Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

This is one of my favorite topics!! I really love getting to know employees and implementing total reward packages and incentives that represent their motivations and the inclusiveness of a team. This, coupled with the other People Programs I have outlined, will create a positive culture that employees enjoy participating in. See some examples below.

Inclusion prior to hire date

That first day at the new job is SO intimidating!! Companies should do everything they can to make a new hire feel included and accepted before even starting. The picture is an example of a new hire package I established for all new employees. They were to receive this package no later than a week after signing their offer letter. This ensured they got it prior to starting and had all the right swag to fit in on their first day.

Celebrate the small wins!

Employees need to have their own language of celebration. The way I approached this idea was to let them vote on pin ideas that represented different achievements. When they hit these milestones, they received the pin in a "pinning ceremony."

For example, each year they were with the company, they received a specific color of pin with the company logo. Another example was for the employees that accomplished "senior" status; they would get a Yoda pin because they had mastered their craft.

Connection through common goals...

Each year I was in charge of our company holiday gift. One year we were allotted a good-sized budget and wanted to do something that would connect the employees. I thought it was important to create a commonality that would connect us through the following year, especially with most of our workforce being remote. I suggested we get everyone a smartwatch of their choice (within the budget) and focus the coming year on employee wellness. The watches were not only a cool gift but also allowed us to do step challenges, run marathons together, do relay races with teams across the country, etc. We were also able to send "get up from your desk" notifications, focus on heart rate along with heart-healthy week, encourage everyone to update medical tags on their watches, and do other fun wellness activities.

Connections outside of the job

Connection is easy when there are commonalities... but it's discovering what those are that can be difficult at work (especially in a remote workforce). Sometimes it takes a little encouragement or the planting of seeds, but once the connection is found, it takes off!

One of my favorites initiatives I have done in the past was a slack channel where everyone could share pictures of their pets. We had a large group of employees that loved their pets, and everyone loved to share posts about their pets. To further connect everyone, we decided to do a "who looks most like their pet" contest (with some great prizes), as it is said that people often look like their pets. This simple contest was so much fun and received a lot of participation from everyone.

*the picture was not taken from the contest, it's one from google :)