October Program Recap: Moving Past The Initiative and Into Practice
Posted by Communications on Oct. 15, 2021 / Program Recap / Subscribe 0
Last year was tiring, upsetting, and almost discouraging. Not only did we feel the wrath of a pandemic, we were faced with some heavy social issues. The issues I am speaking about: diversity, equity, and inclusion.
I think most people can agree that everyone deserves a fair chance, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, beliefs, or socio-economic class and that diversity is an important aspect for organizations, companies, and schools, along with all other establishments. Though the issue at hand lies much deeper. We have to start moving past the initiative and into practice.
For our October program, SMPS Research Triangle had the privilege of hearing from Kurt Merriweather, VP of Innovation at The Diversity Movement and a Certified Diversity Executive. Kurt's message encouraged us to not only realize the importance of diversity in the workplace, but also to understand how to have these difficult conversations with coworkers and leaders.
What Makes Us Diverse?
Diversity isn't defined specifically by race, it means a lot of different things. There are inherent diversity traits and acquired diversity traits. Inherent traits are physical (race, gender, age, etc). Acquired traits are those that are not visible physically (beliefs, culture, mental health, personal habits, etc). It is important that employers not only take DEI seriously, but they do it genuinely. Any company can change their social media profile picture or create a social media post to act as if they are in solidarity with a movement—it's more than that, it's about the programs, councils, committees, and other practices being implemented.
DEI From The Business Perspective. Why is DEI important for companies?
When a company considers DEI a “must have,” profits can increase by 19% due to management team diversity; better decisions are made 87% of the time because of inclusive decision-making; and 33% of consumers will pay more for sustainable products. Diversity makes you smarter. Being around the same people creates blind spots that you may not even realize. Diversity enables error detection and allows room for new ideas to generate. Organizations that are able to innovate, ultimately lift brand perceptions.
Approximately 76% of job seekers consider DEI when evaluating job offers and companies. The reason—individuals are finding social justice and a fair and safe work environment to be more important than a paycheck. Roughly 52% of job seekers also want to work for organizations with supplier DEI programs. Customers aware of supplier diversity lifts brand perception on DEI an average of 25% to 70%. As marketers, we should encourage partnering with diverse suppliers to serve emerging team demographics and improve service levels, not simply because an RFP asks for it. Creating a diverse team only benefits everyone. It is more than a checkbox.
Multicultural Marketing
Multicultural marketing allows us to reach outside of our target audience and make a good and lasting impression. I think it's important to note that having a diverse team will only reach a wider audience—ultimately building your reputation.
Conversation Ground Rules
After attending this program, I think people not only appreciated and agreed with what was being said, and yet we wondered HOW to have these conversations with leadership on implementing more diversity in the workplace. Kurt offered these tips:
- Engage in dialogue, not debate
- Be open and willing to make mistakes
- Embrace the power of humble listening
- Hold yourself accountable for demonstrating humility
The underrepresentation of minorities is not going away overnight. It is a much larger problem than a simple law can fix. We have to be transparent about what we want and set benchmarks and goals for where we want to be.
The October program was filled with information and conversation. One of the most important things to remember—we have to build multicultural and multigenerational teams to have a successful organization. We need to create a team that supports people of all backgrounds, not because we have to and not because that is what is good economically, but because we want to. Genuine thoughts and actions are the only way we can solve anything.
Jenna Lackey, Marketing Coordinator
ClarkNexsen
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