Developing Leaders in a Thoroughly Inclusive Way
BY Nzingha Hall May 03, 2023More than ever, it is critical to train and develop leaders into champions who will reach their highest potential. And it’s often echoed that leadership needs to reflect our ever-changing diverse society. But how do we get there? How can we prioritize inclusion and create leadership opportunities for talented employees? The answer is an authentic dedication to equity.At From Day One’s 2023 Atlanta conference, during a panel moderated by journalist Ernie Suggs, experts from notable businesses shared their methods and tactics for bringing diverse talent into leadership positions.Grady Tripp, vice president and chief diversity officer at Tegna, began the conversation with a question about commitment: “What is really the impetus to change behavior and make different decisions?” Equity and inclusion have to be priority for the CEO and the board. If lead decision-makers don’t value equity and inclusion, then the whole organization will reflect that. Sara Fatima, head of global talent acquisition at Verifone, agreed. “Let's be intentional about what we want,” she said, adding that this commitment has to be more than just a buzzword. What Does It Take to Move the Needle?Jackie Parker, senior vice president of talent management and chief diversity officer at Global Payments, spoke to the audience about taking steps to transcend personal biases. Issues related to DEI are embedded in our social fabric. To make the necessary changes, she said, we as a collective need to “start dealing with those systemic, structural barriers.” It is essential to remove barriers to opportunities so that everyone has the access skill up and move into positions of leadership. Karen Viera, chief people officer at Church’s Texas Chicken, is intent on finding solutions to ensuring employees can achieve their full potential. Viera was able to use funds to help employees receive their GEDs and restaurant management training. “That's our responsibility as HR leaders,” she said. “Where are people? Where are the gaps?”Ceresa founder and CEO Anna Robinson finds that investment in DEI initiatives can’t just come from the viewpoint of social justice. Leaders must understand how DEI as a “business value” can create stronger organizations. Accountability from the C-SuiteConversations about implementing DEI should not be limited to teammates and staff members; they must be shared with the leaders in executive positions. Tripp points out that, although 2020 made organizations around the nation start talking about equity, the work shouldn’t end with a conversion. “Dialogue is an important first step,” he said. “But at the end of the day, your actions either help or hurt the culture that you're trying to build. Your culture is essentially the outcome of what you reward, reprimand, or tolerate in your organization. And every decision that's made is either a step towards where you want to go or a step away. So there has to be the action.”Leaders must set an example. Robinson stresses the importance of leading a company with diverse teams. “We're not a hugely resourced company,” she said. “But we invested in getting people to come work with us on unconscious bias training and difficult conversations,” including “an ongoing discourse about race.” She added, “Even in a small company, I don't care if you're 10 people or 110,000 people, you can make sure to have representation on your team.”Making Connections and Matching NeedsThe panelists offered methods for increasing networks, prioritizing authenticity, and promoting work-life balance. Robison emphasizes creating environments in which employees can balance all of their commitments. She recommends asking: Do times and dates match with the busy lifestyles of employees who wear many hats, especially employees of color and women employees?The panel of speakers during their session titled, “Developing Leaders in a Thoroughly Inclusive Way” (photo by Dustin Chambers for From Day One) Parker agreed: “Why aren't we doing these things in more flexible ways?” She advocates giving leaders support as they continue in their careers. This support may not look the same for everyone. “One size doesn't fit all,” she said. “Understand the unique needs of your team members when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Your trajectory of accelerating to the C-suite is entirely different from mine. Everybody's needs are unique.” Showing up authentically in the workspace can enhance feelings of belonging and self-efficacy, and assessment tools that identify genuine representation can improve employee engagement and experience. In discussing these tools, Viera shared, “I added many questions related to diversity. ‘Do I feel comfortable coming to work, representing my full self?’ I told the leadership, ‘I'm adding these questions. I want this to be intentional.’ And our score went up by 9%. We're at 9% engagement. That's amazing.”Fatima points to one of the most successful projects in DEI at her company to date. The mentorship program at Verifone has helped women gain access to opportunities and understand the lived experiences of people from around the world. The program was so impactful that Verifone’s leadership considers it integral to people operations and talent development. “You've got everybody from the CEO down to the line manager going, ‘I have somebody on my team who can be a part of this,’” Fatima said. “Now you've created that confidence. Now you've created a voice. So it's been an incredible journey.” Moving ForwardDEI needs to be intentional, authentic, and understood as business value that testifies to a company’s success. Is it a core part of your operations? Hiring and supporting diverse leaders throughout their journeys is essential. Giving leaders the tools they need to be successful also ensures that they’ll be able to support the next generation of DEI champions.Nzingha Hall is a journalist, public speaker, and DEI facilitator in Atlanta, Ga.
How One Company Makes Timeless Values Relevant in the Modern Work Environment
BY Nzingha Hall May 02, 2023How do business leaders think about wellness? Some might believe that wellness starts and ends with providing benefits such as paid time off, maternity leave, health insurance, and gym memberships. But, more holistically speaking, how can the individual wellness of employees benefit the overall wellness of an organization? Why should wellness be prioritized?In a fireside chat at From Day One’s 2023 Atlanta conference, moderator Kelly Yamanouchi, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, spoke with Jeri Hawthorne, chief human resources officer of Aflac, about how one of the largest insurance carriers in the world makes wellness a cultural and business imperative.They also discussed the impact of the pandemic on staff and leadership. Aflac ultimately made the decision to work virtually. Although many employees had enjoyed the camaraderie of an in-person workplace, this change was a key way in which Aflac prioritized employee wellness.“At our headquarters in Columbus, Georgia, we had to lock the buildings and cut off badge access and close the gates, because employees loved being on site so much,” Hawthorne recalled. But, she says, now that in-person, remote, and hybrid arrangements are in play, employees have an authentic Aflac experience no matter where they work.“We’ve also made a lot of investments in technology and are planning to continue to make those investments,” she said. “So, if you are an employee of our organization, regardless of where you are, you have a positive experience as it relates to team effectiveness, communication, and engaging one another.”Aflac took the necessary steps to make wellness a part of workplace culture. Now the company asks employees to complete annual surveys related to wellness. What are the needs? What works? What doesn’t work? The company invests in all forms of health, not just physical health, but emotional and mental health. Hawthorne explains that companies can see direct benefits by making wellness a vital business principle. “Our emphasis on wellness is not just about the benefit of getting our employees well,” she said. “There are absolutely business benefits: lower absenteeism, higher engagement, higher output, and higher quality of output for our customers. All of those factors impact our employee experience and our customer experience.”Aflac created programs that focused on healthy eating and autonomous holistic weight loss. These initiatives built strength and trust in the organization and encouraged people to interact and engage. There has also been an emphasis on financial and social wellness. “We want people to grow and develop,” Hawthorne said.Aflac has even invested in spiritual health. They chartered a collaboration with Corporate Chaplains of America, a non-denominational organization that provides spiritual support for businesses. The partnership provides spiritual guidance for employees of various religions and helps Aflac leadership “understand the challenges that our employees are facing.”Wellness is a cultural value and essential workplace tenet. Employees want to know that their health is prioritized. They also want to be involved in a company that understands the importance of taking care of oneself. Aflac has shown that the results speak volumes: A healthy workforce and healthy work environment are best for business.Nzingha Hall is a journalist, public speaker, and DEI facilitator in Atlanta, Ga.
Building Culture for the Changing World of Work
BY Nzingha Hall May 02, 2023All of us contain multitudes: we enter any workplace as family members, caregivers, friends, and loved ones. We take our essences, our lived experiences, and our social norms into our careers. It is crucial for businesses to focus on and prioritize these connections and relationships. This business philosophy builds a healthy company culture.Mike Kaupe, global director of sales engineering at HiBob, led the audience of From Day One’s live conference in Atlanta in a discussion about building a company culture. Just like cities, or even food scenes, company cultures impact our everyday interactions and experiences. “Culture is the accumulation of relationships. It must emanate from the top leadership of the organization and then permeate through all people leaders in the organization, so that everyone has that sense of connectedness, a sense of belonging.” Kaupe espouses an idea he learned from leadership expert Simon Sinek: that culture is one of the motives behind the way we feel and, in turn, the way we will treat others. If an employee really appreciates the company they work for, the clients will in turn also appreciate the company they are patronizing.So how do we go about doing this? Kaupe points to the three T’s: Trust, Transparency, and Teamwork.What does it take to build a culture of trust? You have to be able to take a look at the policies and opportunities offered. Does everyone abide by policies? Does everyone across the board feel welcome to equal opportunities? “Trust is hard, especially in our diverse world, across borders and global teams. In collaboration, how do you trust everyone's going to do what they say they're going to do? Well, we had to foster inclusivity. We found out that when we foster inclusivity, it fostered collaboration. This was actually a lot of fun.”Mike Kaupe, HiBob's global director of sales engineering presenting in Atlanta (photo by Dustin Chambers for From Day One)Kaupe shares that it is important to have employees view the intricacies and developments occurring at an organization. Everyone should be able to access pertinent information: “You have to be transparent. This is key. And I mean transparency in everything we do, including data and visibility as to the makeup of the organization. So, for example, everyone in our company has access to understand the makeup of HiBob. What that does is it holds everyone accountable.”Job satisfaction and employee engagement are essential. Employees want to feel supported and to have the necessary tools to complete their duties. For some companies, that may entail a 35-hour work week, or work-from-home options. Kaupe explains that, by giving employees collective accolades, as opposed to individual commendations, leaders can strengthen team dynamics. “We need to praise groups, instead of just individual achievements,” he said. This practice can promote cohesion, camaraderie, and a culture of healthy feedback.Company culture is the ultimate ROI. When people feel visible and appreciated in the workplace, they are able to influence interaction and engagement with clients and customers. Company culture must be a business value. Employees have to feel recognized, and companies need to do dedicated work in order to understand what their staff values. “Remember this,” Kaupe advised. “Building a strong, healthy, and good company culture can be difficult, but it's not impossible.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, HiBob, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.Nzingha Hall is a journalist, public speaker, and DEI facilitator in Atlanta, Ga.
Three Effective Ways to Rethink Employee Engagement
BY Nzingha Hall July 05, 2022The modern policies for employee rewards and engagement were established in corporate America in the last 50 years. These policies, however, no longer fit the current needs of employees living in fast-paced, digital work environments. Jennifer Reimert, VP of solutions consulting at Workhuman, shared the relevance and significance of honoring relationships and lauding successes in a Thought Leadership Spotlight at From Day One’s Atlanta conference. Reimert argued for a complete reposition and shift in the ways that employers show appreciation for their employees. By acknowledging the accomplishments of staff on a consistent basis and providing unwavering feedback, employers can build authentic relationships, morale, and trust. Based on multiple proven studies and Reimert’s extensive career experience in HR, she offered three key values have led to internal and external productivity and success: Thank, talk, and celebrate. The first value, thank, means that showing appreciation to employees for their contributions makes them feel visible and that their presence and talents are meaningful to the organization. “Have your thank yous and your gratitude connected to your company’s values or your strategic imperatives, so that they start to learn by watching others, or somebody recognizing them in that moment that they did something right,” Reimert advised. Said Reimert: “We start with the strategic imperative” (Photo courtesy of Workhuman) The second value, talk, refers to the way in which forming genuine relationships with employees can make them feel that they are valued. By pausing to inquire about the wellness of a colleague, managers can intentionally create norms that center belonging. This creates an opportunity to discuss how companies can highlight the strengths of their teammates and identify ways for improvement: “Ongoing conversations and check-ins and feedback with whomever–maybe the manager, maybe a trusted peer, maybe somebody that they met through new-hire orientation virtually that they had a connection with–you want to create those connections, because the more connections that you create in your organization, that’s going to be the tie that binds.” The final value is celebrate. Often, celebrations center around promotions or work anniversaries, but the reality is that life is more than just career triumphs. Some of us may have started a new hobby, adopted a pet, or even ran a 5K. Though these new beginnings may not seem to be pivotal achievements, they deserve to be honored, nonetheless. “It’s another way that you can connect and understand who the whole person is that’s coming to work. The more invested somebody feels in everything that you’re doing, and the more you allow others to celebrate that, you're going to create a higher level of engagement.” Recognition Leads to Productivity and Retention The proof is in the pudding. By creating cultures of recognition and appreciation, businesses can expect a decrease in absenteeism and turnover. Reimert said, “If you just invest $1 in recognition, and you kind of think about that at scale, you would have a five- to seven-time return on your investment. If you can show a company that you can save 100 new hires, or 100 or 500 people from walking out the door, think about what that does to your productivity, your intellectual property.” Creating a Recognition Program How do businesses begin creating programs based in appreciation? Reimert dug deeper, asking, “What are you trying to accomplish? We start with the strategic imperative. How are we going to measure it? What’s the business impact? And then we build from there.” She suggested that programs should be based on employee experiences, esprit de corps, and staff capacity, and should benefit the entire organization, not just a select group. When we show up as our full selves, we are instilled with the confidence to think critically and creatively. When we are appreciated for our time and our adept skill sets, we foster environments of support and camaraderie, Reimert said. “Thank you” means “I see you and I honor you.” And “thank you” means that this organization would not be a success without you. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Workhuman, who sponsored this Thought Leadership Spotlight. Nzingha Hall is a journalist, public speaker, and DEI facilitator in Atlanta, Ga.
To Make Progress in DEI, It's All About the Follow-Through
BY Nzingha Hall July 05, 2022A prominent question that crosses the minds of many in these unprecedented times is, “How are my daily lived experiences and personal principles honored and reflected in the work that I do?” In a fireside chat at at From Day One’s Atlanta conference, Laurie George Billingsley, global chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at The Coca-Cola Company, reflected on the responsibility of businesses leading the charge to achieve justice and equity. In many ways, employers and employees have had to shift direction. The workplace is no longer physical, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has become an imperative, and most of all, businesses are setting the standard of prioritizing and openly outlining their values. In a conversation with From Day One co-founder Steve Koepp, Billingsley shared strategies to elevate the DEI function of Coca-Cola locally, regionally, nationally, and globally using the company’s social-justice framework. The company has four pillars that serve as support structures for global markets to address social justice and inclusion issues: Listen, lead, invest, and advocate. The Four Pillars Listen, lead, invest, and advocate isn’t some sort of mantra or slogan; it is a company norm that has transformed into a methodological scoring system to evaluate how to respond to DEI concerns. Employees answer questions based on the scoring tool, and subsequently are directed to action-based solutions predicated on the four pillars. The scoring tool was just the beginning of addressing DEI priorities at Coca-Cola. Employees brainstormed a plethora of ideas to facilitate change at the century-old food-and-beverage company and chose three principal ideas as main focal points. The first was an allyship guide, created by employees for employees, that became a standard of engagement for having conversations that centered on social justice. The second priority was increasing the number of employees who identified as people of color and women in leadership positions. The final principal was committing to supplier diversity. By 2025, Coca-Cola will commit half a billion dollars annually to contract with Black-owned businesses. At the Atlanta conference, the Coca-Cola leader spoke with From Day One co-founder Steve Koepp Community Beginnings Billingsley, a proud alumna of Howard University, reflected on her experiences as a child surrounded by community members who were intent on creating solutions around social justice, remembering, “I grew up seeing, you know, church leaders, nonprofit leaders, government officials, politicians, neighbors coming in our house to talk about the issues of the day, if it was education reform, civil rights, integrating neighborhoods, a whole host of issues. And I just saw how bringing those people together really helped to provide a platform for action. And so that stayed with me growing up, seeing that in real action in real life.” Those values instilled in her as a child and young adult were the inspiration for the advocate and leader she is today. Working Alongside Strategic Goals DEI is only as effective as your programmatic strategy, she said. Billingsley emphasized the importance of creating symmetric objective inputs and outputs. “Develop the commitments that are relevant to your business. So don’t come out of left field with something that doesn’t align at all with your business.” The commitments are indeed commitments: along with a robust strategy, she uplifted the importance of accountability. Inclusion: a Conversation for Every Employee Data is crucial in DEI and should be transparent to everyone invested in the effectiveness of DEI programming, including managers, supervisors, members of employee-resource groups and other stakeholders. Billingsley advocated finally for a comprehensive and well-thought-out approach to stave off any atrophy to progress earned, recommending, “Let’s develop a plan. Let’s talk about how we’re going to take action and move the needle forward from a DEI perspective. And again, how can you get the visibility at the C-suite level, as well as at the board-of-director level, and just make sure that you’re having touch points with those people so that it doesn’t become sort of out-of-sight, out-of-mind?” Editor’s note: Since the From Day One conference, Billingsley retired from Coca-Cola after a 20-year career at the company. Nzingha Hall is a journalist, public speaker, and DEI facilitator in Atlanta, Ga.
Inclusive Culture: ‘We Have to Have Rules of Engagement’
BY Nzingha Hall June 27, 2022When we think about a career, we are not simply thinking about wages, projects, and staff meetings. Our society has moved away from “clock-in” culture and rigid formalities. When we go to work, we want to be recognized and appreciated not only for our talents, but we also want to be engaged in an environment that is reflective of our lived realities. No one wants to go to the office being the “only.” Work is more than just making a living–when folks go to work, they want to be heard, they want their ideas to be taken seriously. In 2022, companies need to meet the expectations of an increasingly diverse workforce. In a panel moderated by Nicole Smith, the editorial audience director for Harvard Business Review, experts across several fields gathered at From Day One’s Atlanta conference to discuss ideas, agendas, priorities, and “what works” in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). To begin with, how do we define inclusion? It’s become an overused buzzword in a lot of spaces, to the point of futility and semantic satiation. “Inclusion is about engagement, but not just engagement. Engagement with a sense of belonging, self-worth, full inclusion, being able to bring your entire self to work with you,” said Tommy Welch, PhD, chief equity and compliance officer for Gwinnett County Public Schools. He emphasized the importance of creating spaces where marginalized voices are elevated and are included in measurement tools to assess how to improve inclusionary practices in the workplace. The panel drew a clear distinction between inclusion and diversity. Though often regarded as synonyms, these words have entirely different definitions. As Valerie Norton, chief people officer for Habitat for Humanity, explained, “The measures are really different. So diversity, it's real. You can count it quantitatively and through employee surveys and other mechanisms that give you feedback, you can tell if people feel included. I heard a wonderful description the other day: we often say people feel included when they feel welcomed, but it’s when they feel expected.” The full panel, from left: Jamie Hillegass of of White Cap, Pujo, Welch, Norton, Henderson, and moderator Nicole Smith of Harvard Business Review What happens when we cannot always have teammates who value the importance of DEI initiatives? From the surface, it would seem that understanding the power of a diverse workforce is axiomatic, however DEI professionals have to be prepared to engage with employees who are skeptics. Jamie Hillegass, director of talent, development and learning at the building-supply company White Cap, laid down the ground rules: “Some of our leaders are trying to dismantle systemic racism, right? And some of them are very new to the terminology. And so we meet with each of them, we coach them, we find them on their journey. When you do have some of those leaders that won’t get on the bus, then we have to find employment for them elsewhere. We believe from the leadership down, we have to get everyone moving in the same direction, even if they are maybe on different parts of the journey.” Finding mutual understanding is one of the keys to strategic alignment. Carol Henderson, PhD, chief diversity officer and vice provost for diversity and inclusion at Emory University, spoke of ways to initiate understanding of DEI as a community benefit, as opposed to a burden: “I find that people are threatened by inclusiveness, because they’re fearful that something’s going to be taken away from them, or that they will be excluded or blamed for something. We have to have rules of engagement. At Emory, our mission is to create, teach, preserve and apply knowledge in the service of humanity. So if that’s our mission, my comment or question to the individual that doesn't want to engage is ‘Give me your explanation of how you will live out our mission.’ And then maybe we can start from there.” Said Henderson: “If you give people the tools, they will utilize those and do amazing things.” It is evident that businesses cannot move forward without strategic DEI initiatives, and the organizations that create a sense of belonging are those that value inclusivity. Pamela Pujo, diversity advocate at Affirmity, which offers DEI training, explained how DEI impacts the bottom line: “You want to have inclusion in your work environment, because you’ve gone through the process of hiring great talent. Do you want to keep hiring talent so it starts to impact the cost of recruitment, lose productivity because you’re constantly training new employees, or lose employees who are there and they don’t feel included? You’re really impacting and hurting your business, not only with your products and services, but with your culture and your environment. Having that inclusive environment, when you bring in that diverse talent, they’re more likely to stay. They will feel like they belong. They have that sense of value within the organization.” Emory’s Henderson concluded, “I’ve looked at DEI as a journey, not a destination. And because of that, you win in small steps. I got into the game because someone paid it forward for me. If you give people the tools, they will utilize those and do amazing things.” Nzingha Hall is a journalist, public speaker, and DEI facilitator in Atlanta, Ga.