4 ways to support Black employees with your culture and benefits

Of our 12 federal holidays in the US, Juneteenth is both the oldest and the newest. While Juneteenth just became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021, it was first celebrated in Texas on June 19, 1865, when the state’s enslaved Black people found out they were now free — a full four years before Congress granted paid time for New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. 

Many companies have since organized official celebrations for this marker of Black emancipation. While this is all a positive step for our wider culture, companies can incorporate the spirit of Juneteenth even deeper into the DNA in their organization — better supporting Black employees (and a diverse workforce) year-round.

It’s imperative that an organization’s everyday actions match its words on Juneteenth. And workplace benefits are one area where the rubber meets the road on equity and inclusion, giving employers a golden opportunity to walk the talk. 

Read more: Employers consider making Juneteenth a paid holiday, as employees demand action on DEI efforts

Here are four tangible ways you can bring the Juneteenth spirit into your daily company culture, benefits administration, and employee interactions:

1. Include people of color in Juneteenth discussions and planning, but don’t put all the burden on your diverse employees.
While it may be a “new” holiday to the federal government, your company, and some of your workforce, it’s important to understand that Juneteenth has been celebrated among the Black community for a long time. So, make sure to keep the Black community front and center in all your company’s efforts to commemorate this historically and culturally significant day. 

Include Black employees and community leaders in discussions around preparation, communications, and plans for Juneteenth. Start a dialogue about company culture, benefits, and any unmet needs, and remain open to feedback. However, it’s important that you don’t put an undue burden on individuals from diverse backgrounds to plan and host events. Allies can come up with ideas to support and welcome their feedback. Make it possible for employees at all levels of your organization to participate in any celebrations or observances for the day, whether that means remoting into a virtual event or taking the day for more personal observances. 

2. Educate, educate, educate.
Being an ally begins with learning. For example, did you know that the typical white family has eight times the wealth of the typical Black family? Or that white households in the US own 83.9% of the country’s wealth, while Black households hold only 4.1%? Wages play a role in this disparity, with Black households earning just 61 cents to the dollar compared to White households. And this isn’t set to change very quickly, since according to Coqual, Black professionals in the US hold just 3.2% of senior leadership roles at large companies and only represent less than 1% of all Fortune 500 CEOs.

Read more: Black employees aren’t impressed by DE&I efforts

Awareness of these persistent disparities is a first step in powering up your internal discussions around how to make benefits, compensation, hiring, and promotions practices support DE&I goals. Education begins behind the scenes so that your leadership, HR, and benefits decision-makers are aligned. Then, collect workforce-specific data on employee participation through your partnerships with financial wellness, health and retirement benefits providers, to make more informed policy and benefits decisions.

Then, apply those learnings to a broader base. Many communities that have experienced chronic financial insecurity might have had less exposure or experience with workplace benefits or financial planning. Use your company data to understand how to target your benefits education campaigns for various constituencies — like Black and BIPOC employees — to help individuals identify opportunities for better utilization and planning. 

3. Launch a financial wellness program, if you haven’t already.
A 2019 report from the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center found that Black Americans’ are behind their White counterparts in terms of financial wellness and literacy in personal finance topics. Inclusive benefits plan design that incorporates a financial wellness program can help get life-changing solutions to the employees who need it most in need. 

Read more: Glassdoor rates the best companies for Black employees

Involve BIPOC employees in the decision-making process, and make sure your benefits offer them access to wealth-building channels like retirement accounts, financial advice, or even equity compensation. In fact, we’re seeing a trend of more companies offering equity programs to employees at all levels, rather than executives. And to help personalize your benefits for different employee groups, you might consider offering the services of a financial counselor or Financial Advisor who can meet with them individually to discuss specific goals and questions. 

4. Focus on engagement.
Access to thoughtful benefits is only one side of the story. Employees also need to be aware, engaged, and supported in accessing and utilizing their benefits. Your financial wellness program should include training opportunities for employees who may be underinvesting in their benefits, which can help them develop financial competence for short- and long-needs and increase their overall participation and satisfaction.

Engage with diverse employees through employee resource groups, planned benefits communications, and intuitive digital experiences to make sure they can tap into the full value of the benefits on offer. Use inclusive and nonbiased language. Host events like benefits education weeks, vendor fairs, health competitions, personalized communications, or friendly games and competitions between teams to get employees excited about what you have available for them. 

Always on
Harvard Business Review recently noted that Juneteenth should be honored as a “day on, not a day off.” This means that employees — both people of color and allies — can all find a way to participate and support the community, but it behooves employers to lead by example. 

Taking these steps to create a more educated, aware, engaged, and intentional workplace culture and benefits experience is a powerful step. A thoughtfully integrated Juneteenth spirit can help improve the employee experience for your diverse workforce and also to position your company for a stronger competitive advantage and brand perception as a truly welcoming and inclusive place to be.