Talent Inclusion and Diversity Evaluation (TIDE) is the diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) self-assessment evaluation and benchmarking tool developed by the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei).
TIDE measures an organisation’s approach and progress on DEI across 10 areas:
- Diversity Data Monitoring
- Strategy and Planning
- DEI Training
- Inclusive Leadership
- Inclusive Recruitment
- Talent Management and Development
- Working Practices
- Employee Voice and Engagement
- Values and Behaviours
- Wellbeing and Belonging
TIDE is a flexible framework that supports our members to understand and develop their diversity practices to embed and sustain an inclusive workplace culture. As DEI practices are always evolving, we ensure TIDE evolves with them to bring the most value to our members and support their continuing inclusion journeys.
Updated for the 2025 cycle, the latest TIDE questionnaire is designed to be more adaptable, catering to organisations of all sizes and at different stages of their inclusion journey. Whether you’re just starting out or have already made significant progress, the new and revised sections will provide valuable insights across the entire employee lifecycle.
Every enei member receives one free TIDE account. If you would like to set up additional TIDE accounts, please email info@enei.org.uk or contact your enei Account Manager.
How does TIDE work?
TIDE is an accessible, secure, and easy to use online tool. It asks you a series of questions about your organisation’s approach to DEI practices in 10 different areas.
The questions are a combination of yes or no answers and selections from multiple choice lists. There are no free text answers.
TIDE requires a minimal amount of time-consuming evidence gathering. In some sections, depending on your responses, you may be asked to upload supporting evidence.
The approach has been designed to be flexible, with a range of questions and response options to recognise that different organisations will take different approaches to DEI, and these approaches can be equally successful.
Completing the TIDE questionnaire
TIDE takes about two hours to complete the first time and saves your answers so you can update your submission quickly and easily at any time.
If you wish to update your responses during the annual cycle, you can do so using the edit function. This will allow you to make changes and resubmit your responses. If you submit more than one entry, the latest submission will be considered in the annual benchmark, which takes place in the summer of each year.
Once you submit your entry, you will receive your results in your organisation’s TIDE report within minutes, providing you with valuable feedback to incorporate into your DEI strategy and plans. It can also be used as a simple internal measure of your progress.
You can complete and update your TIDE entry at any time throughout the year except for a short period of time when we pause the system for audit and benchmarking over the summer.
Organisations that complete TIDE before 31 May each year will automatically be entered into enei’s TIDEMark benchmarking programme.
Presenting TIDE results
On completing the TIDE questionnaire, the TIDE system will generate your organisation’s score and a personalised feedback report. The report includes:
- Your overall score and which level of the TIDE Inclusion Roadmap this equates to;
- A visual representation of your results by section, aligned to the TIDE Inclusion Roadmap;
- A summary of your highest scoring sections;
- A summary of your lowest scoring sections, with links to relevant enei resources; and
- A list of the questions for each section where you didn’t achieve the maximum score available.
This information can help inform next steps and guide your DEI action planning to improve and enhance the organisation’s inclusion practices.
This table is an example of what an organisation’s results might look like for each of the 10 sections on the TIDE Inclusion Roadmap.
What is the TIDEMark benchmarking programme?
All TIDE entries will be benchmarked against all other entries in a particular year. This is known as the TIDEMark.
As TIDE is a self-assessment evaluation, before the benchmark is determined, enei will audit 10% of entries to ensure the integrity of the benchmarking. When at least five organisations enter TIDE within a particular industry or sector, enei will also provide these benchmarks.
Following the TIDEMark, the highest performing entries will be presented with bronze, silver, and gold TIDE awards. Award winners will be able to promote their achievement by using electronic TIDE award badges or logos on their websites and literature.
Organisations achieving the best results will be recognised by enei each year and may be invited to share their practices and achievements at future enei events.
How you can participate in TIDE
If you don’t have a TIDE account already, please contact your Account Manager, who will be able to arrange your registration. Alternatively, please send an email to info@enei.org.uk.
When you log in, you will be able to access your organisation’s dashboard, which provides helpful information, including a user guide and the full question set. This is supplemented with more detailed explanatory notes within each section. In the meantime, you can find out more about the TIDE system and how it operates within enei’s Quick Guide: TIDE (Talent Inclusion and Diversity Evaluation) FAQs.
Conclusion
TIDE supports flexible and inclusive management of DEI practices reflecting the current and future state of DEI, looking beyond the Equality Act 2010 and guiding organisations to ensure all employees have the support and tools they need to thrive. It enables the evaluation and comparison of DEI approaches and outcomes across organisations of different sizes from different industries and sectors.
The information contained within this resource was accurate at the time of its publication. It was created in September 2024.
