Learning Objectives:
- Understand how different generations define DEI and tailor company benefits to appeal to diverse demographic groups.
- Guild Education's DEI Benefits Assessment and Annual ERG Listening Sessions helped the company target support for parents, young professionals, LGBTQ+ community, and other demographic groups to create an inclusive offering.
- Hear findings from the EY US Generation Survey, and learnings from EY's own experience in implementing DEI programs.
Paola Peralta (00:07):
Hello and welcome to today's panel, which is Creating Inclusive Offerings, how to Build an Inclusive Benefits Package. I'm Paolo Peralta, Associate Editor with Employee Benefit News, and I'm joined today by my lovely panelists, Dominique Schroeder, Benefits Program Manager at Education Platform Guild, and Lisa Sanchez, talent leader at business management consultant EY. And so diversity has just been such a heavily talked about topic in the last couple of years, and for companies across the globe, how has the conversation about diversity changed over time and what has it meant for companies both your own and in general?
Lysa Sanchez (00:45):
Well, one of the things that we've learned as we transition over time is that how our employees view diversity is really changing and evolving consistently. If we think about how we defined our benefits and our offerings for very standard non-changing population and contrast that to what we're doing now, that's really been the most telling difference. When we look at the generational differences, often at the last couple of days, we've talked about four, even five generations at workforces, and we think about the different dimensions of diversity that our employees have and our workforce has, and then we add onto that the expectation. There's this expectation of our employees that, and again, it's something we've heard from the sage and as we've networked over the last couple of days, we've heard our employees want to be seen personally and professionally. They don't just want to be seen as you are the people that come to work. So if we appreciate all of the diversity that we have generational, and then add to that, the expectations, that's really just driven a need for us to engage differently as we sit and start thinking about our programs and offerings for benefits.
Dominique Schroeder (02:16):
Yeah, I would a hundred percent agree with that. And I think bringing it back specifically to at Guild and the work that I have done, when I first joined our company in September of 2020, we were a company of 300 fairly young population. We grew over the last three years to a company of 1200. And so when you're adding that many people, you're bringing in so many more diverse thoughts, gender, ages and all of that. And so we really had to look at our programs and say, what are we offering? What were we offering? Then what should we be offering now? And then also as our population continues to grow, what should be looking at in the future in regards to diversity? And so it's definitely been changing not only from a larger macro landscape, but also internally and probably from a micro perspective
Paola Peralta (03:02):
As well. And and I just love that idea that diversity means something different. It's not a monolith, it's different for every company, every person, every demographic. And so how does that influence the way companies address diversity now and how does it influence how we build benefits? How do you go about building benefits with keeping diversity in mind when it's such a change in conversation and recruiting and retention? How do you address all of those things in today's landscape?
Lysa Sanchez (03:27):
So it's interesting, one of the things that we did at EY to address that exact question, right? We go in with a mindset that diversity and inclusion are paramount. For us, it's important. We want that commitment to show in everything that we do. So clearly it needs to show in our benefits and our programs, but then we take a step back and we said, but how are we going to make sure that what we think is important to our diverse workforce is really important? One of the things that we did at EY last year was run a generation survey, and that was a survey of about 3000 white collar professionals across a variety of industries. And what it really intended to do was give us an opportunity to make an informed decision as to what our workforce expected and what our workforce wanted. And the results were very interesting as expected.
(04:28)
There were some similarities, but there were definitely some differences that we needed to adjust to. Again, not surprisingly, one of the similarities that we found is that most employees do really believe that the efforts that their companies are making around DEI are genuine, whether they're effective or not, and there's always work to do, et cetera, that's a different topic. But the mindset was the companies that these individuals work for are taking efforts that are genuine, and that was greatly appreciated. But once you started to double click on the question of DEI and what does it mean to a Gen Z professional? What does it mean to a black professional or to an LGBT professional for example, that's where we started to see some differences. And it was a huge aha moment to realize that when we talk about diversity to our younger generations, to them it is really tangible.
(05:34)
It is how is my company showing up in the community where I live and where I work? Do I have the opportunity to volunteer? Do I have the opportunity to be part of an organization that's making investments in that community? Also, internally, do I have the opportunity to connect via ERGs or professional networks and have the opportunity to engage with people that have the same affinities that I do? When we looked at the data in the survey for black professionals, they view DEI and an organization's investment in DEI as really how that company is looking to advance underrepresented professionals in the industry and whether or not companies are making that investment and taking that extra step, that's what they valued and appreciated. And then the third example I presented that, I'll turn over to you, Dominique was just the LGBT community in the survey. To them what they valued were programs and offerings that demonstrated a true commitment to inclusiveness that allowed them to come to work every day and feel that they could be their true genuine selves. And here we are looking at data across the population between the ages of 18 and 76. So definitely multi-generational and diverse, but everyone applying a different lens to how they really view diversity in their workplace.
Dominique Schroeder (07:11):
I love that. And I think I'm just going to be saying heavy plus a lot today, so excuse me on that. But yeah, I agree. I will say I am lucky to work at a company where DEIBA, so diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and now accessibility is foundational in everything that we do within our own programs. We lead with equity in mind and it's something that we're very intentional about and that we're building for those marginalized groups. And that's really that first piece. And of course we're looking for programs and vendors and policies that have some universal design elements because it should be accessible to all, but really wanting to make sure that we are giving that leg up to those individuals, our BIPOC community, our LGBTQ plus, those that suffer from or have chronic conditions or identify as having a disability. And so that's really core, and I think we're going to talk about it a little bit in just a minute, but some ways that we have done that is actually via A DEI assessment that I'll talk about. But then also the power of just ERG listening sessions and actually just getting that information directly from your employees often has been amazing in a way that we can say we are truly building our programs for you and using your data, not just what's in the market, not just what experts are saying you should be focusing on, but truly tailoring it for our population and what they need.
Paola Peralta (08:40):
And I know that Guild has the DEI assessment, and so kind of walk me through what that is and how that has kind of helped with employee engagement, how that's helped with employee listening and how that's something that companies can roll out themselves or a similar system and that can help them also with their diversity strategies.
Dominique Schroeder (08:55):
So this was something that we really wanted to make sure that we included. We wanted to essentially ensure that our programs were as inclusive as possible, so we were actually still fully insured. And so with that, there are some barriers to be able to access maybe point solutions or adding those in. And so what we did was we actually utilized a lot of just open data available to us. So using HRC and some of those other groups that are looking at inclusion and how you can make your programs better collecting all of that. And we were able to pull together over 150 identified areas in which we were like, this is what we could do to make our programs more inclusive. And we've just been kind of going down that list, talking to our carriers, talking to our vendors to see how can we make sure that we're adding enhanced transgender coverage?
(09:44)
How can we make sure that we are offering the best fertility and family planning benefits that we possibly can? And it's been a lot of really great work, a lot of groundwork to do so. But we're finding that by doing that and explaining to our employees like, Hey, here's the list and here's what we're doing, what's most important to you right now, but maybe what's most important to you in the future? And having that conversation has allowed us to actually put it on our roadmap and to engage those employees in that way. Additionally, using our ERG listening sessions, we actually just completed one. I'm going to give a shout out to Amy who's in the audience right now, who's been a really great support in that. But even if we're maybe not able to bring something right away, we can say, we heard you we're listening and it is on our roadmap.
(10:32)
This is why we're going to wait to do this maybe in the future and not now, but here's what we're doing. And I think a great example of that is that we actually got from our AAPI, so our Asian American specific islander group, the idea of doing float holidays because they were like, Hey, we actually have a lot of holidays that aren't accounted for on the guild holiday calendar, and we would like the opportunity to celebrate with our families and to be able to have that opportunity. And so it was a very simple thing to say, yeah, let's do it. Let's put this category out there. Yes, we're on an open and responsible PTO policy, but we do want you to be able to access this benefit in maybe a different way. And for me as a leader, what I also appreciate about that is if I'm seeing that time being used in our system, I can then go to my leadership and say, Hey, we have a lot of population that's taking this time off.
(11:22)
Why don't we add it to our calendar so it doesn't have to be an additional PTO or float holiday. Something else that we did was extend our bereavement policy. I know they talked about that on the stage yesterday, but we started off with five days. We actually moved it to two weeks so that we could put that out there to say everyone grieves differently. Some people might need to travel to be with family. Some people might have religious pieces that allow for a longer period of time that they need. And then I think the other thing that we realized as well through our listening sessions was actually our legal resources, something that we don't really talk about that much, it's our lowest utilized benefit. And there was a question of should we get rid of this? And after talking to our LGBTQ community and talking to our caregivers, we were like, no, even though it's really low utilized right now, this is going to be one of those impactful benefits later on, and it's there when you need it and not being afraid to have that conversation. So we've been able to use a lot of the data from the DEI assessment and our user listening sessions to really promote the, I really loved what I'm going to say Kenobi and I know that's not his last name said, was that when you're looking at ROI, it's not just investment, it's also individual and it's that impact that something can have. And so that's been really integral in how we've been using the data and being able to use that for our programs in the future.
Paola Peralta (12:43):
And Lisa, I love that you mentioned the survey because that's a lot of statistics that you guys got. And on the talent side, how do you guys make sure that you're using that data? How have you used that data to implement programs and what has that meant on the talent side, the retention side, and the recruiting side for EY?
Lysa Sanchez (12:57):
Yeah, for sure. Dominique, you talked about the employee listening and taking that information and using it for good and honestly whether you do an assessment or a survey or how you get your data, honestly, sometimes it's just important to have your leaders check in with your people. However you are able to engage with your people, make sure they appreciate the culture of care behind what you're trying to do. I think it's extremely powerful from our perspective, having that survey but building not only on the survey but other forms of employee listening throughout our organization really has given us two really huge wins. As I mentioned, the first big win is who doesn't want to be heard? If we think about our employees and we think about the initial, how we kicked off, talking about how things have evolved and changed, it's no longer the standard package that we're going to put together an offer and take it or leave it.
(14:02)
Whether you like it or not, this is what you're getting. Those days are gone, right? We talked about the expectations that our people have. They want to be seen, they want to be heard. It's not just about me showing up to work every day, it's about who I am as a person, how I identify as an individual. So the survey gave us and our other listening tools really give us an opportunity to address that big gap. You are being heard, tell us what works, tell us what doesn't work. And then you have the opportunity to tailor and adjust your offerings, your programs in different ways. Not everything is going to translate into a standard benefit. Not every response that you get is going to translate into a formal program, but certainly you will never lose by listening to your employees and a huge one that we've had.
(14:52)
But the second one that we've had is honestly getting data that tells us how we need to do things differently. And that's not something that's easy. Oftentimes it requires change management, it requires conversations with leaders to understand do we need to keep this benefit? Do we need to turn away from this benefit, augment it, do something different? But at the end of the day, it gives us the opportunity to take action in really meaningful ways versus not having the right data and making decisions hoping it's the right thing and hoping it's the right direction. The opportunity to make key decisions that we know are going to be meaningful to our people, just it's incredible. It's incredible to be able to do that. One example for us, we have as our employees came back to work post pandemic, transitioning from a work from home situation to more of a hybrid or coming into the office more often, we realized that our employees had, we have a younger working population, everyone adopted a pet.
(16:02)
Many had kids at home, younger kids, and it was different. Well now you're asking me to come into the office. What am I going to do with my pet? I need to figure out childcare, I need to figure out transportation, parking, safety, a lot of different very important things that our people were feeling that we needed to address. We felt it wasn't just about saying, well, we're returning to work, see you on Monday, but about we're returning to work. How do we need to adjust our ways of working to make it where it's possible for you to come to work without it being a barrier? So we did augment our benefits to address some of those barriers and there were different for everyone. So one of the things that we did is we allowed a reimbursable benefit to where whether you needed to be reimbursed for transportation or parking or childcare or pet care, pet walking, those were all options available to you and you get reimbursed for those expenses to get you to come back to work.
(17:02)
Well, that was 2021. Now it's two years later. The kids are older, the pets are probably used to being at home and attended a little bit longer. Things have changed. And now what we've implemented through employee listening sessions is our ways of working 2.0 and we're acknowledging that what our people needed as it's not even that long ago, two years ago, is very different than what they're asking for now. And it's giving us the opportunity to tell people, yes, I'm listening to you tell me what works, what doesn't. And then we have the opportunity to implement changes that are truly meaningful and making sure that the investments that we're making are truly the impactful ones.
Dominique Schroeder (17:43):
Can I just add just one thing? I really love what you spoke about and just again about employee listening, and I think there's also an aspect of trust that is brought up when you say, I'm listening, I hear you. I see you. And with that trust, you can do so much and there's just so much power in that. So I just wanted to point on that piece and then also you spoke about how the benefits that you have might change over time and just acknowledging that and living a test and learn mindset. I don't know how many people in here love a good pilot. I know I personally do, and that's kind of how I've been able to implement some different benefits as well is just being like, Hey, we're going to try it out. We're going to see what happens. And if it works, awesome. If it doesn't, well we tried it and now we can say like, Hey, this wasn't the right thing to do, or maybe it didn't have the impact that it would have in the future, so let's hold on to it. Let's see. We'll come back to it later.
Lysa Sanchez (18:42):
That the last thing I'll say, which was your words, and I thought they were so powerful, it was around trusting the data. And I think often when we go into these assessments or listening sessions or surveys, we have preconceived expectations because we know our population, so we have preconceptions as to I just need to validate this, so I'm going to submit the survey to validate it and then we can go in this direction. And honestly, sometimes that's not what the day is going to tell you and it's difficult. It's difficult when you get those results back and you look at it and you say, Hmm, that's not what I thought. But honestly, trust the data, trust the data that you have in front of you because that will continue to build on that trust, which is going to be very important going forward.
Paola Peralta (19:31):
Trust is kind of the perfect segue for this next question, which is how does this concept of employee listening, this concept of being open to change and doing pilots and making sure that you're listening to data, how does that kind of foster engagement, what has been the effect on the engagement you've seen from your employees or from employees across the company, and how much or how has it helped foster a long-term workforce or the confidence that you could probably have a long-term workforce?
Dominique Schroeder (19:59):
Yeah, I'm happy to go first on that one. I will say our employees are not shy about saying what's working, what's not working very loudly and what they would like to see in the future, which I honestly, I appreciate it. We say, I want to hear anything and everything that you can provide me. This is a plan for you by you. I'm going to fu booo it and we are here for you. And so I think by us actively going out into our ERG spaces, actively going into Slack and putting out poly's, putting out an annual benefits survey yearly or annually, that's what it means. I apologize, has really allowed for people to be engaged. And we've actually found that by doing that, not only is it getting feedback, but it's also building awareness a little bit about our benefit programs. A lot of people are like, I completely forgot that we have a caregiving benefit that could help me figure out how to get my 4-year-old to stay in their room and sleep for eight hours until you mentioned it.
(21:02)
And it's actually built a lot of champions for our benefits as well because they're like, Hey, I actually had a direct impact in bringing this to guild. I think an example that I have is that we recently are offering enhanced transgender coverage, and it was literally because we had two employees who are like, our programs honestly suck. It's really hard to get the care that I need and to access that because a lot of them are saying that this is cosmetic and it's really not. This is what I need to be my true, authentic self. What can you do? And we were able to take that and work with our carrier to say, this is what we want. How can you get this for us? And in those conversations, we built a champion who is now talking in our GSD, so our Gender, Sexuality, Diversity, ERG, and promoting this and saying, this is a thing. This is what you can do. We have them actually helping us with our LGBTQ plus guide and how we talk about this to candidates and bringing them into guild. And so just the fact that we offered this avenue for them to share their experience has made them an advocate for this benefit and for the company.
Paola Peralta (22:12):
That's awesome.
Lysa Sanchez (22:16):
When I think about retention, right, and how our employees really look at the firm and appreciate the benefits and the offerings that we provide, it really goes back to the current climate. The social issues are everywhere. It's unavoidable. And the expectation we found in our survey, the data showed that there is an expectation by our employees that there's going to be an alignment between what a company believes and what they stand for and their employees. And long gone are the days where there is these four walls that are the organization and what happens in there stays in there. And we ignore what happens outside and our employees will notice. Employees now notice and they want clarity on a stand, and that impacts their decision to stay or leave an organization. So that's very important. Then as we take that knowledge and then talk about some of the additional offerings that we have, one of them, again, kind of following the trend of social issues, mental health, 10, 15 years ago, I don't know that it was a topic that we were so committed to addressing as a community.
(23:42)
Now it is. And one of the benefits we've offered in recognition of the challenges, mental health challenges for all professionals, for all people around EY assist, and it's really our umbrella term for our employee assistance program. But underneath that umbrella is a benefit where we offer 25 no cost counseling or coaching mental health services to our employee and every single person in their household. And that was critical because we had to make the connection to these social issues that were very important, but also acknowledge the fact that our people are at their best when everyone in their home is at their best. And we couldn't just care for the individual. We also wanted to care for those surrounding the individual. That's one of our benefits that's really driven that mindset of EY cares not only for me, but all of me, including my mom, my sister-in-Law. Again, everyone that lives in that household, whoever they are, they have that benefit as well. And that's driven retention in a huge way because it matters. It really takes that culture of care and doing the right thing because we know it's the right thing to do and translating it into something very tangible for our employees.
Paola Peralta (25:18):
I love the use of the right thing to do, which is another perfect segue, and this wasn't planned this way, but I think a lot of leaders, when you look at a lot of surveys of leaders who may be behind on DEI and behind on their diversity strategies, a lot of them are maybe afraid or apprehensive of talking about social justice issues. And so why is it so critical that they do get ahead of that, and what are some strategies that maybe people can employ, some first steps from two leaders who are doing it fantastically, if I can say so in a very biased way?
Lysa Sanchez (25:49):
Well, it's important to recognize, it's a great question. I think it's important to recognize that Dominique and I can't do it alone. We need to go into our organizations and make sure that all of our peers are doing it too, and all of our peers appreciate that. It doesn't need to start with a hugely controversial topic, how do you feel about this or that? It could start with a simple question, how are you doing? And if that question is a genuine question coming from a really caring posture from a leader to an employee, it could be transformational. And we really need to set back the days where, well, the DEI and the inclusion pieces, that's only this group that worries about that. It's really all hands on deck. And if we think about the things that we can achieve by having a truly inclusive culture, a culture where everyone comes in and they feel that they're seen, that they're heard, that they can make a difference, and that they're part of a team that supports those elements as well, not just there's a department in my company that supports it. No, everyone is part of the inclusion journey that could be transformational for all of us. And that's the important part to make sure all of our leaders, all of us are hand in hand.
Dominique Schroeder (27:13):
I'm like, that's the belonging, that's the B that we should all be adding to our DEI strategy. It is truly, if we were wanting to say we are a whole person company, if we're supporting the whole person, that includes being able to bring your whole self to work and having that conversation as a leader is very, very important. Like I said, I'm very lucky to work at a company where our mission is to unlock the opportunity for America's workforce, and the key there is opportunity. And so how can we do that right thing to help our own employees assist the learners that we're helping in that as well? And with our company, again, I keep saying very lucky. We actually have an opportunity team who works very closely with our people team and our DEIBA to really foundation analyze what we are working on and how we are supporting our employees financially, mentally, socially, throughout their time at Guild. And knowing that the time that they're spending with us is time that they're spending away from their family, and it is acknowledging that they're providing us with that time. And so we need to be able to support them outside of or work in those ways as well.
Paola Peralta (28:23):
Well, I feel like we could have this conversation genuinely for another 30 minutes and we still wouldn't touch everything, but that is our time. So thank you so much for joining, and thank you both for taking the time to come and talk to us today.
Lysa Sanchez (28:33):
Thank you.