective DEI programs
- Direct actions management can take to move initiatives forward
- Assessment tools to help enterprises identify stakeholders, examine current offerings, and build a foundation for meaningful change
- Effective stakeholder communication
- Guidelines to establish goals and set success metrics
- Guidelines to communicate DEI policies and value to current and prospective
employees
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