Case Study

Internal D+I Efforts

Over the past two years, Fresh Consulting (formerly Uncorked Studios) has been investing internally to address their own diversity and inclusion needs. Above and beyond the official Diversity Pledge activities, the team has instituted monthly diversity and inclusion discussions. They have committed to sending their staff members to outside seminars and forums on these topics; they have established an internal diversity and inclusion Slack channel; and, for the past year, they have undergone a review and redrafting of their HR standards.

The HR standard review, with the goal of weeding out and addressing unconsciously biased language in their recruitment letters, job descriptions, and other materials that affect personnel, required a year of planning, drafting, and oversight.

This company has made it their goal to reflect diversity of experience, perspective and point-of-view not only within their team but also to the clientele they serve. The company is working to craft a more inclusive, effective and collaborative culture.

Key Takeaways

• Committing to diversity and inclusion requires that companies must perform internal work in addition to participating as a member of the larger Diversity Pledge group.
• Unconscious bias is an issue in every company, regardless of where it is on the diversity spectrum. This issue must be addressed individually and internally, and companies must remain mindful that this is an iterative process.
• Creating an inclusive environment is a precursor to finding the diverse talent that companies desire. Hiring and retention become much more challenging if inclusion groundwork has not been laid ahead of time.
• Holding digital space to discuss diversity and inclusion is a successful strategy that can be easily implemented by the Diversity Pledge companies.