Black Lives Matter Listening Session
Challenge
Following the unconscionable death of George Floyd, Radial leadership made a commitment to validate the voices of our African American and Black team members—and all our diverse communities. In a message from our CEO to all employees, we asked employees to lend their critical voice to the conversation. Providing the opportunity for our most senior leaders to hear our employee’s voice was a key critical first step in meeting our commitment.
Actions
Radial created this opportunity in the form of listening sessions for a select group of our Black employees to share their personal and professional experiences with members of our executive team. Over 4 sessions, 28 employees, openly and confidentiality, met with 2-3 leaders in each session to be heard. The sessions provided a unique experience at Radial for employees at all levels to have a candid conversation in a safe forum.
Outcomes
Employees that participated shared a sense of value and connection with leadership that was a new experience for them at Radial. Our senior leaders expressed gratitude and humility for the experience. The BLM listening session was a pivotal moment that led to a formalized DE&I journey at Radial.
Quotes
With the events in 2020 and a lot of things going on around social injustice, there is lot more focus on DE&I. Communication and education are key. A lot of organizations—ours included—have been prioritizing conversations, listening sessions, and putting together employee resource sessions as a key source of feedback. It’s critical to understand perspectives and hear what some of those exclusionary activities are so that we can address them. This takes more than organic action, but rather deliberate and conscious steps like education programs and an intentional focus on diversity hiring.