What do business plans and diversity and inclusion initiatives have in common?
On the surface, not a lot. But studies have shown that more diverse companies are often more successful than homogeneous ones. Not only does it make sense ethically to incorporate diversity and inclusion efforts, but it makes business sense, too.
María Fernanda Cantón said that’s part of what her team has been doing at Panorama Education. As a senior director of people practices, her goals are largely tied to building a more inclusive and fair workplace. But doing that requires a close examination and adjustment of current processes, which can impact business strategy.
“We’ve analyzed employment data and trends, gathered employee feedback and reviewed policies and practices to understand the organization while aligning the business strategy to DEI goals,” Cantón said.
Jasmine Harrison, a senior recruiter at Vestmark, has been doing similar work. While employee buy-in is important, she said her team is working to create D&I initiatives at the leadership level, which could potentially make wider ripples of change.
“We learned that we needed to focus on DEI starting at the top levels of the organization,” Harrison said. “So we implemented a strong communication strategy to address and acknowledge the importance of DEI as business objectives.”
While there’s no right way of building out D&I in a company, Cantón and Harrison spoke to Built In Boston about how they’ve found success in incorporating diversity and inclusion initiatives into their companies’ growth plans, and why that means D&I is here to stay at their organizations.
By closely monitoring and reviewing current programs, polling employees and rethinking communication strategies, Cantón said Panorama Education is delivering and equitable environment for all while meeting business objectives. After all, according to Cantón, the most valuable resource a company has is its people. Supporting them is just common sense.
What's the No.1 thing every tech company should do right now to improve diversity (of all kinds) in their organization?
In the midst of racial violence in our country and a pandemic that has undermined the economy and exacerbated the disproportionate impact of structural racism and inequities, it is vital for companies to acknowledge that employees are not working under a typical state of operations.
Tech companies need to understand the diversity of their workforce and the needs of each member of their team to ensure their needs are equally addressed. People are impacted differently and hurt in different ways.
Canton’s 6 questions every leader should ask themselves
- Why is diversity important to my organization?
- Is everyone in my organization able to articulate why diversity is important in their function and how they individually contribute to reaching the organization’s diversity goals?
- What is the diversity of my workforce and how does my company respond to the unique needs of my employee population?
- What are our organizational barriers that impede recruitment and retention of diverse talent?
- What are concrete pathways we can take to increase and retain diversity in my organization?
- How do I ensure everyone in my organization has access to tools and conditions needed to succeed and thrive?
What should every tech company do right now to improve inclusivity and equity in their organization?
If not managed deliberately, remote working conditions can present challenges in communication and can allow dominant cultures to dictate norms and expectations that can leave segments of the workforce behind. With the understanding that societal conditions disproportionately impact marginalized communities in the workforce, it is especially important for companies to be vigilant to the diverse needs of their workforce while ensuring that communication norms and operations systems are inclusive and responsive to those needs.
This is a time where tech companies must look in the mirror and have honest, authentic conversations.”
Tech companies must review their communication norms, policies, practices and expectations to determine if there are any inherent barriers that perpetuate discrimination, or impede access and inclusivity for different needs, perspectives and life conditions. This is a time where tech companies must look in the mirror and have honest, authentic conversations with their teams about the impact of systemic racism and how it may manifest itself in the workplace. Acknowledgment of past mistakes and commitment to restorative action are key ingredients for healing and trust-building.
Of all the DEI initiatives you've led, which has been the most impactful?
The development of a DEI Action Plan. There are different stages to that process, all of which require an organizational self-assessment and identity-building to establish a DEI program that responds to the needs of the organization.
This is critically important because competing business priorities and operational imperatives do not always allow for reflective, strategic thinking around the most important asset any organization has: its human capital. We’ve analyzed employment data and trends, gathered employee feedback and reviewed policies and practices to understand the organization while aligning the business strategy to DEI goals. This evaluative exercise is fundamental to recognizing our strengths and opportunities to expand on our competitive advantage in the global market.
Employees’ passion for a diverse, equitable workplace can go a long way, but to enact real and lasting change, company leaders have to make it a priority, Senior Recruiter Jasmine Harrison said. That’s why Vestmark has rolled out D&I initiatives throughout the entire employee experience, from recruitment and professional development to manager training.
What's the No.1 thing every tech company should do right now to improve diversity (of all kinds) in their organization?
We highly recommend developing key principles that support DEI. We formulated our plan to support the following principles: listen, appreciate, understand, then act.
What should every tech company do right now to improve inclusivity and equity in their organization?
We first tried to learn more about the issues and listened. For us, that meant creating a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) forum which quickly led us to form a committee to ensure a sustainable effort.
We implemented a strong communication strategy to address and acknowledge the importance of DEI as a business objective.”
We learned that we needed to focus on DEI starting at the top levels of the organization, so we implemented a strong communication strategy to address and acknowledge the importance of DEI as a business objective. Next, we brought our employees together to discuss diversity and listen to everyone’s perspective. We plan to supplement our program with manager training to gain institutional commitment to DEI.
Of all the DEI initiatives you've led, which has been the most impactful, and why?
We structured our Vestmark DEI initiative into four key areas in the full employee lifecycle: Recruitment and hiring, onboarding, professional development and training, and feedback from employee departures.
Like other software companies, we strive to increase the number of diverse candidates we interview for our open positions and we have found this to be the most impactful thing we can do. We have also found that other supporting initiatives have created a positive impact, including attending women’s conferences, selecting DEI topics for our monthly book club and responding to employee feedback through our pulse surveys.
We have already seen positive results that we want to continue as we meet our employee engagement and business objectives.
