Connecting the Northwestern Mutual workforce with the Milwaukee community is critical to our diversity and inclusion efforts and employee engagement initiatives.

Our Community Conversations provides an in-person forum for our workforce to hear from thought leaders in our region about important and challenging issues facing our community. Goals of Community Conversations include: bring in external speakers to build awareness about community topics, elevate dialogue, show how our company is working to make a difference, and invite employee involvement.

Our Employee Resource Groups have been instrumental in identifying and shaping ranging from public education and inner-city issues to economic development and timely political matters.

The conversational approach typically features a dialogue with two to three outside experts and audience Q & A. Employees join the conversation, ask questions, and are encouraged to get involved – through volunteerism or other ways. All Community Conversations are recorded and available for replay for employees.

A sampling of hard-hitting topics includes:

• Milwaukee Neighborhoods Initiative – our first Community Conversation featured Milwaukee’s mayor and a nonprofit leader and explored challenges facing three distressed neighborhoods and how our company and employees are helping to advance sustainable change
• The Future of Education, the Future of Milwaukee – featuring Milwaukee Public School superintendent and focused changes, challenges and opportunities of public education
• Women Moving Milwaukee Forward – showcasing female leaders who are influencing and advancing Milwaukee
• Making a Difference for Milwaukee’s Veterans - discussing issues military veterans face and southeastern Wisconsin resources to help vets, especially those who are homeless

Outcomes for this forum include:

• Deeper awareness-building and connection between our workforce and our community with an “outside-in” point of view
• Encouragement to expand understanding, involvement, and volunteerism among employees
• ERG partnership with identifying topical programming
• In-person participation and dialogue, online replay, and ongoing dialogue

Autumn Latimore