Starting the Conversation

"We are greater than, and greater for, the sum of us."
— Heather McGhee

Creating a workspace where all voices are heard, respected, and safe is a journey. Here are five steps that you as an employer can initiate to help your organization become more Culture-Friendly.

1. Define Success
   The Culture-Friendly transformation journey begins with a solid foundation in education, stakeholder engagement, and strategy development. Start by establishing a baseline of understanding, ensuring leadership and employees are on the same page. Key stakeholders should receive training to build skills and knowledge that enable them to lead effectively and foster a workplace where everyone can thrive.
2. Assess Current Workplace Culture
   When starting a Culture-Friendly journey, it's important to first assess the current environment. Select specialized tools to gather anonymous input from leadership, employees, and managers to provide a comprehensive overview that facilitates individual and organizational growth. Analyze the results to identify strengths and areas for improvement ensuring targeted and effective strategies.
3. Audit Results
   Using the data gathered in step 2, audit the results to identify gaps between your current environment and your Culture-Friendly goals. Integrate processes such as auditing recruitment, onboarding, and retention practices to include a wide variety of experiences. Prioritize your objectives and create strategies to achieve them, ensuring a measured approach to continuous improvement.
4. Implement Action
   Step 4 is about implementing the Culture-Friendly strategies developed in step 3. Target training and coaching to build the skills and knowledge needed to advance this work, covering topics like implicit bias and microaggressions. Senior leadership should receive direct coaching on effectively leading initiatives to ensure they are guiding the organization with confidence and insight. Be sure to include any Board of Directors or similar management groups in focused leadership development training.
5. Follow Up
   You've done excellent work through steps 1 to 4. In step 5. Now reassess your organization's progress to ensure continuous improvement using the same assessment tool(s) as in step 2. Identify areas of strength and need, creating new strategies to sustain and elevate your Culture-Friendly initiatives. This phase may include creating formal policies, forming a dedicated committee, conducting audits, ongoing consulting, training new hires, and executive coaching for new leaders.

There is a wealth of resources available to guide you along this valuable journey. See the links below for some ways to start and continue the conversation.