March 04, 2021

 Jacquie Champagne

Life at Elevate equitability and inclusion inclusion in the workplace inclusion strategies

When we launched Elevate’s Equitability and Inclusion program in 2017, we started a journey toward progress. As the world events of 2020 made clear, the goal of achieving true E&I is more important than ever. For Elevate, 2021 will be a year to build on our prior achievements and continue to move forward.

As we move forward, it is also instructive to look back. Our recently-released Equitability and Inclusion Report 2020 shows our progress thus far and outlines the work ahead.

Our E&I successes in 2020 included:

• Continuing to create internship opportunities for diverse undergraduate and law school students.
• Enhancing sexual harassment training for our India-based workforce.
• Initiating a mentorship program in India for women.
• Updating our internal training to combat unconscious bias and improve cross-cultural awareness, focusing on unconscious bias in recruitment, hiring, and promotions.
• Establishing a framework to support a health and wellness initiative at Elevate.

For 2021, we have re-dedicated ourselves to a conscious, relentless, and daily pursuit of our E&I goals. Specific steps we are taking this year include:

• Launching our RISE (Recognize, Include, Support, Educate) initiative on mental health issues, with quarterly wellness initiatives and expert presentations.
• Implementing a pilot project on emotional intelligence with our colleagues in the Philippines, focusing on training to enhance interpersonal skills and self-awareness.
• Increasing our efforts to recruit diverse candidates for our internship program and Elevate positions.
• Empowering women in the Elevate workplace by expanding our mentorship program and increasing our efforts to attract and hire women.
• Launching a leadership development program with diverse representation  (58% women, 47% Asian, 5% Black/African-American, 5% LGBTQ+).

We appreciate that E&I isn’t something that exists independent of the rest of Elevate’s strategy and culture. E&I strategy and execution is an integral component of our corporate culture, and the values of E&I are part of the fabric of Elevate.

We are committed to achieving enduring and meaningful progress here at Elevate by practicing the following principles:

• Authentic buy-in at all levels from C-suite to frontline employees, with everyone recognizing that E&I makes powerful business sense.
• A long-term, holistic strategy that plots a path to achieving explicit goals.
• KPIs and metrics for what matters, not just what is easy to measure.
• Meaningful analysis and interpretation of all E&I data to determine whether progress is happening.
• A feedback loop to create and reinforce a virtuous cycle.

We remain focused on this journey and what it entails. We are up to the challenge and will remain steadfast in our efforts in 2021 and beyond.