Flexability | Global Consulting Franchise

Equity and inclusion efforts are unique to each client’s needs. We build programs with everyone in mind, not just a single segment of any one demographic. The Flexability Team devises strategies that consider the broad views, concerns, and ideas of the client. We believe in collaboratively and compassionately getting people to “row in the right direction.” Building upon this coordinated effort is the difference between equity and inclusion success and failure. In collaboration with the leadership team, we often develop a multi-year strategic plan that outlines equity and inclusion priorities, company initiatives, and best practices and processes, for execution of the plan to achieve the goals.

The client wanted to address the social issues raised by the series of tragedies for black men and women, culminating with the George Floyd murder. The leadership was and is confident in their core values and had high levels of trust and accountability within the organization. The leadership decided not to issue a public statement about the Black Lives Matter movement. The company mostly identified as white, male, upper middle class, Christian, Midwesterners with talented women leaders inoperational roles. An in-house survey indicated a willingness to learn about diversity coupled with a company-wide hesitation to address race issues directly. Company leaders were uncomfortable with the vocabulary of racism, antisemitism, sexism, and anti-ableism and, thus, were unsure of how to start their equity and inclusion journey.

We listened by holding a series of conversations with the COO and the HR manager to determine the commitment to social justice and the willingness to create an equitable and inclusive workplace for all. We describe this conversation as “understanding the power of other.” We aligned through training sessions for the Board of Directors and for the Senior Leadership Team because “as goes the 2 leadership team, so goes the rest of the organization.” These trainings included the main topics of our foundation training without the breakout or personal discovery exercises. Passing this first milestone, we now conduct training for all employees on an annual basis.

We delivered four educational workshops to spotlight equity and inclusion concepts to bolster the open, honest leadership style with equity and inclusion practices. Departments and teams used the workshops as foundations for devising their 3-year diversity strategies and goals.