Diverse Culture and Communications | Goodwill’s Commitment to Putting People First

How Goodwill has Committed to its DEI Initiatives and Goals

At the recent National Association of African Americans in Human Resources (NAAAHR) conference, held at Alverno College, Goodwill participated in a panel discussion alongside other community leaders about the changing DEI landscape.  The panel was moderated by Deidre Garrett from Goodwilll. As one of the participants in a panel discussion, I shared professional insights on how Goodwill leverages brand and communications to address challenges, coach leaders, and creates an inclusive environment.

It starts at the top

Our Goodwill is able to authentically communicate about DEI initiatives because our commitment starts with our CEO, Jackie Hallberg. She is committed to creating a sense of belonging for employees and has integrated this commitment into our 10-year growth strategy. 

We have also activated company values and inclusive leadership expectations to foster inclusion and accountability This has helped us strengthen our foundation to support our commitment to DEI and creating a sense of belonging for all employees. 

Clear communication and involvement at all levels benefits everyone

When developing our organizational code of conduct, Standards of Goodwill, we created employee values – be accountable, be honest and be inclusive.  

Our business resource groups played a very important part in the process. The feedback we got from employees at all levels was incredibly helpful and ensured we understood and addressed employee concerns and questions throughout the process. 

Now that we are rolling out these behaviors and values, we are asking ourselves important questions, including:

• Are we speaking in plain language?
• Are we explaining the ways in which we are taking action? 
• Who needs to know about this work, both internally and externally? 
• How are we demonstrating results?

Collaboration improves impact

We are committed to collective community impact to improve our workforce and remove barriers to sustaining a good quality of life.  Our current partnerships include:

• MMAC as part of the Region of Choice Initiative that started back in 2019. 
• Professional Dimensions in support of women; several of our women leaders are in TEMPO as well.   
• Culture x Design to leverage film and storytelling to help people along their DEI journey through storytelling  
• Diversity MBA – Benchmarking and best practices  

As an organization that is more than 100 years old, change can be a challenge. At Goodwill, we are committed to honoring our past and looking to the future with a strong stance on DEI that reflects on our commitment to close racial equity gaps.