Educate: Purposeful Integration of IDEA Awareness and Resources
Challenge
We understood the need for a solid foundation of knowledge and resources at Sun to ensure our team members use similar language with a shared understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Actions
Company-Wide IDEA Training
After recognizing Sun’s team members were at various stages of their IDEA learning journey, we brought in Gary Abernathy, an expert in the field. He conducted live Zoom training sessions covering key topics like diversity, equity, inclusion, racism, allyship, and unconscious bias.
Pronoun Video
Sun embraces diversity is through valuing and respecting everyone's gender identity. To achieve this, we encourage the correct use of an individual’s preferred pronouns. An internal training video was developed to educate team members about pronouns, the importance of addressing others correctly, and applying to real-life scenarios.
Information was also shared regarding pronoun display preferences in applications like email signatures, Zoom displays, and internal profiles found within Sun’s intranet.
Global Resources
We also supply a library of resources in Global Awareness, which is housed within Sun’s intranet and regularly updated. These resources provide an avenue to better educate ourselves during our IDEA journey, and include articles, videos, podcasts, books, and websites.
Onboarding Course – Incorporating IDEA
Sun’s onboarding process includes a 90-minute class introducing new team members to our company culture. This introduction includes our mission and vision, core success attributes, customer service commitment, Fair Housing Act, following the golden rule, practicing inclusion, visible and invisible diversity, equity, access, allyship, harassment, general safety, heat illness, timekeeping, and professional appearance.
Outcomes
Incorporating Sun’s foundational DEI topics to our onboarding process allows us to reach 100% of our team members within their first day of employment. This establishes an awareness of how our team members can demonstrate inclusivity, providing the tools and resources needed to educate on the elimination of bias and discriminatory behavior.
Quote
Since the start of this quarantine we have been repeatedly confronted with this concept of the “new normal” – what will life look like after the Coronavirus? We find ourselves at a critical juncture as a society, and the “new normal” that really matters has nothing to do with what our office seating arrangements might look like or how we may travel. I believe the “new normal” needs to be focused on creating a more equitable society that is void of injustices. I look forward to working with you to transform our commitment into reality.