What Makes a Good D&I Consultant?

When I started working in diversity and inclusion (or D&I) in 2006, a handful of consultants worked in this space. None of the major consulting firms were playing in the space; if they were, it was an afterthought that lived in the human capital practice. Most of the available D&I consultants were solopreneurs, which came with limitations in their ability to scale up their offerings.

Truth be told, when I started working as the national leader for D&I for one of the country’s largest accounting firms, I didn’t have the qualifications for the job. But the reality was that no one did. Had I not already been working for the firm in a completely different capacity, I would never have gotten the job. However, there were so few people working in the space that it was difficult to find something to compare to. Most people get into D&I work through the Human Resource space, but a few come at it from other directions. Looking back, the people with diversity in their titles had an incredible passion for the work and figured it out as they went along.

A great deal has changed since then, specifically when 2020 became a pivotal moment in the industry, entirely driven by the brutal murder of George Floyd. Overnight, the field became overpopulated by people claiming to be “D&I experts.” The market was suddenly flooded with service providers – many of them solopreneurs but some small consulting shops – who claimed how they could help employers address tough topics like anti-Black racism. All of the major consulting firms launched offerings – whether or not they had the skills and or credentials to offer such a service.

As the dust starts to settle, people are starting to ask serious questions about the qualifications of the consultants they’re hiring. There are countless stories about companies that have hired people only to learn that what they were sold isn’t something the consultant can deliver. So, it begs the question: what makes a good D&I consultant? If you aren’t careful, you may hire someone who takes your organization backward rather than forward.

The diversity and inclusion space is entirely unregulated and largely lacks educational grounding. The advent of Colleges and Universities offering any form of education in Diversity and Inclusion Management is relatively new. Cornell University was one of the first to offer its Diversity and Inclusion Professionals Certificate, launched in XXXX. We now see many schools offering either Certificate programs in D&I or, in some rare cases, a master’s degree in the area, but those offerings are relatively new. So, what can you look for if you can’t turn to education as a determining factor?

When it comes to assessing a D&I Consultant’s abilities, whether you’re hiring them for an internal role or as an external service provider, here are a few things to consider:

1. Don’t Believe Everything You Read
   Anyone can say anything on a website or LinkedIn profile. That doesn’t mean it’s true. People can be incredibly persuasive with the written word, but that alone shouldn’t be enough to convince you. If you like what a consultant says on their website, make them back it up. For example, if they say they have toolkits that can help address bias in the recruiting process, ask them to see a copy of the toolkit, even if it’s just them showing it to you over Zoom. You don’t want to hire a consultant who says they’ve done something only to find out they’re making it up as they go.

2. Do They Have Previous Experience?
   Often, if people have worked in D&I in another workplace before going into consulting, it can indicate that they have some skills to bring to a consulting engagement. If they’ve done work with Employee Resource Groups, and Diversity Councils, it can provide confidence that they know what they’re talking about.

3. Check Their References
   References aren’t a surefire way to know if a consultant has the skill you need. Just like the content on a website, it’s easy to get people to give you a reference, even if you haven’t worked for them. That said, if you get three references and prepare a set of standard questions that probe into the work the consultant completed, you should be able to get a sense of whether or not they’re legit and if they have the skills.

4. Lived Experience Isn’t Enough
   Please don’t assume that because someone is a Person of Color (or Gay or lives with a disability or whatever identity), they will be good as a D&I consultant. Just because you’re part of X community (where X could be any marginalized community) doesn’t mean you know how to be a good D&I consultant. There are specific skills that a D&I consultant should have, and lived experience isn’t one of them. Skills like Change Management, Project Management and facilitation are all critically important.

5. Not Everyone in D&I is Nice
   It’s also important to remember that people who work in D&I are human and have their own biases. Many times, I’ve heard about a D&I consultant who turned out to be homophobic or racist. Just because someone works in D&I doesn’t mean they’re nice or even good people. There are a lot of shady people who work in D&I. So protect yourself. Make sure you’ve done your due diligence and protect yourself accordingly.

We are in a period of flux regarding D&I consultants as the profession matures, and we establish more rigorous qualifications for D&I professionals. While that happens, employers must be confident in who they’re hiring to do this vital work to ensure they achieve the change they’re aspiring to.