Why Diversity and Inclusion Happened for Us Organically: Renee Hill Young

I must admit that we started doing the Citizenship Report because one of our clients required it of all their suppliers and I39m so glad they did Our staff is a bona fide reflection of the diverse communities from which they come This is not just something that we as a company are proud of it has become one of our greatest strengths Examining our numbers and our commitments now on a regular basis reminds us that DEampampI isn39t just a checklist It39s an ongoing reinforcement and commitment that should evolve and change along with our agency39s ongoing development and contribute to positive changes in the world around usWhen my business partner Gerald Bagg and I started QuigleySimpson nearly 19 years ago we never really considered diversity and inclusion to be an issue We just wanted to hire the best and most competent people for the job We felt that if we found the right people provided them with the tools they needed and created a collaborative and nurturing environment to thrive in our business would succeed This proved to be a winning formula for us It was only later on when we noticed how many other agencies were struggling to achieve diversity that we realized that what we had actually created was something very special through natural and organic evolutionAn important part of that evolution has been having a leadership team that is reflective of the diversity within the company and the community Currently our two copresidents are a woman and a Black man our Chief Financial Officer is a Black woman and our Executive Creative Director is also a woman None of this was intentional We just looked for the best people to fill these positions The advertising industry has struggled with diversity and we know what we have is rare Having such a diverse senior leadership team makes a huge difference It39s an internal and external acknowledgement that resonates with our employees and attracts new talent as wellWhere DEampampI efforts often go sideways for agencies is in the hiring process Anyone who has ever hired an employee knows that one of the most important variables is finding people who quotfit inquot at the agency We spend a lot of time with our coworkers and it is definitely fair to want to seek and find team members who are interesting and compatible But the concept of finding someone who is a good quotcultural fitquot for the team can often turn into finding someone who looks and acts exactly like all the other members of the team That sameness can often prevent diversity in action and in thought And as a consequence it can be constricting and limitingUnconscious bias often plays a huge role in the hiring process Whether they realize it or not people are usually looking to hire someone with whom they feel comfortable and they often start with those who have similar educational backgrounds and work experiences not to mention people that already have a connection to the agency through clients or employees Unfortunately this can perpetuate the biases and unconscious racism that has been baked in for years keep wellqualified candidates from even getting interviews and prevent many agencies from becoming diverseHaving the right people in HR roles is a vital key to breaking out of the cycle HR people committed to DEampampI can help in the recruitment phase by finding candidates with diverse backgrounds who can ultimately add compelling points of view and contribute a wider range of experience and expertise HR can also help create a hiring process that doesn39t set up people from different backgrounds to fail either by having requirements for the role that are predetermined to be exclusionary or asking questions that eliminate candidates unwittinglyIn recent months with the help of our HR experts QuigleySimpson has hired nine new employees seven of whom identify as nonwhite I39m especially proud of this because as we continue to grow we continue with our philosophy that has made our agency reflective of the world in which we live Moreover in hiring the right people for the right jobs we have created a culture of acceptance tolerance and collaboration for them in which to thrive When they thrive the agency as a whole grows and prospersRenee Hill Young pictured at top is CoFounder of QuigleySimpson the largest WBENCcertified womanowned agency in the countryamp160Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Why Diversity and Inclusion Happened for Us Organically: Renee Hill Young

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