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The HRC Climate Assessment Tool and Climate Improvement Toolkit In conjunction with Hewitt Associates, the HRC Foundation has devised and piloted the first-ever LGBT workplace climate assessment tool to assist organizations in identifying LGBT employees and improving their work environments. Designed to be adapted by organizations or working groups within an organization, the tool measures the perception of climate from both an LGBT and non-LGBT perspective. This is critical, because organizational change rests on assessing differences in perceptions between these two groups of workers, not just on understanding the perceptions of one group. Fundamentally, the assessment tool addresses three core questions for a businesses or work group: Is our organization an LGBT-friendly and inclusive workplace? How does our current environment have an impact on our business? Where should we focus to improve and/or maintain our current environment? The assessment tool covers three key aspects of workplace climate: Organizational and Leadership Support Manager/Supervisor Support Work Team Support The assessment tool also highlights salient data by providing indices on: Awareness of LGBT Policy Degree of Openness Business Impact of a Negative Climate Some of the issues the assessment tool considers include: Level of acceptance from supervisors and co-workers Frequency of jokes or derogatory comments about LGBT people or other minority groups Extent to which “partner” language is used in company communications Presence of openly LGBT management The extent that enforcement of EEO policy depends on supervisors’ personal feelings toward LGBT people The extent that people at work acknowledge sexual orientation or gender identity in a positive way Degree to which LGBT employees are open at work Frequency of expressing negative views of LGBT people based on stories in the news, pop culture or religion Experiences of negative outcomes on productivity, satisfaction and relationships due to a climate not always accepting of LGBT people The final results and analysis will provide focal areas for the company or work group to improve elements of their climate; for example, around senior leadership communications or the prevalence of jokes and other negative behavior that can have an impact on LGBT workers.