Flagship has always embraced diversity in our workforce - but we, along with the rest of the country, were motivated to do more in light of the events in the summer of 2020 that led to nationwide protests in support of black Americans.
Challenge
We wanted our employees to drive any changes we make - so we convened a diverse group, pulled from all areas of the company - and formed our Inclusion and Diversity Employee Action Group - otherwise known as the IDEA Group.
We asked them to go out into their work sites and talk to other employees about their reactions to the events of the summer, their experience of diversity in Flagship and their ideas for how the company could better support them at work and even at home.
Initial Solutions
The IDEA Group took those concepts and over several meetings refined them into a formal Inclusion & Diversity platform that encompassed the entirety of the organization, from the CEO to our superior front line employees:
- Implementing Diversity & Inclusion training at all levels of the company.
- Adding Inclusion to our list of core values and building a communication program around it to ensure that it remains a focus for us.
- Creating new employee programs, charitable contributions and opportunities to volunteer with non-profits and other organizations to advance diversity and inclusion in our communities.
- Developing Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) led by employees who want to connect with their colleagues that have common interests, bonds or backgrounds.
- Following a multicultural calendar for recognizing and celebrating a broad range of cultural holidays and other days of importance.
- Creation of a new web platform, idea.flagshipinc.com. The IDEA Blog will share news, accomplishments, milestones and highlights of our amazing employees through their unique voices, experiences and stories.
This is just the beginning for the IDEA Group and Flagship. Watch this space as we grow our commitment to inclusion and diversity throughout this amazing company.
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