DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

I developed a cross-functional diversity and inclusion program that met the organization where it was. 

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Their hiring philosophy used to be, “Hire the best person for the job.” We made a subtle, but powerful shift to “Hire the best person for the team.” This shift allowed the managers and recruiters to think holistically about their teams and interview from a diverse candidate pool when they were looking to hire.

Depending on the age of your organization, it’s likely there are different factors at play. A new company has an opportunity to get things right at the beginning. An established company, on the other hand, may need to engage in deep discussions about what they want the company to stand for, what its diversity goals should be, and what changes they’ll make to get there. Benchmarking against companies similar to yours can be very useful but shouldn’t wholly define what you do -- every company is different so a cookie-cutter approach will fall short.

No matter where you are in the process of becoming a more diverse and inclusive company, bear this in mind: This is not a ‘one and done’ situation. You must expect philosophies and working practices to evolve over time – and maybe faster than you think.

Below is a video I produced for the launch of our Diversity & Inclusion program at Genesys.