Annual DEI Report Template
An annual DEI report is read by employees who were there for the year it describes, which is why a report of only good news costs more credibility than it buys. This structure covers what changed, what did not, the numbers behind both, and what the next year is actually committed to.
See the coursesEverything on this page is yours to copy and adapt. The courses cover the decisions behind it: what to commit to, how to measure it, and what to put in writing.
What yours needs to cover
- ✓ A one-page summary an executive or a journalist will read first
- ✓ Last year’s commitments, each marked done, partly done or not done
- ✓ The core measures, shown against the previous year rather than in isolation
- ✓ What did not work, and what is being done differently
- ✓ Next year’s commitments with owners, measures and a budget
- ✓ A methodology note covering sources, definitions and reporting thresholds
How to use it
- Start from last year’s commitments. A report that quietly drops one is noticed by exactly the people it was for.
- Show trends rather than single figures, and keep the definitions stable between years.
- Include the measure that went backwards, with the explanation.
- Have legal and communications review anything public before publication.
- Publish next year’s commitments in the same document, so the next report has something to be measured against.
Starting from last year's promises
The first readers of an annual DEI report are employees who lived through the year it describes. They will check it against their own experience, and the quickest way to lose them is a report that quietly forgets a commitment made twelve months earlier. Begin with a table of last year's commitments, each marked done, partly done or not done.
For every commitment not fully delivered, give one or two sentences on why and what happens next. This section is uncomfortable to write, and it is also the section that makes the rest of the report believable, because it shows the organization is willing to be measured against its own words.
Showing the numbers that moved and the ones that did not
Use the same measures as last year, with the same definitions, shown as a trend over at least two years. A single year's figures invite readers to guess whether they are good or bad. The comparison answers that for them, and a stable set of measures shows the report was not assembled around whatever looked best.
Include the measure that went backwards, with an honest explanation and what is being done differently. Keep to the same minimum reporting group size used on your dashboard, and state it in a short methodology note so readers know why some figures are withheld.
Deciding what is public and what stays internal
Some organizations publish the full report, some publish a summary, and many publish nothing externally while sharing a full version with employees. The right choice depends on what you can stand behind and on any reporting duties that apply where you operate. Settle it early with legal and communications rather than in the final week.
Whatever is published, the internal and external versions must tell the same story. A public summary that is noticeably more positive than the internal report will reach employees quickly, and it undermines both.
Setting up next year's report now
End the report with next year's commitments, each with an owner, a measure and a budget. That list becomes the first table of the following report, which is what gives the document a spine from one year to the next. Unit 3 of the course covers the scorecard these commitments come from, and Unit 7 covers communicating results.
A filled-in example
| Commitment | Structured interviews for all general manager and department head vacancies |
|---|---|
| Status | Done, with every such vacancy in the year using the new guide |
| Commitment | Publish pay ranges on all advertised roles |
| Status | Partly done, with ranges on hourly roles and salaried roles to follow in the first quarter |
| Measure that went backwards | First-year attrition among housekeeping staff rose, explained by a change in scheduling |
| Response | Scheduling pilot at two properties, with results in the next report |
| Methodology note | Sources, level definitions and a minimum reporting group of ten |
Mistakes to avoid
- Dropping last year's commitments. Readers remember what was promised. List every commitment and its status, including the ones not delivered.
- Reporting only the good news. A report of unbroken progress is not believed by people who worked there that year. Include the measure that went backwards.
- Changing definitions between years. New definitions break the comparison readers rely on. Keep them stable, or restate the prior year and say so.
- Ending without next year's commitments. Without them, next year's report has nothing to be measured against. Close with owned, measurable commitments.
Annual DEI Report Template FAQs
Should our DEI report be public?
That depends on what you can stand behind and on what your jurisdiction requires. An internal report that is honest is worth more than a public one that is careful, and many organizations publish a subset of an internal report.
How much data should we include?
Enough to support each claim, with the definitions and thresholds stated, and nothing that reduces to a group small enough to identify. The methodology note is what makes the rest of the report credible.
What if the numbers barely moved?
Say so, explain what you learned, and change what you are doing. A report that claims progress the workforce did not experience is the fastest way to lose the audience for every future one.
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