All Talk: What Are We Actually Doing About Diversity and Inclusion in the Ad Industry?

Everyone is talking about diversity equity and inclusion but how are we putting those wellintentions into actionAs a recruiter at Havas Media I have seen the struggle to find not only great talent but also great diverse talent It39s important to first recognize that most of us have not had a hard time getting hired as a nondiverse candidate For example I am a white female who went to a Big Ten university and have never experienced a hiring bias due to my name the color of my skin or my sexual orientation During my interview with my soontobe boss Lisa Evia president of Havas Media Chicago we discussed the importance of hiring diverse talent This sparked an instant connection as improving diversity is a key organizational goal at the agencyWe make a conscious effort to always look for diverse talent and with every open position we include at least one diverse candidate in the mix Since implementing this action we have seen an uptick in our diversity percentage amp8212 33 percent growth over the past two years We certainly don39t claim to have all the answers and we recognize we have a long way to go ourselves but here39s what we39ve learned so farHiring for diversity isn39t just a recruiter39s responsibility but an organization39s effort as a whole Educate your managers on the importance of hiring diverse talent and how it helps the business Our clients are well known American brands that sell products and services to a diverse marketplace We need a broad diversification of employees with different perspectives on the business to successfully position and sell into that marketplaceHelp diverse candidates visualize themselves in an advertising and media agency At some of the events Havas Media has cohosted with city colleges such as Harold Washington we tell students about the amazing career opportunities in advertising and media This is a way for us to introduce Havas to the students as well as have a teachable moment around the types of career opportunities they can potentially pursue in the ad space in general We find that most of these students didn39t know that these opportunities even existedOther events we participated in have been resume reviews career fairs and LinkedIn seminars This is a great way for us to help students create their quotpersonalquot brand on their resume and LinkedInFuture plans include creating a rotation program where it feeds directly from the city colleges into our agency Many of Harold Washington39s students go to school at night and work during the day to pay for school This initiative would allow us to help students pay for their education and expose them to an array of different jobs such as planning buying analytics paid search and paid social Many of the skills and competencies you need to be a successful ad professional are learned on the job versus in the classroom and we are looking forward to building out this initiativeRetention is just as important as recruiting Once you increase your efforts of hiring diverse talent turn your attention towards retention It39s important to create a work environment where all parties feel valued and heard If you don39t already send out employee satisfaction surveys Don39t be afraid to ask the tough questions and be sure to take action on feedbackAdditionally allow your employees to get involved in the cultural aspect of your business One of our initiatives has been to roll out culture committees throughout each office across the US These committees meet weekly to discuss various topics ranging from Women39s Equity Day Pride Month and Black History Month They are 100 percent employeerun and they are a great way for our company to focus on sensitive topics in a safe place It39s also an opportunity to create internal programming amp8212 such as our awardwinning Black at Work amp8212 that sparks meaningful conversations among our staffUltimately agencies must continue to make a mindful effort to have diverse talent in the pipeline by constantly pushing the business to invest in events and programs that focus on diversity This starts by consciously focusing on hiring individuals with different backgrounds perspectives and life experiencesClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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All Talk: What Are We Actually Doing About Diversity and Inclusion in the Ad Industry?

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Jordan Parisi

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All Talk: What Are We Actually Doing About Diversity and Inclusion in the Ad Industry?

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