DE&I -- The Long View

For CHROs from the world’s leading organizations, 2020 has been a year of pivoting from one urgent priority to the next. HR leaders started the year in a critical role focused on the pandemic, employee health and safety, a remote workforce, and the economic consequences for their companies. Then, a worldwide movement to fight racial injustice presented both a challenge and an opportunity for HR teams and their organizations.

The challenge for HR leaders was to respond to current events in a timely, appropriate way that reflected their employee needs and corporate values. Conversations about racial injustice also thrust their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to the forefront, providing CHROs with the opportunity to drive real and lasting change in their organizations.

One key theme that has emerged in recent discussions is what longer-term actions are needed to make a difference both in the workforce and general community. Here’s what CHRO leaders across Evanta’s communities had to say:

Community Voices

First, it’s important to review your policies and practices and address the ones that could be creating more inequities. Second, commit to diversifying your C-suite — change starts at the top, and ensure the BIPOC leaders have real power to recommend changes that would make your company more equitable. Third, complete a study on and address pay equity. Fourth, tie the DEI goals to the compensation and bonuses to keep leaders accountable. Fifth, invest in the community, support social justice organizations and use your business as a force for good.

Elizabeth Adefioye
Chicago CHRO Community

We regularly remind our teams (and will continue to do so) that organizations are made up of people, who are capable of bringing their own biases into the workplace. While we cannot (and don’t want to) control what people think and believe, we can and should set expectations of how they behave, and will continue to hold them accountable if their behavior is inconsistent with our values, standards, and expectations.

Fran Coady
Philadelphia CHRO Community

We’re focused on building leadership capabilities, beginning with our C-Suite Executive Leadership Team. As an action to demonstrate our commitment to creating a more equitable workplace, we’ve prioritized a plan to evaluate and update Concentrix policies with a bias and equity lens. We’ve hired employees to have a focus on building the strategy around workforce equity. We are on track to launch a multi-year racial equity strategy.

Kim Sullivan
San Francisco CHRO Community