Establishing a People-Centered Workplace: A Three-Phase Model for DEIB Success

Our DEIB consulting firm partnered with a major utility company to establish a comprehensive DEIB initiative with a focus on creating a culture of respect and inclusivity for all employees. Working with the executive leadership team, we utilized a three-phase model that established behavioral and structural changes over time, allowing for annual evaluations and the opportunity for the company to decide if they wanted to continue collaborating with our firm.

Phase 1 involved executive education and employee data collection.

Phase 2 included designing and delivering an inclusion survey across the organization, conducting focus group interviews, and assessing policies, systems, and processes. Through this research, we identified actionable data regarding the company's cultural strengths and opportunities and collaborated with them to establish organization-wide recommendations and strategies for building a people-centered workplace and creating a culture of respect. Phase 2 also included providing comprehensive DEI education across the entire workforce.

Phase 3 involved the development of a core council that included leaders and employees from various departments, replacing the traditional DEI council. The CEO became the initial sponsor for the council and attended all meetings as a participant. This phase also included coaching and education for supervisors, managers, directors, and vice presidents.

The company now has diverse representation across all levels of the organization and has made significant strides toward establishing targets for diverse representation across all levels of leadership. All leaders have established individual leadership and DEI plans for themselves and their departments, which require identifying commitments, actions, and results and are shared across the organization. The company is also tracking numerous positive impacts on their business, decision-making, and results, with employees and managers at all levels utilizing specific skills learned from training and applying them daily to improve the culture.

This initiative has also fostered a strong relationship between the union and management, with strategies implemented through this initiative also being applied within the company's regular business practices.

Our partnership with this major utility company has successfully established a comprehensive DEIB initiative that has yielded numerous positive results, including a more diverse and inclusive workplace and improved relationships between union and management.