Measurement Tools During Times of Shifting Sands

Abstract

Over the past few years, organizations and employees alike have turned their attention toward address- ing inequities in the workplace made starkly visible by the Covid 19 pandemic and renewed emphasis on social injustice acts. While some progress has been made in this space, the increased attention has also led to a recognition that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs can contribute, stall, or even backfire if not implemented thoughtfully (Catsouphes et al, 2022).

In the fall of 2021, Chestnut Health Systems, the parent company of Chestnut Global Partners, created a psycho- metrically informed instrument, the Workplace Inclusion Scale (WIS), designed to survey and integrate the felt experience of inclusion into EAP service offerings. The WIS is a tool that organizations can use to quickly assess the impact of diversity and inclusion efforts as perceived by employees in the work environment. Specifically, it is a measurement tool for EAPs, as management consultants, to offer HR, benefit departments, and other stakeholders a unique lens to assess the perceived level of employee inclusion. The specifics of how this tool was developed and validated can be found in (Lennox et al, 2022).