As a minority woman, I have been part of several different ‘Diversity/Affinity programs across a number of companies and industries. As a manager and leader, I have also been an active member of the recruitment processes, and know that most organizations have rigorous processes and policies in place to attract candidates from diverse backgrounds. Out of all these programs though, only one stands out as being actually effective in attracting and retaining diverse top talent from top schools — The others faltered for a variety of reasons, and either had a hard time attracting diverse top talent ..read more

One of the many surprises when I entered the field of Operations was how success is measured for an Operations team. Operations managers or Process Leaders are held to 3 key success factors: 1. How much their team produced, 2. The quality (or error rate) of their production, and 3. The cost effectiveness of the production. Employee or Team Management related metrics such as Attrition rate, Employee Satisfaction, or even Training and Development played a role in overall leadership performance metrics, albeit with minimal impact. If the operational metrics did well, the team related metrics wer ..read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lYJz-fNn_U In this interview, Jennifer Kroll (Innovation Catalyst, SHRMLabs) interviews Vivek Mehta and Anisa Aven (Co-Founders, LeanDEI) about how their intuitive bot, Kim, helps identify needs within your organization and which employees can help you create continuous change - for good! (also, they offer a free baseline analysis - so watch to the end to find out how to get that ..read more

This reading list has six powerful books on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. For anyone working to confront personal biases, become more informed on DEI issues, or gain skills and techniques in building a more inclusive work culture - these resources will give you the actionable tools needed. These books tackle important topics such as confronting personal and systemic bias, navigating difficult yet necessary conversations, creating safe spaces, and providing the tools for empowerment and fostering a sense of belonging. "Diversity, Inc: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business ..read more

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace have been widely discussed areas in which a company should assess, grow, and implement as part of their company culture. Nowadays, organizations are setting goals to improve their diversity and inclusion efforts. Companies are revamping their practices, so employees feel included and that they are an important part of the organization. Why? More than basic human decency, studies show effective diversity and inclusion practices increase the innovation and creativity of your workforce. These are essential to enhance organizations and ensure their continue ..read more

We're at a tipping point. Social injustice, systemic discrimination, acts of exclusion and increasingly polarized views and unrest are combining to create organizational crisis. At the same time, diversity and inclusion initiatives are seen as disruptive, or even an attempt to create an unfair advantage. So as leaders in charge of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion results, we must design our programs to mitigate these risks and intentionally lower resistance. Systemic racism + structural discrimination + acts of exclusion = Organizational Crisis To extinguish resistance to Diversity, Equity, an ..read more

A microaggression is any unwittingly harmful words or behaviors that cause another to experience emotional pain, exclusion, or discrimination. Microaggressions are rampant and while most often perpetrated against historically marginalized groups, majority groups experience microaggressions too, albeit to a lesser degree. A microaggression is any unwittingly harmful words or behaviors that cause another to experience emotional pain, exclusion, or discrimination. I come from the camp of, “If I can name it. I can change it.” And, identifying and labeling these subtle acts of exclusion* means we ..read more

If you are looking to increase your employee engagement rate, lower your turnover rate, or encourage an overall happier workplace culture, you may want to increase your company’s agility when processing employee feedback. That is, when a company receives responses from employees, either from surveys, suggestion boxes, meetings, or reviews, management acts on the results in a reasonable time frame. Long cycles of issue to action can make employees quit! The truth is, that most people don’t quit their jobs on a whim. It usually takes time and opportunity before someone will accept an offer for a ..read more