Organizational Culture & Diversity Equity and Inclusion at EFG

Since November 2022, EFG has been working on diversity, equity, and inclusion through an internal committee of EFG employees. When we started the committee, I don’t think any of us knew how the work of the committee would proceed, what we would focus on, or what results we would produce. There was no roadmap to follow and no examples for a small company like ours.

What we’ve accomplished is hard to measure in specifics – there are no metrics to show. But it’s work our DEI committee is very proud of. As we’ve talked through what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to us, how we’d like to do our work, and what problems we’d like to solve, we’ve created a culture that the committee members highly value.

We can admit mistakes and fears about this work without concern about receiving only judgement in return. We can bring ideas to the group and expect thoughtful feedback. The committee members practice active listening and everyone turns on their cameras during our meetings. It’s been a group where vulnerabilities and uncertainties can be shared.

When we launched the committee, I expected that we’d create a list of to-dos and check them off as we progressed, but I’m so glad it didn’t turn out that way. With the help of our facilitator, Jude Smith Rachele from Abundant Sun, we’ve come to the realization that one of the biggest DEI “wins” an organization can make is to create a culture in which everyone feels welcome. Diversity simply means different and all kinds of differences including invisible ones can make a someone feel less than included. A primary focus of our committee is to more thoroughly embed that culture throughout the organization.

Some of the issues our DEI committee and the broader firm have touched on through this work includes:

• Staff Development
  • Mentorship
    • Including peer to peer and two way and not conventional “top-down” exchange of information
  • Professional development plans
    • For staff at all stages of career
• Hiring
  • How do we connect to folks outside our circles?
  • How do we make hiring as blind to potential biases as possible?
• Workplace Culture
  • Internal cohesion
    • Time and space for personal sharing and interactions
    • Attention to communication styles and preferences.
    • High quality in person opportunities since our company is mostly remote
• Peer to Peer Exchange with like-minded organizations
  • Speaker series both internal and external
  • Ad hoc interactions with clients and allies
  • Conference participation
• Staff training
  • On topics like legally required and desired elements of safe, respectful and constructive working environments.

We’re interested in learning how other organizations have tackled these issues and welcome anyone reading this post to reach out and sharing their thoughts and experiences.