A DE&I audit is an independent, externally-conducted review of an organisation's diversity, equity and inclusion policies, practices and day-to-day employee experience. It identifies strengths, gaps and priorities, and gives you an evidence base for your DEI strategy rather than an assumption-led one.
DE&I audit and analysis that gives your strategy an evidence base
A DE&I strategy is only as strong as what it's built on. Guesswork doesn't hold up in a board meeting. A policy nobody has tested against real experience doesn't hold up with your people either. A DE&I audit gives you a starting point you can defend: what your policies say, what your data shows, and what people experience day to day.
What our DE&I analysis uncovers
Our DE&I auditing and analysis service is an externally conducted review of your current diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) activity, policies and practices. Because it's independent, the findings aren't shaped by internal politics or the blind spots that build up over time.
Our consultants look at three things together, not in isolation:
- Your policies and practices, checked against what good looks like today
- The day-to-day experience of your employees, gathered directly rather than assumed
- The gaps between the two, translated into clear priorities and goals
The result is a report that tells you where you stand now, not where you hoped you'd be.
[We] commissioned a diversity audit, looking at our policy and practice as well as engaging with staff, volunteers and community groups. We were very impressed by the professionalism [Ciphr] brought to this piece of work. There was a series of planning meetings with a core group before work began and then the audit itself was done in a focused way. The consultant engaged very effectively with our stakeholders and gathered a wealth of information. The resulting report was excellent, insightful and comprehensive. It both showed the areas where we are performing well and those areas for improvement and I am confident that it has given us a strong basis for an EDI work programme over the next couple of years. Overall, [it’s] a very good piece of work.
- David Scott-Ralphs, chief executive, St Wilfrid’s Hospice, Eastbourne
DE&I expertise built for UK organisations
DEI regulation and expectations in the UK aren't the same as anywhere else. Ciphr's DE&I consultants work to UK standards, including the Equality Act 2010, and handle every piece of data gathered during your audit under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. That matters when an audit involves candid conversations with staff: people need to trust how what they say will be used and protected, and that trust starts with a provider who understands UK obligations properly, not a generic framework adapted from elsewhere.
An audit built around a plan, not just paperwork
You won’t be handed a questionnaire and left to interpret the results yourself. A Ciphr DE&I audit follows a structured process from the first conversation to the final report.
Planning meetings with a core group to agree scope, timeline and stakeholders, before any work begins
A focused audit phase, including a policy review alongside direct engagement with employees, and where relevant, volunteers and community groups
A single report that sets out strengths, gaps and recommended priorities, so your next steps are clear rather than open to interpretation
Start with evidence, not assumptions
For HR directors who need a business case the board won't challenge, and L&D leaders who need to know where training will land hardest, a DE&I audit gives you a defensible starting point instead of a guess.
A sophisticated solution for everyone
Need to build capability once the audit is done, not just identify the gaps? Ciphr eLearning offers DEI and neurodiversity training content, bespoke or off-the-shelf, so the recommendations from your audit can be put into practice.