Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | October 15, 2018 | wbjournal.com 10 T H I NG S I know about . . . … Effectively serving on a nonprofit board By AiVi Nguyen AiVi Nguyen is a partner at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey. She also is the chair of the board for the United Way of Central MA, vice chair of Worcester's Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, and a member of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center Board. 1. Only serve on boards for organizations in which you are truly interested. It's easier to be engaged and useful when you genuinely care about the mission. 2. Make sure you candidly discuss the time commitment and expectations before you agree to serve. Only accept the position if you can realistically balance the role with all of your other responsibilities. 3. Do it for the right reasons. Always remember it's better to never sit on a board than to be known as a bad board member. Doing it for selfish reasons will always backfire. 4. Attend the meetings and show up prepared. Read the materials beforehand. What good are you if you have no idea what's going on? 5. Be an active participant. Ask questions. Speak up when you disagree. You are there to make sure the organization's mission and best interests are protected. 6. Don't be afraid to vote against the majority. Rubber-stamping just because you are self-conscious is a you problem. Put your social fears aside for the good of the organization. 7. Do not settle for doing the bare minimum. If a committee could use your skillset, join it. If the organization needs people to attend an event, do it. 8. Do not overstep your role. You are not the CEO of the organization. You are there to ensure the organization's leaders are doing their jobs, not actually do the jobs yourself. 9. Spread the organization's message at every opportunity you can outside of board meetings. Board members must be advocates, ambassadors and champions of their organizations. 10. Gracefully step down from the position when the time is right. You will know when you have given all you can to the organization, and it's time for you to step aside for someone new. K N O W H O W Leverage diversity to your benefit 10 1: R E C R U I T I N G M I S T A K E S D iversity is all the ways we are unique by demo- graphics, beliefs, back- grounds, talents, capabil- ities, ideas, ways of living, generation and experience. Having a diverse collective stimulates new and different thinking, leading to greater possibilities in scholarship, problem-solving and innovation. Here is how you can create that diversity in your organization and how to best help it thrive. Diversity fails without inclusion Inclusion connects diverse people to create an environment of involvement and respect, where the richness of di- versity is integrated at all organizational levels and operations to create value. Change depends on changing mindsets Pervasive messages and culture are pronounced and perpetuated by the people who create the policies and struc- tures of organizations. Be introspective and be the change you want to see. We do what we care about. Understand one size does not fit all Benchmarking is important, but different institutional histories and structures influence and impact organi- zations, creating very different cultural climates. Set agendas aligning with the unique organizational culture. Set diversity plans and goals Like any major institutional initiative, diversity plans must have calculated, concrete direction and goals shared across every level, with strategies and metrics that align them. Evaluate and reevaluate over time. Represent diversity in senior leaders Diverse leadership manifests the bene- fits of workplace diversity. United leaders are spokespeople for diversity issues, and create a culture deploying inclusive best practices, development tools, and resources to maximize talent engage- ment and satisfaction, advancement, and workplace performance. Put diversity in your branding and visibility e message is very clear: diversity and inclusion must be woven into the fabric of organizations across all levels and dimensions and integrated into the communication plan; it's a strategic business imperative. Initiatives must be funded Diversity and inclusion initiatives must be tied to sufficient, targeted funding. Return-on-investment gains might be slow to start, but they will have lasting positive impact on business vital- ity, including results showing a diverse workforce, high-employee retention, job satisfaction, etc. Continued training is a must Strategically aligned diversity and inclusion training meets the needs of organizational members in all areas at all levels. Long-term leveled training, with targeted leadership training, is import- ant for sustained educational growth. Achieve Inclusive excellence Diversity initiatives originate from legal compliance policies. e next step is inclusion change initiatives. Linking diversity and inclusion to thought lead- ership, where innovation and opportuni- ty maximize the full potential of people, brands, and businesses, is inclusive excellence. BY BONNIE J. WALKER Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal R eady, set, hire! e position has been opened up, the budget approved. Before you have a promising candidate sign on the dotted line, here are some tips to keep in mind about recruiting. Respect candidates' boundaries. is, from RecruiterBox.com, a hiring soware company: It's important to remember those candidates you are cold-calling at work about positions still have other jobs – and their super- visor may be right there. Requiring interview aer interview is also not OK. "Remember, you're asking them to leave work, and they'll most likely have to make up an excuse for their absence … No one likes being put in that position, especially time and time again," an article at the site reminds hiring managers. Stay in touch throughout the process. Keep candidates in the loop, even if there is no news to offer yet. "You'll never go into a weekend without hearing from me," says Stacy Zapar, founder of e Talent Agency. "Even if there's no news, I'll let you know," she's quoted as saying in a LinkedIn article by Maxwell Huppert. Even if they wanted your company's opportunity, they may take something else if they haven't heard from your company in weeks. Don't move too fast. With lots of projects in the pipeline, it can be tempting to hire the first candidate with the right education and background. But not so fast. "With the wrong person, you'll have wasted valuable time and resources if things don't work out and they leave. What's worse, other team members will be stressed and frustrated by having to carry the under-performer," says an article on MindTools.com. In other words, the time spent being picky about who joins your team is time well spent. W Bonnie J. Walker is executive director of diversity & inclusion strategy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, plying this arena in higher education in Massachusetts for 15 years. Contact her at bjhall@wpi.edu. W W

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