By Hayward Bell
Chief Diversity Officer, Raytheon Company
It’s no surprise that well-built homes are more equipped to withstand storms. Similarly, if a company’s Diversity and Inclusion program is an integral part of its business strategy and anchored in leadership behaviors, than that company too can weather the storm brought on by challenging economic times.
As businesses look to do more with less, D&I practitioners should prepare for potential impact to their programs and be able to demonstrate the value of those programs to company leaders. To ensure continued support, it’s vital to have the value proposition of D&I ingrained into a company’s business strategy before economic challenges arise.
When funds are short, practitioners need to look for ways to become more efficient so that the company continues along its diversity journey without interruption. Within Raytheon’s Diversity program, we recently re-evaluated our processes to create a Diversity and Inclusion center of excellence for the company, ensuring our diversity resources are leveraged to better engage every employee.
Companies can also benefit from enhancing the work of their employee resource groups. These networks act as Diversity and Inclusion ambassadors and strengthen the company along its journey.
