It’s officially the halfway mark of 2022! What better time to conduct our own mid-year review and revisit our Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) efforts and share our progress. As we continue to expand and look to what’s next, we should also remember where it started.

We all know 2020 marked a turning point in America’s history. The murder of George Floyd and the subsequent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter Movement prompted many companies to revisit their anti-racism work and re-evaluate the implementation of meaningful diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives.

Since then, we have focused on acting in support of our values and ensuring a more equitable professional environment. In 2020, RapidRatings formed the D&I Council, which is comprised of a diverse group of members from our New York City, Quincy, and Dublin offices, as well as team members based around the United States.

What’s a D&I Council?

Our D&I Council was created to ensure the widespread adoption of our mission of promoting an environment where employees feel recognized for their contributions, appreciated for their individuality, and challenged to do their best through the implementation of various company-wide initiatives.

To achieve this, we created five subcommittees to tackle problem solving areas that are critical to our long-term success:

1. External Initiatives
2. Company Diversity
3. Employee Experience
4. Hiring & Recruitment
5. Giving of Time & Donations

External Initiatives Subcommittee

Goal:  We strive to facilitate mutually beneficial collaborations between RapidRatings, our clients, and underserved/underrepresented communities, and acts as an amplification tool for the other subcommittees.

Action:

• In 2021 we partnered with one of our clients, a large healthcare company in the US, to create a D&I Financial Literacy Program.
• The program was designed as an effort to reach the client’s minority-owned suppliers to learn about the criticality of financial health to a business and become a member of the FHR Exchange at a discounted rate. RapidRatings also provided training sessions to the selected suppliers so that they could understand their ratings and reasons for ratings.

Upcoming:

• In 2022, RapidRatings hopes to replicate similar programs with other clients, in addition to exploring potential partnerships with non-profits organizations that support diverse and minority-owned businesses.

Recruiting and Hiring Subcommittee

Goal: Work to address the reality that everyone has unconscious biases, which can in turn effect the ways we recruit, hire, and promote within our organization.

Action:

• We did a refresh to the RapidRatings career page, including the addition of the D&I Mission Statement to ensure job seekers are aware that RapidRatings prioritizes its reputation as a welcoming and inclusive workplace. Additionally, we’re addressing candidate pipeline diversity by broadening outreach and recruitment efforts; as well as incorporating the D&I mission statement as part of the “why join RapidRatings” portion of our website.
• The hiring of Jodi Corcoran, as a Senior Director, Talent Acquisition. Jodi brings a wealth of experience in recruitment and hiring in general, but as an AIRS Certified Diversity Recruiter, her commitment to D&I throughout the recruitment and hiring process gives us the extra support we need to accomplish all that we set out to this year

Upcoming:

• An interview playbook is in the works – focusing on performance predictive questions, interview scoring rubrics, and interview templates to ensure all candidates have a fair and consistent interview experience.

Employee Experience Subcommittee and Company Diversity Subcommittee

Goal: The Company Diversity and Employee Experience subcommittees work in tandem to identify opportunities to improve employee experience as it pertains to inclusion and belonging throughout the RapidRatings.

Action:

• Using optional, anonymous surveys, we’re able to gather data on current employee sentiment and use it to help guide our efforts in continuing to make RapidRatings a place where every employee feels a sense of belonging and inclusion.
• We’ve created Monthly Roundtables, which will focus on a relevant topic that fosters better communication within the workplace, as well as normalizing open, honest, and safe dialogue at work. These roundtables have also become a venue for connecting with coworkers, learning about yourself and others, as well as contributing to a more inclusive culture.

Upcoming:

• From our Employee Engagement Survey, we were interested in creating an open forum where employees could discuss non-work-related topics.
• The Company Diversity Subcommittee plans to continue to pinpoint areas where the company struggles with diversity and work to improve in those areas through partnerships with the other subcommittees.

Giving of Time and Donations Subcommittee

Goal: Working to identify and offer recommendations of mission-driven organizations focused on social justice for any RapidRatings team member who would like guidance on places to donate time and money.

Action: In 2021, we set up a Donations Match Program where RapidRatings matches up to $200/€200 per each employee’s contribution towards non-profits (excluding donations to political and lobbying organizations)

To date:

• We have matched over $8k in combined donations, thanks to employee’s donations and RapidRatings’ match
• 11 nonprofits and schools have been supported through volunteer time and donations

Upcoming:

• We continue to encourage our employees to find and work with organizations within their own city or even globally that are working to make a social change.

At RapidRatings, having an inclusive culture is incredibly important to us. Not only does it support our values and our mission, but it directly reflects our efforts to make RapidRatings a safe and interesting work environment for everyone. As we move forward, it’s important that we take the time to reflect on our progress but also recognize the work that still needs to be done.

Learn more about our company mission and vision.

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