Hartford Business Journal

18 Hartford Business Journal • September 7, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com said Jackson, who earlier this year became vice president of diversity and inclusion for defense manufac- turer Raytheon Technologies Corp., following the company's $180-bil- lion merger with Farmington-based United Technologies Corp. Previous- ly, she held the same role for UTC. "If we wanted to have access to the best talent, we needed to make sure we approached our business practices with a diverse mindset," Jackson said. In recent years, Jackson's purview in this area has merged into workforce development, driving the company's philanthropy toward nonprofits like Girls Who Code and the Boys and Girls Clubs that encourage mi- nority and female students to pur- sue STEM fields. She's also set up a mentor program, in which younger minority workers can form work- ing relationships with company higher-ups. In addition to professional ad- vice, the program gives visibility to employees who otherwise could fall through the cracks when managers are mulling possible promotions. Stamford mail processing-equip- ment maker Pitney Bowes Inc. runs a one-year program for early career employees (with a focus on women and minorities), in which participants are given a mentor and an assignment to research and solve a problem the company is focused on, said Sheryl Battles, the company's vice president of diversity, inclusion and engagement. "Particularly with people of color and women, we like to make sure that we are paying attention to our diverse tal- ent, in terms of their visibility, in terms of making sure that they are being con- sidered for opportunity," said Battles, who added that minority employees have historically had a difficult time getting their work noticed by managers who could help advance their careers. To make sure that all departments in the company are staffed by people from diverse back- grounds, Battles has a seat in Pitney Bowes' "enterprise talent planning." The annual budget- ing exercise is basically an audit of who the company employs in which positions, and which departments could use more or fewer people, Bat- tles said. In her role, Battles elevates women and minority employees who would fit well in higher positions. Diversity and inclusion has become a priority at Stamford-based financial services firm Synchrony Financial over the last six years or so, said Chief Diversity Officer Michael Matthews. "Diversity and inclusion was just defined as one of our primary strate- gic initiatives," Matthews said. At the beginning of this year, Syn- chrony established a data analytics- based initiative called Advancing Diverse Talent (ADT). It's like Pitney Bowes' enterprise talent planning, but it's singularly aimed at tracking how many workers from different racial, gen- der and sexual orientation groups Syn- chrony employs, and whether it's trending toward greater diversity. Since Matthews established the program he's built on it with ADT Leadership Acad- emy, which has different develop- ment and training programs meant to put partici- pants on a pathway to the C-suite. Matthews has been in his current position for just over a year, and said Synchrony's top management takes the CDO role seriously. But even with corporations seeming to renew com- mitment to diversity in recent months, Matthews suspects creating equal opportunities for all employees is still a work in progress. "There really isn't a finish line," Mat- thews said. "You're never going to get to a point where you say, "That's it, we've achieved it.'" >> Diversity Inc. continued Sharon Hall, Partner, Spencer Stuart Sheryl Battles, Vice President of Diversity, iInclusion and Engagement, Pitney Bowes Inc. Gail Jackson, vice president of diversity and inclusion, Raytheon Technologies Corp. EXPERTS CORNER Strategies to build a culture of inclusion for small businesses By Karen Hinds W hen I started my consulting firm 22 years ago, I always knew that having a diverse team would give us a competitive edge. We were deliberate with each hire, but long before each hire we were intentional in our outreach and rela- tionship-building strategies. Our team is now 12 strong and our clients are benefitting from this early investment. As large organizations hire dedicated staff and consultants to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion agendas, many small businesses are feeling over- looked as they lack the same resources to attract and retain a diverse work- force and team of leaders. However, there are simple strategies that any small business can implement regardless of budget. Here are a few. Make diversity, equity and inclusion a value, not a priority What's the difference you might ask? Small businesses rely on their values; it's the fuel in their creative engines, it's the glue that keeps them afloat in the most challenging times. When diversity and inclusion become a value, it is baked into the fabric of the organization. It permeates the systems, processes, policies and procedures. Values don't change very often, if at all, but priorities do. Priorities come and go depending on business trends, who is leading the organiza- tion or what customers want. Small businesses must be inten- tional and make diversity, equity and inclusion a core value. Educate your team Leaders are still struggling through the awakening they experienced around racism in the last few months. Although there is a desire to do something, there is uncertainty about where to begin. Learning together is a good start- ing point to bring awareness to why diversity is important. Our clients are creating learning circles to expand their understanding on bias, racism and building inclusive cultures by reading books, listening to podcasts, watching documentaries and hosting courageous conversations. They are not only exploring the business case for inclusion but looking at the system of racism that is at the root of the gaps in the political, social, educational, economic and judicial systems in the United States. The educational journey around building an inclusive culture should be ongoing and not a hot topic of the moment. Create the right environment Too often small companies source diverse candidates and bring them into a workplace culture that is intolerant of different people. There is an unspo- ken expectation for diverse talent to assimilate instead of making room for them to show up as their authentic self. Some companies are unknowingly promoting a version of the "group think mentality" disguised as team building. This is a major factor in turnover for diverse hires as they feel unwelcomed and marginalized. One small company's solution to this was a recurring 21-day challenge. The entire organization looked for ways to individually and collectively iden- tify where their culture was hostile to diverse candidates and then took action over the 21-days to move the needle to- wards creating an inclusive culture with long-term and short-term strategies. Build strategic partnerships There is an abundance of diverse talent waiting to be sourced, yet com- panies still express there is a shortage. Tapping into the strong network of historical black colleges and uni- versities, local community colleges, professional associations and com- munity organizations can be excellent recruiting sources for diverse talent. This would require recruiting teams to step out of the comfort of their familiar recruiting strategies. Require a diverse slate before hiring Before any position is filled, chal- lenge your team to always present a diverse slate of candidates. This will require proper planning to anticipate hiring needs and keeping your network of strategic partners warm so they can advocate when an urgent hire is required. Karen Hinds is the founder/CEO of Workplace Success Group in Waterbury and author of five books. Karen Hinds PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

• Cover