Camber Outdoors Announces 2021/2022 Survey System Results

Camber Outdoors, the non-profit organization with the mission of supporting workplace inclusion, equity, and diversity for Outdoor-Recreation focused organizations, announces groundbreaking results from Camber’s most recent industry survey, which showcases and celebrates the advances and progress of Camber Partners over the past two years. 

Initial findings from the 2021/2022 Camber Survey System show how Camber delivers to its Partners systemic, scalable, and measurable programs and resources for the advancement of workplace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The annual survey is offered exclusively to Camber Partners, comprising over 300 corporations, small businesses, and nonprofit partners that together employ over 11,000 people in the outdoor recreation economy, a $689 billion strong U.S. economic driver representing more than 4.3 million jobs. 

Survey results show progress, with Camber Partners beating the national average for progress on Inclusive Culture and Leadership Practices and Equitable Supportive Systems over the past two years. “The survey results celebrate advances made by the cohort of Camber Partners revealing industry trends, tailored company data reporting, and a blueprint for companies on their DEI journey. Through Camber Survey System results, our Partners gained a quantifiable perspective, which serves as both a much-needed positive progress check and a basis for future growth and retention through a more diversified workforce,” explained Tiffany Smith, Chief Development Officer for Camber. 

“Our organization views the workplace as the most powerful vehicle for positive change in workplace DEI, and our team is highly committed to our Camber Partners  supporting their continued evolution to building and sustaining more inclusive workplaces,” she added.

Camber worked to develop the survey with global evaluation experts at Claremont Evaluation Center, including Stuart Donaldson, Jennifer Villalobos and Piper Grandin. Together Camber and Claremont Evaluation Center have created the two-part industry survey which consists of an Organizational Workplace Survey and an Employee Survey designed and administered to uphold the rigor, integrity, and reliability of the workplace survey process. The results of the Camber Survey System are provided exclusively to Camber Partners who participate. The data collected serves as a directional indicator of cohort-wide trends and also provides organizational-specific data which captures employee perspective on your organization’s DEI efforts.

Results show that across every facet of DEI workplace implementation, Camber Partners achieved growth. Key findings include:

• Growth in Partners outlining specific and measurable goals for DEI job hiring pools – 37% in 2020 to 57% in 2021 – and in tracking and sharing diversity demographics for all board members – 26% in 2020 to 42% in 2021.
  
• Camber Partners’ increase in aligning their DEI goals and strategies, from 50% in 2020 to 73% in 2021, which is an indicator of Camber Partners’ success as revealed by  industry-focused measures (nationally, 69% of employers report having established formal workplace DEI program goals).
  
• Nearly 100% of the Camber Partners are setting goals for workplace DEI, and 88% of them are committed to implementing strategies based on DEI research and best practices.
• 94% of Camber Partners made updates to their employee benefits packages in 2021 in response to the pandemic. 96% of Camber Partners offered flexible work and remote work schedules to their employees and continue to as doing so brings a wealth of additional recruitment opportunities from a larger talent pool.
  
• Camber Partners showed growth in 2021 by increasing paid family leave allowances from 74% in 2020 to 78% in 2021, and increasing caregiving assistance from 26% in 2020 to 33% in 2021.
  
• Notably, 1 in 3 Camber Partners offered LGBTQ+ family planning benefits in 2021. While Camber Partners made gains in providing family planning and caregiving benefits to their employees, there is an opportunity for expansion, particularly in ensuring benefits are available to all employees as inclusive benefits will be key to the retention of a diversity of employees in the coming year.
  
• 100% of DEI learning and development opportunities created were offered during work hours, reflecting a belief that DEI is a workplace competency that is important and worthy of compensation. 

Amid a nationwide competition for talent, Camber Partners continue to set DEI workplace goals, committing time and investment while tracking progress to attract and retain a diversity of talent. 

“The survey results clearly underscore that Camber’s Partners are outpacing national employers in positioning their organizations for success in an increasingly competitive talent landscape,” Smith noted. “This is a great testimony for Camber’s team and the innovative programming we’ve launched with our partners over the past two years. The future is promising and filled with opportunities to create inclusive, equitable workplace cultures in which diverse talent thrive. As the community of outdoor enthusiasts rapidly diversifies, Camber is readying the next generation of DEI champions In workplaces of the Outdoor Recreation Economy.” 

For corporations, small businesses and nonprofits in the Outdoor Recreation Economy interested in building a more inclusive, equitable and diverse workplace, Camber’s new Diversity, Maturity Journey Assessment Tool identifies where a company is in its DEI workplace journey and customizes appropriate tools and resources to create meaningful progress toward inclusive workplaces that inspire, attract  and retain diverse talent.

To learn about the many benefits of becoming a Camber Partner, including a library of resources and transformative programming, as well as an assigned Relationship manager-guiding your workplace DEI journey, please visit www.camberoutdoors.org. Eligible small businesses and nonprofits receive full or partial member sponsorship.