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O P I N I O N
The time is now
I n her Dec. 10 article in The Zweig Letter , “Diversify, soon” Christina Zweig Niehues called on the AEC industry to act more aggressively in diversifying its workforce. I couldn’t agree with her more, and “soon” can’t come soon enough for our industry. In our industry, diversity and inclusion are dawning, so seize the day by incorporating an open mindset throughout your firm.
employees to realize their career goals here, what’s different now is we have set goals, objectives, and metrics to keep us in check. As the chief people officer at VHB, it’s my job to see that the company follows through and delivers on our goals. Managing diversity and inclusion is, in many ways, an unmapped territory in the AEC industry. Below, I’ve summarized six main takeaways from our experience so far: 1)Commit to understanding the differences be- tween diversity and inclusion. They are different “While we always strived to hire and inspire employees to realize their career goals here, what’s different now is we have set goals, objectives, and metrics to keep us in check.”
Here are three compelling reasons: 1) It’s the right thing to do. Industry leaders must be purposeful about diversifying their workforces from the top down and not treat diversity as a “check the box” exercise. 2)The younger generation of professionals, which will make up 75 percent of the U.S. workforce by 2025, expects diversity and inclusion to be the norm, not the exception, in the workplace. 3) A diverse and inclusive culture is good for the bot- tom line. Deloitte Insights recently cited a study that said inclusive organizations are twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets and are eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes than non-inclusive companies. Over three years ago, VHB accelerated its diversity and inclusion initiatives by intentionally incorporating it in our strategic business plan. While we always strived to hire and inspire
Keri Kocur GUEST SPEAKER
See KERI KOCUR, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER February 25, 2019, ISSUE 1285
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