Enhancing workforce inclusion through data: GHD

GHD is an international, multidisciplinary professional services network providing its clients with integrated solutions across advisory, built environment, digital, energy and resources, environment, sustainability and resilience, transportation and water. It strives to deliver imaginative thinking and exceptional customer service to connect and sustain communities around the world.

GHD has over 12,000 employees globally and more than 160 offices across five continents, including three sites in the Middle East:  Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha.

What is the challenge?

GHD sought to reinforce its commitment to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace, understanding its importance for sparking innovation, enhancing problem-solving and addressing complex challenges. To achieve this, it recognised a need for more robust and detailed data on the composition of its workforce.

Having such data means being able to analyse trends and patterns, enabling it to enhance its EDI strategies and people policies. With robust data, potential systemic biases and barriers can also be identified and addressed – in areas such as pay, promotions, hiring and retention.

Detailed information on workforce composition is also increasingly required during the bidding and tendering phases for new contracts, as well as for official external reporting purposes.

What are the objectives?

GHD introduced an enhanced system for voluntary and secure collection of comprehensive data on the make-up of its employee base. In tracking and measuring such data, it aimed to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace that responds to the needs of its shifting workforce, thus driving improved outcomes both internally and externally.

What did it do?

After conducting external research on global organisations at the forefront of EDI, GHD developed a ‘Self ID’ approach to collecting workforce data. Self ID is a secure, quick, voluntary process in which employees complete fields in the organisation’s human resource information system (HRIS) to disclose demographic and biographical information such as gender, race/ ethnicity, neurodiversity, disability, caregiver status, religion/ belief and so on. By encouraging Self ID, GHD sought to position itself more effectively to support the evolving needs of its workforce.

To ensure a consistent global approach, the launch of Self ID at GHD was developed through stakeholder engagements with senior leadership, legal and HRIS. Extensive consultation with legal counsel was undertaken to facilitate compliance with privacy laws in the collection and management of employee personal data, while a Data Handling Protocol outlined specifics on who can access the data, how it will be reported and its general usage.

As the demographic options and terminology differed country to country, the Regional Inclusion and Diversity Team assessed what questions and methodologies would be appropriate for the Middle East based on legislation, local nuances and cultural norms, and made modifications accordingly.

Self ID was then communicated to the entire organisation through email and a page posted on the company’s intranet detailing how the initiative would be implemented country by country, answering FAQs and providing an information pack for employees’ reference.

In November 2024, Self ID was launched across GHD’s EMEA region, including Qatar and the UAE.

What outcomes have been achieved so far?

An initial goal was set to achieve 30% completion across all geographies within the first year of launch. As of December 2024, the completion rates for Qatar and UAE were 45% and 41% respectively, among the highest at GHD.

The focus now is on developing dashboards to display the aggregate-level data and analyse trends and patterns. This information can then be cross-referenced with other employment data such as pay, promotions, benefits usage and the like, to identify areas of improvement.

Bassam Halabi, Regional General Manager, Qatar, commented: “The data gathered from the Self ID campaign will help us to drive initiatives, shape policies and make meaningful changes. By leveraging this information, we can ensure that our efforts are aligned with the real experiences and aspirations of our people, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and genuine inclusion.”

Darren Shrives, Regional General Manager, UAE said: “Self ID is a pivotal initiative for our organisation and a testament to our commitment to fostering a culture where everyone belongs and every voice is heard and respected. Together we are building a company that truly reflects the richness of our collective experiences and perspectives to achieve the best outcomes for our people, our clients and our communities.”

Key learnings

• Engage key stakeholders (leadership, legal, marketing and communications, employee resource groups etc) early and regularly.
• Develop a comprehensive communication plan that extends beyond the initial announcement of the initiative. Consider how you can continue to encourage participation beyond the launch date to boost response rates and have more robust data to analyse.
• Convey how Self ID data is important both internally and externally.
• Clearly articulate to employees why you are collecting the data, how it will be used, how access will be limited and confidentiality protected, and that results are reported in aggregate only.
• Explain to employees that participation is voluntary (with consent being clear and informed).
• Advise employees that information gathered will not influence employment decision making and will be stored securely and separate from personnel files.
• Advise employees that their employment will not be affected if they don’t participate.
• Clearly state that employees have the option to answer ‘Prefer not to say’ for any question. Even obtaining this data can give an indication of the culture within the organisation.