Diversity Advocates: Voices in the Room

We have been working to move the needle toward a brighter future. 

Diversity Advocates Network
One recommendation from the Turner Inclusion Action Committee was the creation of a Diversity Advocates Network. Diversity Advocates have been identified for every region and headquarters group to partner with senior leadership and the DE&I team in advancing progress towards Turner’s 2030 DE&I Vision. The Diversity Advocate serves as a trusted advisor to leadership, an advocate and champion of inclusive principles and practices, and a voice of challenge and conscience to reduce unconscious bias and promote equitable outcomes.

For example, we have been learning that as human beings, we are naturally programmed to have bias, and that sometimes our unconscious biases may have unintended consequences. When we consider all of the conversations that focus on Turner employees’ career development – think ReCAP, iCAP, project assignments, etc. – sometimes unconscious bias may sneak in. Diversity Advocates are learning how to recognize bias and respectfully share those observations when instances may occur.

There are 40 Turner Diversity Advocates company-wide with representatives from all career families including Operations, Finance, Community and Citizenship, Procurement, Human Resources, and Information Services.

Diversity Action Planning
Turner’s DE&I vision is universal, but every geographic region faces distinct challenges and has specific needs. For example, one region may have opportunities to increase recruiting diverse candidates, while another region may need to focus on retention. Recognizing that a “one size fits all” approach will not address the unique challenges of the local unit, the IAC created the Diversity Action Plan (DAP)

Turner’s Diversity Action Plan is a leader-led process that includes looking at data specific to the region and identifying two or three areas of action for the year. A team which includes General Managers, Operations Managers, HR Directors/Managers, and Diversity Advocates work with members of the IAC to formulate a plan that Develops Diversity, Promotes Inclusion and Builds Equity.

Through a series of brainstorming sessions, the team develops their DAP. Since all regions will be working through the same process, one desired outcome is a shared body of knowledge and best practices that can benefit the entire organization.  The DAP was piloted last year in the Northern California region, Columbus, Boston, Denver and the Seattle business units and is launching to the rest of the company on a rolling basis starting in April.