2021 was the first year in over a decade where employee engagement dropped in the United States. By the second half of 2021, just 34% of workers reported being engaged in their job, leading to higher employee turnover rates and decreased employee development.  

Disengaged employees are unsatisfied and disloyal because their workplace needs are going unmet. These employees cause 60% more errors and defects in work performance, and 73% of actively disengaged employees are on the lookout for new jobs or opportunities.

To keep employees engaged with work that truly makes a felt impact, many Fortune 1000 brands are utilizing social impact programs focused on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Amplifying diversity and inclusion are important drivers of employee engagement. Paragon One externship reporting data showed 63.6% of employees that participated in an externship reported a desire to take action on more activities that promote inclusivity, and 93.1% of employees reported feeling more confident on engaging on DEI topics with others.

The Paragon One Externship aids social impact leaders in up-skilling underserved communities, embracing diverse learners, and engaging their corporation's employees along the way.

To better understand how CSR, DEI, and employee engagement are intertwined, we spoke with three CSR and DEI leaders about the impact well-organized DEI programs can have on employee engagement. 

Jodi Brockington- Founder & CEO of NIARA Consulting, DEIB Business Partner of Paragon One 

Jodi Brockington is the Founder of NIARA Consulting, a full-service DEIB Strategy, Advisement and Project Development firm that provides complete consulting services for individuals, nonprofits, small businesses, and corporations. Jodi is also one of New York's top lifestyle coaches, and fitness experts and serves on the Black Chef Series Cutting Board and Women’s Media Group Board. In 2022, Jodi was honored by Diversity Plus Magazine as one the Top 25 Women in Diversity. Currently, Jodi is the DEIB Business Partner at ParagonOne, a company that creates virtual work-based learning experiences for students and advances the social impact goals of enterprises. She also is an DEIB Consultant for National Urban League managing their BEEP Program (Business Executive Exchange Program. Since 2012, Brockington has produced and hosted the National Urban League Jobs Network’s Digital Career Success Series. Jodi is a long time collaborator with Black Enterprise on several of their initiatives including their inaugural Health is Wealth Summit in conjunction with Walmart. She was honored as one of America’s Leaders of Change.  

What does it truly mean to champion an inclusive workforce?

An organization is only as good as its culture—and building that culture is not only a role for HR, it’s every manager’s and employee’s responsibility. As today’s headlines prove, an inclusive work environment is not just a nice-to-have, it can make or break a company. You can help make your organization a more supportive and engaging place to work by understanding the perceptual, institutional, and psychological processes that impact the ways people interact with each other. 

Starting with a look at employee engagement, then identifying interventions surrounding unconscious bias and specific diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies, this program is appropriate for anyone committed to going beyond mere compliance to build a truly aware and inclusive work culture. 

In the workplace, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, also known as DEI, refers to a state in which groups represented in the general population (e.g., gender, racial, age, etc.) are seen in roughly equal numbers in an organization’s workforce, no employee is subjected to discrimination, all are treated fairly, and everyone has the opportunity to participate fully. Many organizations are now embracing the “B” in DEIB which represents “belonging; a very important part of how people feel when they are at work. 

How have you seen diversity and inclusion influence employee engagement?

There is definitely a correlation between DEIB and employee engagement. 

One of the most important ways to show employees that you respect their backgrounds and traditions is to invite them to share those characteristics of their cultures in the workplace. Although it is clear that diversity in the workplace and on teams leads to better decision-making, greater innovation and ultimately higher profits. However it is the inclusion that connects people to the business, and we believe it’s one of the core reasons they stay-because they have been able to find their place where they belong. Belonging goes beyond DEI; it is essential in optimizing employee engagement and commitment. According to the DEI research by leading firms such as McKinsey, Gartner and others would support the findings of Deloitte’s 202 Global Human Capital Trends that  93% of the organizations surveyed report that employees’ sense of belonging is essential to organizational performance.

What is the next step for organizations looking to focus on DEI?

Most organizations don’t know where to start when it comes to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in their workplace. It is more dangerous to leave it unaddressed. It’s not only important, it’s critical to your brand and your bottom line.

I always suggest clients to perform a DEI assessment to get a complete picture of their company, workforce, employee engagement, and where there is room to grow because the results impact the long-term success of an organization.

Once an assessment is completed, the leadership of an organization better understands the experience of various groups in the workforce and their perceptions regarding workplace representation, fairness, inclusion and belonging.  Then putting an in place that includes short and long term goals is essential to be able to assess DEI in the workforce regularly for its impact on your productivity, brand, and bottom line.

Zuri Godfrey - Associate Product Marketing Manager at Google, Former Paragon One Extern

Zuri Godfrey is an Associate Product Marketing Manager at Google, innovating the social strategy for Google Ads. He is a former D1 athlete and alumnus of Howard University, where he played Varsity Football and majored in Business Management. Zuri has interned with Google in Brand Strategy, ESPN in Sports Marketing, and PwC in Management Consulting and externed with Meta in Social Marketing and the NFL in Business Development. His mission is to use his blessings to be a blessing to others. 

What does it mean to truly champion an inclusive workforce?

To champion an inclusive workforce truly means talking the talk and walking the walk by communicating how to be inclusive and then practicing being inclusive and holding leadership  accountable for fostering an inclusive workplace.

How have you seen diversity and inclusion influence employee engagement?

I have seen diversity and inclusion influence employee engagement through the notion of belonging. A company can really tell how good or bad they are doing from a diversity and inclusion perspective by evaluating the sense of belonging that all of their employees have or don’t have.

Could you tell me a bit about how the Paragon One externship facilitated opportunities to engage with professionals at Meta and for them to engage with you?

The externship afforded me the opportunity to engage with Meta professionals on a recurring basis. I was able to connect with Meta professionals before, during, and after my externship, making for an immensely impactful experience that resulted in useful relationships.

What is the next step for organizations looking to focus on DEI?

The next step for organizations looking to focus on DEI is to include J for Justice into DEI. Justice is as important as each pillar of DEI, especially given the continued racial injustice, social unrest, and economic conditions today.

Fatimah Gilliam- Author and Founder of The Azara Group

Fatimah Gilliam began her career as a corporate attorney on Wall Street, worked for Citigroup overseeing campus diversity recruiting for all its U.S. businesses, and oversaw corporate partnerships as the Head of Finance and Fundraising for North America for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning United Nations World Food Programme. Since founding The Azara Group, which provides diversity and inclusion, leadership development, negotiation, and strategy consulting services, she has advised Fortune 500 corporations, senior executives running billion-dollar businesses, and industry thought leaders. Fatimah is a seasoned, sought-after speaker, and both a diversity and negotiations expert. She holds a law degree from Columbia Law School, a Master in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a BA from Wellesley College. She is also the author of the forthcoming book Race Rules – What Your Black Friend Won’t Tell You, coming out in early 2024.

How have you seen diversity and inclusion come into play in the world of social impact in the last few years?

In the wake of the tragic murder of George Floyd, we’ve seen an explosion with companies, organizations, and local governments prioritizing diversity work. They’ve created new diversity positions, bolstered affinity groups, donated money to causes, and kicked off initiatives for employees. Some already had formal diversity infrastructure and some started from scratch.

It’s interesting to watch since efforts follow two tracks – the organizations that are legitimately trying to drive change, and others that are engaged in performative lip service that seek the patina of change. My hope is more places will pursue fewer performative pathways – including having well-funded budgets for initiatives and consultants, hiring actual experts instead of tapping anyone Black or brown with a pulse, and having dedicated paid headcount instead of treating diversity as an extracurricular activity for busy staff with day jobs. Seeing more places engage in this work is a positive step, but the real measure is the impact on creating belonging, opportunities for advancement and skill development, access to contacts and business development, and equalizing compensation.

What do you think are the benefits of organizations expanding their workforce to include people of various backgrounds can expect to see?

The benefit is that as organizations diversify the mix of their employee base, they will begin to reflect the U.S. population. If the internal culture isn’t toxic, then more people of color will be able to rise to senior leadership and board positions. This will also benefit whites. The more whites interact with people of color and have more exposure, the more likely they’ll be at improving their inclusive leadership and cultural intelligence skills. 

Now none of this is guaranteed just by hiring people of color. This requires pairing diversity hiring with making sure an organization’s culture encourages people to stick around – that they see and experience real opportunities for advancement. This includes disrupting barriers and institutional structures that thwart the progress of people of color within organizations.

What does it truly mean to champion an inclusive workforce?

It means consciously hiring, promoting, and retaining people of color. It means intentionally creating opportunities for people who aren’t white. It means giving people of color budgets and teams to manage. It means not getting defensive when a consultant or employee holds up a mirror to company decisions and practices that directly or indirectly support discriminatory outcomes for people of color.

I’m about action and results over words. A diversity champion moves beyond “hearts and minds” ideologies and backs verbal talking points and statements with daily decisions that positively impact employees and customers of color in tangible ways. As Chief Joseph once said, “It doesn’t require many words to speak the truth.” The proof is in the pudding.

Discover the Next Era of Social Impact

To discuss your own social impact and DEI initiatives in The Impact Report, reach out to the Managing Editor of The Impact Report, Vanessa Poulson at vanessa@paragonone.com

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