Toolkit: Implementing SHRM’s BEAM Framework for Inclusion
This toolkit provides HR professionals with a structured guide to implement SHRM’s Belonging Enhanced by Access through Merit (BEAM) Framework effectively, ensuring compliance with executive orders while fostering genuine inclusion and belonging in the workplace.
Overview of SHRM’s BEAM Framework
Employers will be looking to HR leaders, in consultation with legal counsel, to take proactive steps to align their inclusion and diversity (I&D) initiatives with the evolving legal standards while fostering inclusive, merit-based workplaces. By leveraging SHRM’s BEAM Framework, organizations can navigate compliance challenges without compromising their commitment to inclusion and diversity.
Objectives:
Ensure inclusion and diversity strategies comply with current executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Equip HR professionals with tools to promote inclusion without legal risks.
Embed BEAM principles in diverse HR disciplines to align practices with organizational excellence.
Four Principles of the BEAM Framework
Balancing Diversity, Inclusion, and Compliance
In this episode of the People + Strategy podcast, Alex Alonso, SHRM’s chief data and analytics officer, talks about the history of diversity programs, where we’re headed next, and SHRM’s BEAM Framework of actionable guidelines for HR leaders.
Assessment Tools
Implementing the BEAM Framework should start with you reviewing your existing I&D strategies.
SHRM has put together a detailed questionnaire that can serve as a starting point and help you evaluate how well your organization’s I&D or similar programs align with SHRM’s BEAM Framework. SHRM also has other resources that can help you review your I&D strategies, including a quiz to test your knowledge of the framework.
Operationalizing Inclusion
The January 2025 executive orders from President Donald Trump do not require companies to eliminate I&D programs but call for adjustments to ensure compliance with existing laws. Organizations can still foster inclusion by prioritizing equal access, merit-based opportunities, and broad definitions of diversity.
The Operationalizing Inclusion principle of the BEAM Framework encourages employers to transform inclusion from a compliance or ethical requirement to a strategic tool that enhances operational efficiency and drives measurable, performance-focused outcomes.
Ways to do this include:
Tying inclusive efforts to key performance indicators such as productivity, employee retention, and innovation.
Providing data-driven insights to demonstrate how inclusion enhances employee engagement and organizational resilience.
Pro Tip
Communicating openly about program goals or processes reduces the risk of I&D programs being seen as unfair or biased. Perceived secrecy around the operation of a program can lead to misunderstandings regarding its functioning and objectives.
Hiring Tools
There are ways to build inclusion into every step of the hiring process. Below are several SHRM resources that can help.
Hiring policy: Start at the beginning by laying out your organization’s hiring priorities with an inclusive hiring policy.
Job descriptions: Write job descriptions that highlight the skills needed to do the job. Focus on key responsibilities and qualifications. List job requirements based on competencies, not degrees or traditional credentials.
Interviewing: By designing interview questions that prioritize problem-solving abilities, critical thinking, and relevant expertise — rather than focusing on educational background, work history, or surface-level traits — organizations can actively reduce biases that often hinder diverse candidate pools.
There are skills-first ways to ask about many competencies for a particular job, not just the ones specific to that role. Check out SHRM’s larger bank of interview questions that help assess skills such as stress management and composure, critical evaluation, and many more.
Overlooked talent pools: A skills-first approach to hiring can help you recruit candidates from underemployed groups who are often overlooked. Expand recruitment pipelines by partnering with community organizations to access untapped talent pools, such as veterans or other individuals with nontraditional career paths.
Avoiding bias: Recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers eager to avoid the costs of making a bad hiring decision may identify potential red flags based on factors such as age, criminal history, or disability status. To avoid discriminating against potential candidates, focus on knowledge, skills, and ability instead.
Pro Tip
Asking candidates to respond to hypothetical scenarios provides a deeper understanding of their competencies and skills, enabling more equitable and effective hiring decisions.
Training Tools
SHRM is producing a series of webinars to help companies understand the impact of the recent executive orders and ensure compliance with federal regulations. They are valuable training tools for HR pros and other leaders within organizations.
Webinar
DEI Executive Orders 101
Delve into the implications of the executive orders and learn how SHRM’s BEAM Framework can guide your organization through these changes.
Webinar
Contractor Effects
The January 2025 DEI executive orders will have a far-reaching impact on the federal government and the private sector that serves it for years to come.
Webinar
Impacts on Gender
One of the orders recognizes only two sexes — therefore, it’s crucial to understand the implications for workplace inclusion and gender pay equity.
Webinar
Preparing Your Workplace for Immigration Enforcement
Learn how to proactively manage and support your workforces amid evolving immigration policies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions.
Webinar
Navigating I&D Compliance
Get practical steps to review and modify your hiring, promotion, and training procedures to prevent unintentional preferential treatment.
Focus on Inclusion
Want to ensure your I&D strategies are in compliance with the executive orders? Consider getting the SHRM Inclusive Workplace Culture Specialty Credential. It helps you foster a workplace where inclusion and diversity drive success with the SHRM Inclusive Workplace Culture Specialty Credential.
Culture Tools
Policy: Clearly stating your organization’s goals around workplace culture can help you engage your workforce on the topics of inclusion and belonging. SHRM has an I&D policy template that is designed to be adaptable to various organization sizes and industries.
Employee resource groups: Some employers are concerned about the legality of employee resource groups (ERGs) in light of the DEI executive orders. But ERGs can still be lawful if they have open membership to all employees, are mission-focused without exclusionary policies, offer leadership development through nondiscriminatory means, and have funding and employer support without coercion of employees.
Communication: Engage employees in decision-making processes and empower them to contribute without fear of exclusion. Create clear communication channels so employees can voice ideas or concerns transparently. Clearly communicate any inclusion and belonging policies during onboarding and establish a regular training schedule.
SHRM Resources
Pro Tip
Consider implementing an inclusion code of conduct so all employees clearly understand the expectations in your workplace.
Talent Management
Align promotions and lateral movements with demonstrated skills and potential rather than a candidate’s background. Clearly state in policies that hiring and promotion decisions will be based on legitimate business reasons — including merit and, if applicable, factors determined by bargaining agreements — to gather the best talent available to contribute to overall success.
HR professionals should look to implement merit-based talent management practices to build more inclusive workplaces.
One place to start? Take this quiz to help you avoid making judgments influenced by sex, race, or other demographic factors without realizing you have done so.
Performance reviews: Implement performance reviews that provide unbiased, constructive feedback. Periodic reviews also serve as a tool for identifying internal upskilling needs, as well as promotion opportunities.
Embedding a skills-first approach: To widen pathways to work, employers need the tools and training to assess a prospective worker’s full set of competencies, gifts, and skills, including and beyond those conferred by traditional academic degrees. The SHRM Foundation believes HR leaders must step up to make all learning paths count in assessing whether a person will perform well and thrive in a job.
Women at work: Women now make up nearly half of the workforce and are the most educated group in the labor market — yet, they’re not matriculating into leadership at the same rate as men. With the new executive orders reshaping workplace policies, this All Things Work podcast episode offers critical takeaways for how businesses can adopt a “same but different” approach to designing viable, holistic talent optimization programs that address these disparities. It also provides tips on how to leverage tools such as SHRM’s BEAM Framework to ensure inclusivity and compliance.
Need guidance with the new Administration changes?
Technology
Artificial intelligence can be a helpful tool in recruiting, but there are legal considerations to be aware of, including bias, accuracy, and privacy. Make sure the data you input for it to use does not discriminate against any protected groups.
AI in hiring: Set up anonymous application screenings to reduce unconscious bias and focus on skill evaluations. Leverage AI and structured assessments to objectively measure candidates’ alignment with job qualifications.
AI for calibration: Data can help quantify the effectiveness of your hiring strategy. Important metrics include length of employment, retention rates, and promotion patterns.
SHRM Resources
Pro Tip
Implement fair-use practices to ensure AI algorithms are unbiased and continuously audited. Customize educational paths with AI to meet the needs of individual employees.
Calibration Tools
One of the principles laid out in the BEAM Framework is Continuous Calibration — the use of performance data and feedback loops to optimize talent management, foster development, and eliminate systemic biases in hiring, retention, and promotion processes.
Surveys: Feedback surveys can help assess employee engagement and maintain an inclusive environment. These examples of employee surveys are related to satisfaction, new hires, benefits, diversity, and exit interviews.
Dig into the data: Critically evaluate the impact of inclusion-driven practices, including retention and promotion rates by demographic, employee sentiment scores, and exit interview trends. Consider conducting reviews under attorney-client privilege.