Checkr has taken a number of measures over the past year to improve inclusivity. One example that stands out is the implementation of our comprehensive diversity and inclusion training program for all our employees. Recognizing that systemic change starts with education, we partnered with experts in the field to develop a curriculum that not only addresses unconscious bias but also highlights the importance of diverse perspectives and cultural competence in our everyday interactions. The training was designed to be interactive and continuous, rather than a one-time event, allowing for ongoing dialogue and learning. We also established clear goals and accountability measures to ensure that what we learned from the training is incorporated into our everyday operations and decision-making processes. This shift in training and development has fostered a more inclusive culture within our organization, where every employee feels valued, understood, and empowered.
In the past year, our organization has made an effort to improve inclusivity through enhancing its approach to diversity and inclusion training. As an uncommon example, we have created employee resource groups (ERGs) that provide a safe space for employees based on their identity or shared experiences. These ERGs serve as proactive networks allowing members to build communities, collaborate professionally, and work together on initiatives to promote inclusivity across the organization. This assists our organization in understanding different points of view beyond what is commonly experienced and helps ensure everyone is respected at all times.
As part of Ferrara's commitment to wellness, we addressed employee feedback on increased meetings and pandemic-related burnout. We emphasized the importance of small actions to reduce meeting frequency and duration, easing stress for all. To support this, we regularly send calendar blocks to allow for "meeting audits." During audits, employees review upcoming meetings using our Meeting Decision Tree tool to assess necessity. We also reiterated that meetings must occur only within core business hours (9:00 am - 4:00 pm) to ensure a reasonable work-life balance and family time in the evenings. Our new resources promote brain breaks, fostering positive and collaborative meeting environments, empowering others, and encouraging innovative problem-solving. Additionally, we designated Friday afternoons as meeting-free, enabling creativity, catching up on work, and preparing for the week ahead.
One action we took in the past year to enhance diversity and promote inclusion within our organization was to mix up our teams. We recognized the value of diverse perspectives and experiences in driving innovation and fostering a more inclusive work environment. To implement this change, we initiated a deliberate effort to reconfigure team compositions across various departments and projects. We sought to create teams that were more representative of our workforce's diverse backgrounds, including factors such as gender, ethnicity, age, and skill sets. By intentionally mixing up teams, we aimed to break down silos, encourage collaboration, and promote cross-pollination of ideas. We believed that by bringing together individuals with different perspectives, expertise, and life experiences, we would be able to harness the collective intelligence and creativity of our workforce.
Though our industry is traditionally paid through commission only, we’ve adopted a base salary plus a performance bonus. While we feel it gives employees better financial security and peace of mind, we also feel that it helps ensure our clients receive the best impartial advice from every agent. It’s also a move that promotes better inclusivity. Since sponsorship and mentorship are integral parts of mobility for people of color and diverse teammates, commission can derail those team relationships and breed a culture of competition that only further divides the gap. We encourage our team to collaborate over performance metrics to help achieve team cohesion and move us collectively toward our DEIB goals.
Raising awareness about inclusivity is vital to have a more inclusivem understanding and welcoming culture and organization. It’s not always easy to understand the difficulties that other people face, especially when difficulties are not visible. That’s why we have started to share employee stories where they explain the struggles and the difficulties they face, offer advice and tips on how peers can be more helpful and answer any questions from employees. By sharing employee experiences, it helps build strongr bonds, spread empathy and a positive inclusive environment.
We've done a lot of work in the last year on mental health and making our workplace a safe one for people with any kind of neurological difference, such as ADHD, dyslexia and autism. One thing we did was to have two of our staff do Mental Health First Aid training. Now, people in the organisation know that they have somewhere to go if they are struggling. It's been so successful we've decided to train more MH First Aiders this year.
In the past year, we have decided to take a closer look at the way we write our job offers. We always made sure they are inviting, clear, concise and accurate, but now it was time to take a deeper dive; all in the hope of increasing diversity among candidates. The results are visible with bare eyes, and I am super happy to look at our diverse teams and know that as little as some phrasing changes might have made their joining us a lot easier. Here's what we looked for when we were fixing the job ads: first, we made sure the language was really gender-neutral. Then, we highlighted the importance of skills, making it clear that it is the decisive factor in our hiring decisions. We made everything in our power to avoid listing any requirements that weren't absolutely necessary: you never know when you're unnecessarily excluding people by adding such demands. Finally, we reviewed job titles and descriptions in order to ensure they are inclusive and free of biased language.
We created a mentorship program to help connect underrepresented employees with leaders and senior employees. The mentors act as champions for their mentees in the workplace and help them find opportunities for growth, development, and have better access to be considered for promotions. The mentors are able to both speak up for their mentees and teach them how to speak up and advocate for themselves to ensure that they have a voice in the workplace.
We Changed our policies to improve inclusivity within the company. The new policies are highly inclusive and eliminates any sort of bias. Now we have employees from all over the world and ethnic backgrounds and the policies are all the same for everyone in the company. To ensure that as many people as possible have access to opportunities in our company, it is our responsibility to make sure that we are welcoming to everyone no matter their background. It’s also very helpful for us to verify the existence and currency of our company's inclusion policies.
ERGs (employee resource groups) provide employees with a place to connect with colleagues who share similar interests. This promotes inclusivity because it makes it easier for employees to find spaces where they feel like they belong and are fully accepted in the workplace. ERGs are also a great way for employees to make connections outside of their immediate teams, which helps to promote inclusion by breaking down some of the team siloes that can form within a workplace.
Our organization recently adopted a policy of providing flexible work arrangements, such as remote work, job-sharing, and compressed work weeks, to better accommodate employees' individual needs and help create an inclusive workplace. This has enabled our employees to better manage their work-life balance and participate more fully in the work.
We have felt a positive shift in our organization after improving work policies. It takes into account inclusion by giving all employees equal opportunities and diversifying the hiring process. It has allowed employees to feel empowered and given everyone a platform to speak out.
At our organization, we recently created a Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Working Group. The group is made up of volunteer employees from all departments and levels within the organization and is focused on creating more inclusive practices in the workplace. This working group meets regularly to discuss topics such as employee recruitment, job role descriptions, training, communication styles and other areas that can improve the inclusivity of the organization. We also have implemented a number of changes to our hiring practices and job descriptions that focus on seeking out diverse candidates with varied backgrounds and experiences. Through these initiatives, we hope to foster an environment where everyone feels valued, respected and included within our organization.
One example of something our organization changed in the past year to improve inclusivity within the organization is the creation of an Inclusion Action Plan. The Inclusion Action Plan was created to provide for better communication, increase diversity in leadership roles, and promote a respectful and open corporate culture. Some of the new initiatives that were included in the plan included a new recruitment policy to target a diverse pool of candidates, a newly established diversity and inclusion committee, and an annual employee census to better assess the disparities in experience within the organization.
The introduction of required diversity and inclusion training for all staff was one key shift we made. We are fully aware of the significance of fostering an environment at work where everyone is valued, respected, and heard. We concentrated on tackling unconscious bias, improving cultural awareness, and establishing an inclusive corporate atmosphere through interesting workshops and seminars. Our objectives were to increase understanding, promote empathy, and promote polite interactions among the members of our team. We firmly think that by valuing diversity and encouraging inclusivity, we can create a more robust, caring organization where each person may flourish.
To enhance inclusivity within our organization, we introduced an advanced initiative focused on cultivating inclusive leadership through intersectionality training for managers. Recognizing the complex and interconnected nature of individuals' identities and experiences, this training equips managers with the knowledge and tools to navigate and appreciate the diverse perspectives of their team members. The training covers topics such as unconscious bias, privilege, and fostering an inclusive work environment. It encourages managers to recognize and address the unique challenges faced by individuals with intersecting identities. By promoting empathy, understanding, and proactive inclusion strategies, this initiative has fostered a culture of respect, belonging, and equal opportunity. Feedback from participants indicates increased awareness, improved communication, and a stronger commitment to championing inclusivity across the organization.
For the majority of businesses, inclusion has become a crucial mission. Teams that are more inclusive are more engaged, productive, and profitable for the businesses that build them. Asking the managers and team leads to share more information about the work they do is one change that has taken place in the company to demonstrate greater inclusivity. This will build understanding among the team and help them understand the work when they reach that level. Incorporating the people would help them understand the work at a higher level and help lessen the burden on the top people. This change leads to an increase in productivity, which in turn leads to greater profit for the company.
At our organization we launched several initiatives to increase inclusivity in the past year. For example, we created an employee resource group specifically for marginalized groups within our workforce, which provides a safe and supportive space for employees to share their experiences and provide feedback to management. We also recently implemented a diversity training program to ensure all employees had the necessary skills to interact with coworkers from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Finally, we adopted a comprehensive anti-discrimination policy that applies to all aspects of our work including recruitment, hiring, and retention.
In the previous year, we implemented a unique approach to enhance inclusivity: an anonymous feedback system. We introduced an internal platform where employees could freely share their ideas, concerns, and suggestions without revealing their identities. This mechanism encouraged open and honest communication, creating a safe space for individuals who may have felt hesitant to speak up directly. We carefully reviewed the suggestions received, taking them into consideration to identify areas for improvement and implement appropriate actions. This initiative allowed us to gather valuable insights from our diverse workforce, driving positive changes toward a more inclusive environment. By valuing and incorporating every employee's input, we fostered a culture that prioritized inclusivity, openness, and continuous improvement.