by JoAnn Fryer, PE
Fuss & O’Neill is committed to creating and maintaining a workplace that authentically fosters diversity, cultivates awareness of the challenges for disadvantaged employees, and leverages all varied backgrounds and experiences to build an inclusive culture where all people (employees, clients, teaming partners, vendors, the communities we serve) can thrive. We know that building upon our DEI work is ongoing, and we are excited to share some of the steps we are taking to make DEI a priority at Fuss & O’Neill.
In 2019, we shared our company’s work relating to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) (you can read it here). To advance this work company-wide and to set a foundation for equity and belonging, we have made some notable advances. In the last two years, we hired an experienced DEI consultant to help us establish a framework and a strategic action plan. Together with our DEI committee and senior leadership, we created three employee-led task forces. Each task force has developed an over-arching goal along with a set of objectives.
Organizational Culture
The goal of this task force is to articulate expectations and promote accountability for the organizational company-wide commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all policies, systems, and practices. This task force has:
- Published a DEI communications plan that will become a standard part of our Business Plan beginning in FY23.
- Reviewed and revised company policy handbook to include gender neutral language. This extends to our contracts and all corporate communications.
- Introduced the use of preferred pronouns to use in both internal and external communications.
- Created inclusive meeting guidelines based on feedback from employees that aim at making our company meetings places (in-person and virtual) more inclusive and allow all employees to be heard. These guidelines will be rolled out into the technology we use for scheduling and hosting meetings.
Education and Learning Environment
This task force, turned permanent subcommittee, is responsible for the development and implementation of DEI educational and awareness broadening opportunities for employees at all levels. This task force has:
- Established annual education requirements where all staff will complete 6-8 hours per year of company supported DEI enrichment activities.
- Established bi-monthly Roundtable Discussion Groups where facilitated discussions take place regarding topics related to DEI in the workplace.
- Established a Book/Podcast Club to continue the discussion of DEI related topics.
Community and Client Engagement
The goal of this task force is to demonstrate that Fuss & O’Neill is committed to giving back to the communities that we serve and communicating these efforts to our staff, clients, and communities. This task force recently helped the Boys & Girls Club of Hartford construct a hydroponic greenhouse.
Equity, belonging, and DEI efforts create space within our company to actively engage in sometimes difficult conversations to ensure that underrepresented people have an equitable voice and a platform from which to be heard. We’ve made this a priority because it is the right thing to do and because we believe that having diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities on our team enhances our ability to meet the needs of our clients and the communities we serve. Building upon our DEI work is ongoing, and we will continue to share the steps we are taking to grow and learn here at Fuss & O’Neill.
About the Author
JoAnn Fryer, PE is Fuss & O’Neill’s North Region Manager and Chair of Fuss & O’Neill’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.