Softening the Hard Conversations
BioLite Inc - 2020
So You Want to Talk About Race
THE PROBLEM
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The combination of COVID-19 related isolation and protesting fueled by the death of George Floyd during the summer of 2020 created a strange and tense social atmosphere in the workplace that negatively impacted employee well-being and productivity
THE SOLUTION
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I utilized the company’s existing Book Club employee group to promote safe, guided education and discussion about race in America using the book So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
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After strong interest was shown, I started a new, private discussion group to continue these conversations and expand the topic pool via participant submissions
THE CLUES
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Most non-black employees felt uncomfortable engaging with conversations around race, causing them to either disengage for fear of “saying the wrong thing” or become defensive and anxious when they were corrected or challenged
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Black American employees felt emboldened to voice issues and struggles that they previously kept to themselves and were disappointed with the fearful reactions of their mostly white colleagues
THE AFTERMATH
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These regular conversations greatly increased connection and understanding among employees
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Greater confidence and competence regarding sensitive topics allowed for positive improvements across the company, including recruiting and hiring practices, management policies, partner selection, marketing materials, responsibility distribution, and general workplace etiquette
Tools: Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, Culture Amp, Twitter/Instagram
Techniques: Anonymous Surveys, Social Media Networking, Discussion Moderation, Empathy Exercises, Cross-departmental Communication, Independent Research