Circle of Trust

Shared with the group a recent experience with my company’s DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) journey.  In 2022 we had several online training courses for the salaried personnel.  To start this year, we are doing 4 DEI huddles with our hourly workers.  I am leading the first huddle which each of my shifts (4x) and our day Technicians.  I led the first two last Friday to two of our shifts and the conversation was great.  High level of engagement and everything stayed very positive.  I then led the day Technician huddle this week and right from go you could tell this was going to be a very different conversation.  The topic of DEI has been highly politized in our society and it is really a point of contention for a lot of people.  Those in the room wanted to focus on these topics, which I listened to.  It was a healthy discussion where everyone was able to express their thoughts and concerns.  Unfortunately, I think many people get bogged down by the politics and we ended up losing the real intent.  The purpose of discussing this topic is to highlight our responsibility to do everything in our power to make people feel heard, valued, and part of the team.  The plant I work at has 300 employees.  If we are able to make each employee feel valued and are able to harness that horsepower, our potential for success is limitless.  I implore each of us to do our best to not get caught up in the politics of DEI and focus on what we can do to make sure that everyone feels valued and part of the team.