Inclusivity Best Practices: ERTs, Interview Allies, Inreach, Library of Experiences

quotAt Unilever we have a culture driven by purposequot shared Aline Santos Chief Brand Officer and Chief Equity Diversity ampamp Inclusion Officer quotWe say brands with purpose grow Businesses with purpose last People with purpose thrivequot According to Santos Unilever39s culture has been a magnet for young talent All employees are invited to participate in a purpose workshop where they are able to clarify what they want to do with their lives With that insight managers are better able to match employees with a job that makes sense for their passion and skill set quotWhen you align your purpose with your job magic happensquot Santos noted adding that job satisfaction and motivation quothave gone through the roof bringing phenomenal results for the companyquotAt the NBA seven ERTs employee resource teams play an integral role in belonging and community explained Vice President of Diversity ampamp Inclusion Domonique Worship quotThey consistently lead the charge in advocating for our employees One example is community conversations piloted by 39Dream and Color39 our Black ERT This group has recommended the need for a safe space for employees to come together and have meaningful dialogue about tough issues that weigh heavily on their hearts and minds things that aren39t discussed in the daytodayquotShelley Zalis CEO of The Female Quotient and moderator of the panel noted that going from an ERG employee resource group to an ERT team is a very valuable nuance quotLanguage matters especially when we39re talking about this next generation and the impactquot she said Zalis brought up an important question How do you unite affinity groups so that an employee solution doesn39t create an unintended separationChinwe Esimai Managing Director and Chief AntiBribery ampamp Corruption Officer at Citi added quotThrough a lot of collaboration weamp8217re finding commonalities among the groups During Black History Month although the Black affinity group may lead we incorporate themes from other groups Diversity is not about one particular groupquotquotYou have to have affinity groups but to support this and make it work you have to have leaders who understand the importance of inclusionquot Santos addedZalis agreed and said we need to have conscious leaders who know how to listen quotWe are all in very different states of emotional and mental healthquot she cautioned quotListening to hear with empathetic mindsets is importantquotEsimai added that Jane Fraser Citi39s first female CEO incorporated empathy into the company39s core values and leadership principles quotIn over 200 years of our existence we hadn39t highlighted empathy as a core value like we do nowquot she said quotEveryone wants to feel seen heard and understoodquotMarcien Jenckes President of Advertising at Comcast Cable focused on accountability explaining that his company has built DEI objectives into executive bonuses as an added incentive quotAnd we have ERGs that we may now rename ERTS following Domonique39s leadquot he said Jenckes also shared an interesting addition to the hiring process what he called an quotinterview allyquot This entails bringing people in from outside the direct reporting chain to check for unconscious bias quotto make sure we39re not going for the quick easy hire but the best hirequot The interview ally then picks up the role as mentor for the chosen candidate once they are brought into the organization providing ongoing supportSantos offered a unique way for employees who don39t work together regularly to engage with one another in what she described as a quotlibrary of experiencesquot The library is a place where colleagues share unique skills maybe woodwork or poetry writing cooking or insights on their heritage and anyone can book time with that person to learn more This is something that companies can easily embrace and it39s a fun and different way to foster inclusivityZalis shared the concept of quotproximityshipquot which is not about outreach but quotinreachquot This is when a leader places open slots on their calendar and anyone in the organization can quotinreachquot and sign up for valuable oneonone time they may never experience otherwiseJenckes39 closing thoughts served as an important reminder for both employer and employee quotPeople think when they39re being interviewed the decision is in someone else39s hands They39re also interviewing the employer and need to look for a culture and company that stands for what they believe inquotClick the social buttons to share this content 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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Inclusivity Best Practices: ERTs, Interview Allies, Inreach, Library of Experiences

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