Do We Still Need DEI in Customer Service?

President Donald Trump ran on a platform of getting rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the U.S. government. With a number of executive orders, he has followed through on this, spurring a lot of legal challenges and protests. The Trump administration and other advocates of ending DEI have argued that the government has an obligation to put the best people in place and to promote them based on merit, not a quota based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or some other protected status.

Once the government banned DEI, dozens of top companies, including Walmart, Target, Amazon, Meta, McDonald’s, Ford, John Deere, Google, Pepsi, Disney, GM, Intel, PayPal, Chipotle, GE, Comcast, and Molson-Coors, have pared back or removed altogether their DEI requirements. Among the reasons, many of these companies cited a desire to ensure that hiring was centered on building teams with the most talented people and that incentives and employee goals were tied to business performance. Several colleges and universities also followed suit.

These moves have spurred a lot of controversy in the CRM world. On the one hand, DEI advocates argue that employee diversity provides a competitive advantage and that when companies reduce DEI efforts, they lose the diverse perspectives that strengthen customer interactions, resulting in weaker connections, eroded trust, and ultimately, lost business. On the other side, DEI opponents have maintained that when customers have a critical customer support issue, they care more about whether the person on the other end of the phone can address their problem than they do about the agent’s race or sexual orientation.

I tend to see both sides. When my credit card statement shows a $1,200 purchase that I didn’t make, I don’t care whether I’m speaking to a white Christian male from New York or a gay woman of color from Arizona, as long as the situation is ultimately resolved to my satisfaction.

But DEI is not a black-and-white issue by any means. There are certainly advantages to having a diverse workforce and a diverse executive team, particularly on the marketing, sales, and product development fronts. You can make a strong case that companies with diverse staffing and leadership are better able to understand and address the diverse needs of a diverse customer base. The question is whether companies need to have a formal DEI program in place that gives preference to one group over another when it comes to hiring, retention, compensation, and incentives.

Why not just foster an inclusive work environment where everyone is welcomed, respected, and able to bring their best selves to work every day? Rather than hiring quotas or tying compensation to specific diversity goals, why not remain committed to fostering a safe and inclusive workplace that rewards everyone for what they do well rather than for who they are? On the other hand, without such formal programs in place, will organizations have incentives to make good on those commitments? These are tough questions, but one way forward is for companies to have as their North Star putting the needs of their customers at the center of every decision they make.

* * * *

On a very sad note, we at CRM magazine raise a toast to our former colleague, industry insider, and friend, Marshall Lager, who passed away Feb. 12 at the far-too-young age of 53. Marshall was a full-time employee at CRM from March 2005 to June 2009 and, as a member of the analyst community, continued to write his “Pint of View” column through 2018. Marshall had a unique, inimitable sense of wit and humor that he wove into every Pint article, frequently blending a carefully crafted joke or story with a deeply insightful take on the CRM trends of the day. And as an industry analyst, Marshall was always a trusted source for an honest and refreshingly unfiltered perspective on the technologies, system vendors, and even the individuals dominating the CRM landscape at any given time. Whether it was in his writings or in person, so many of us were fortunate to have learned from and laughed with him throughout the years. He will be missed.

Leonard Klie is the editor of CRM magazine. He can be reached at lklie@infotoday.com.

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