Rethinking the Employee Experience
Throughout Advancing Diversity Week, hosted by MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity.org, D-E-I-B leaders from the media and advertising community were asked to "face the future and rethink the employee experience." A panel dedicated to that topic, titled "Facing the Future: Rethinking the Employee Experience" and moderated by Destiny Chambers, Vice President, Head of Marketing at Lippe Taylor, explored how organizations are moving from ideals of inclusion to creating a true feeling of belonging among all their employees and how media content can advance this shift. (You can watch the panel in its entirety in the video above.)
In a conversation with Ebony A. Thomas, Senior Vice President, ESG, and Public Policy Executive, Bank of America; Tony Sanchez, Vice President, Customer Experience, Comcast Advertising; Judy Courtney, Vice President, Human Resources, New York Interconnect; Dr. LeMia Jenkins Thompson, Global Head, Communications, Pinterest, and Heather Tinsley-Fix, Senior Advisor, Employer Engagement, AARP, Chambers focused on the complexity evident in the shifts within organizations as they wrestle with the meaning of their employee experience.
We are in a moment when organizational structures balance hybrid, work from home, traditional, or some combination of all three. Under such disparate work conditions is it possible for organizations to identify common ground and operational norms? Under those conditions, is there even a unified notion of an "employee experience"? Answering those questions, the panel set the stage to chart future paths for both employees and employers.
Each panelist explained their observations and best practices for advancing talent retention and development by focusing on belonging and its connection to employee experience. Some highlights:
Thomas cut to the heart of the matter, saying, "You can't become what you can't see," decrying the persistent lack of diversity in corporate America. "How do I belong? And where do I see myself? A lack of diversity tells us that on a subconscious level, you can't be there." The focus on "belonging" (the 'B' in DEIB) was frequently revisited.
"Organizational belonging is about how we interact with each other on a day-to-day basis," Courtney commented, adding that we need to open the aperture to have a nuanced conversation about building connective tissues between allies and diverse communities within a company's walls. The stronger those ties, the more likely the organizational future will be rooted in a strong sense of belonging across all cohorts.
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The opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author and/or subject(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet, Inc. management or associated writers.
Philip McKenzie
Philip L. McKenzie is a Cultural Anthropologist + Strategist with a focus on humanity centered design. Philip uses his expertise in culture to advise organizations on how best to thrive in an increasingly challenging and uncertain environment. Philip uses hi…
