2020 has been exceedingly tough for corporate leaders.
Our Top 100 Places to Work met COVID-19 heart-first by giving virtual hugs, listening intently and holistically supporting their troops’ well-being.
But how did they deal with the murder of George Floyd and the resulting racial reckoning that sent people of all ages and colors to the streets of North Texas demanding social justice?
Our winners held difficult conversations, looked for ways to hire and promote a more diverse workforce, and donated to a wide range of causes that aim to make the world a more inclusive place.
“At ParkHub, we truly believe, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,’ " said George Baker Sr., founder, chairman and CEO of the parking software company. “Together means everyone. Not a privileged few. Not most. Everyone.”
Even those who believed they were already doing a pretty good job at creating an inclusive and welcoming work environment said they are using this year’s events as an opportunity to do even better.
Ridgemont Commercial Construction CEO Bob O’Brien put it this way: “These recent events remind us that regardless of how far we think we have come, clearly we have a ways to go.”
Every year, I send out a questionnaire to our Top 100 executives to tap their thoughts on a variety of issues. One question this year was: Did Black Lives Matter/George Floyd cause you to reflect on your company’s diversity, equity and inclusion culture? If so, what actions did you take?
“You would have to be numb to your surroundings if you did not reflect on not only your company’s diversity, equity and inclusion culture, but more importantly your personal thoughts and feelings,” said Stephen Bruszer, president of Spring Valley Construction Co.
“The only way our community and country’s culture will change regarding diversity, equity and inclusion culture is if each citizen makes a conscious decision to listen and genuinely care for others, especially those that are different from you.”
The question wasn’t intended to be political or controversial. But some of our winners apparently took it that way. About a dozen skipped the question or declined to answer it.
“We’ll pass on commenting here as this is a sort of lose/lose question in my opinion,” said one vice president of marketing acting as a conduit for her CEO.
Frankly, I was taken aback.
Fortunately, the vast majority of our Top 100 winners — most of whom are white men — gave thoughtful, introspective and inspirational answers.
Here are some of my favorite responses.
Immediately after Floyd’s death, Robert Walker, president and CEO of Scottish Rite for Children, emailed employees a personal letter saying that he and his executive team were deeply distressed by what he called a senseless killing and condemned racism, bigotry, discrimination and violence of any kind.
“In support of our staff and our community and to honor the life and memory of George Floyd, our staff in Dallas and Frisco, as well as those working remotely, gathered at 1 p.m. on June 4 to share a moment of silence lasting 8 minutes and 46 seconds,” Walker said.
Mike Scovel, managing partner of New York Life insurance Co., has a personal reason for taking the racial reckoning to heart: He has two daughters with different skin tones.
“My expectation would be that their life experiences would be the same. I am not sure that will actually be the case,” he said.
“Communication is the impetus of resolution. My challenge to our NYL family was to seek out conversations within our office to not only expand their connections but to enhance their understanding. Broadening one’s horizon only makes for a more beautiful view.”
I was struck by how many, like Scovel, spoke from the heart.
Mike Sullivan, CEO of The Loomis Agency, posted a highly personal blog on June 5 called “This Is Our Moment”:
“Most of us have never been turned down for a bank loan or an apartment before ever saying a word,” he wrote. “We drive where we want. We eat where we want. We shop where we want, run where we want, drink where we want, date where we want and we do it all without ever feeling afraid. But, more and more, I’m understanding that’s not the experience for people of color.
“For too long, I’ve insulated myself from the colossal size of the truth, understanding that our country treated plenty of people like this, but not the ones I know. Not the professionals I know and respect and count on and love and work with every day. It was sobering to watch every hand of color in our company go up when I asked who experienced systemic racism on a regular basis. This is not the world I thought I was living in.”
Loomis is exploring how it can help black-owned businesses with their marketing and advertising efforts.
The agency is in early discussions with Target Evolution, a nonprofit that introduces teens to entrepreneurialism, Sullivan said. “While they’ve accomplished a great deal in just 10 years, they need help organizing their marketing effort to achieve their ambitious goals. That’s where Loomis comes in, of course.”
Sanjiv Yajnik, president of financial services at Capital One, said: “The murder of George Floyd that we all horrifically witnessed struck an incredibly deep chord inside of me.
“It made me realize that I need to do more. My Black colleagues, along with so many other diverse groups, have felt vulnerable enough to open up about their experiences, and I have sought to understand their feelings of anger, grief and loss.”
The financial services company established an employee gift-matching program in June benefiting social justice organizations, including Campaign Zero, Equal Justice Initiative, National Urban League, Race Forward, Black Health Alliance and Runnymede Trust. As of August, the campaign had raised more than $750,000 for nonprofits focused on racial equity, Yajnik said.
Not just Black and white
“This year, we saw a lot of race discrimination, whether it was xenophobia sparked by COVID-19 or the ongoing violence and racism against the Black community,” said David Wang, regional director of operations at Panda Restaurant Group. “We do not have all the answers, but we are committed to listening, learning and taking action.”
Panda is expanding its Lean-In Circle, which invites experts from inside and outside the company to talk about the issues.
“Nova [Landscape Group] is a minority-owned company, and our employees’ diverse backgrounds and ethnicities are a reflection and snapshot of America as a whole,” said president Anthony Diesch. “Our employees are Caucasian, Latino/Latina, Black American, Asian American, Indian American, male and female. Our company likes to joke and call it ‘bleeding green’ since that is our company color. We all share this great country.”
New ways to give
Our Top 100 targeted a variety of causes and unusual methods that aren’t typical of corporate giving.
“The death of George Floyd and the resulting community outpouring and justifiable anger were blunt reminders of just how hard we all must work to create a more equitable and just nation,” said Chris Trowbridge, managing partner of Bell Nunnally.
The law firm made a donation and also matched employee donations to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, a premier legal organization fighting for racial justice, he said.
“We realize that a donation alone will not eradicate the structural problems that exist, but hope that the financial support will maintain our connection to a solution as we continue working towards a more just society for all people.”
Custom Ink doubled down on its no-tolerance policy of rejecting any T-shirt order that promotes hate and violence, said Darcy Smith, senior vice president of team development. “For orders that we don’t agree with but that don’t violate our content guidelines, we donate the profits from the order to social justice organizations.”
The company also supported customer efforts to raise money to help the Black community. “Our customers have raised more than $200,000 for social justice and community-related efforts like a fundraiser to support Karamu House, America’s oldest producing Black theatre,” Smith said.
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers sponsored Bishop Omar’s Heal America Tour in Dallas in June and Minneapolis in July, said founder and CEO Todd Graves. “We also hosted a fundraiser at all our restaurants across the country benefitting Martin Luther King III’s work for peace, justice and equity, raising $250,000.”
Highlands Residential Mortgage significantly increased its contributions to organizations that help the poor and victims of abuse, said CEO Kenneth Hickman. “Two organizations we identified were SoupMobile feeding the homeless, and New Friends New Life assisting those fleeing abuse and bondage.”
VPay Inc.’s social committee, composed of employees from various departments, voted to give the company’s second-quarter charity donation to the Equal Justice Initiative.
“In addition, our leadership team felt it was important to remind our employees that while we can’t change the world, we can make absolutely sure that VPay is run with the highest level of integrity, respect and opportunity for everyone based on their abilities and desires,” said Nicole Zamora, HR senior vice president.
Match donated to nonprofits fighting for equal justice such as Abounding Prosperity and Mothers Against Police Brutality, said CEO Hesam Hosseini.
“We also took a closer look at our leadership team and made additions to better reflect the world around us, and ensure we are making equitable and truly inclusive decisions as a company.”
PrimeLending, A Plains Capital Company, through its parent company, Hilltop Holdings, donated $1 million to improve equity in education, said Steve Thompson, president and CEO.
“To build momentum, create relationships and establish trust, Hilltop Holdings agreed to a $2,500 match for all associates wanting to support the following nonprofit organizations committed to promoting justice and equality: The Education Trust, The Equal Justice Initiative or Color of Change.”
Additionally, PrimeLending says it plans to expand its multicultural lending initiatives designed to expand homeownership to the underserved.
Assessing and addressing
In September, Accenture announced a goal to more than double the number of Black and Latinx employees and managing directors by 2025, said Jorge Corral, Dallas office managing director.
The consulting giant, which has 2,310 employees here, also recently launched the Black Founders Development Program. “This is a new initiative that will invest in and support Black technology startup founders and entrepreneurs,” he said. “It’s designed to help advance and grow their technology businesses through better, more direct access to venture capital, corporate mentorship and strategic connections with our Accenture business partners and clients.”
Said Bart Yates, owner of CAM Partners: “Our blueprint has always been simple. We base bonuses and rewards strictly on performance, not race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.”
The charity advertising and marketing company decided to see how it stacked up with national metrics when it comes to diversity and equality. “The results couldn’t have made us prouder,” said Yates. “Half our organization is comprised of non-white employees from over 20 countries across the globe. In addition, women hold 44% of our executive leadership positions.
“We believe that business is like sports; if you want to win, the best players should start. It shouldn’t matter if they’re a man, woman, Black, white, Asian, Latino. If they’re good at their job, that’s all that should matter.”
Nick Clark, founder and CEO of Common Desk, said: “We did an honest assessment of our staff diversity score and created an action plan for where we want to be in 2021. We communicated this plan with our staff, landlord partners and investors. Juneteenth became a permanent staff holiday for the foreseeable future.”
Benchmark Mortgage is boosting its minority hiring, said CEO Brian McKinney, noting that 31% of its hires in the past year have been minorities, up from 19.7% minorities in all previous years.
The leaders at Visiting Nurse Association of Texas created specific goals to improve the company’s cultural competence and diversity. They also read and discussed So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. “While we evaluate salary equitability on a regular basis to remain competitive, we are currently ‘re’-reviewing salaries through the lens of diversity,” said CEO Katherine Krause.
Feeding the pipeline
Three years ago, HKS launched JEDI, which stands for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. But the racial reckoning brought new urgency to the cause, CEO Dan Noble said. “We committed conference scholarships and submissions to The National Organization of Minority Architects, engaged with the seven Historically Black Architectural Colleges and Universities, and funded the National Architects Foundation Diversity Scholarship and the ongoing Dallas American Institute of Architects Public High School Scholarship for students wishing to attend architecture school.”
Protiviti revved up recruiting at historically Black colleges and universities. It also deepened relationships and partnerships with the National Urban League, the National Association of Black Accountants and the National Society of Black Engineers.
Chris Green, vice president of T-Mobile’s Texas area field sales, said the telecommunications company is taking immediate additional steps to diversify talent and move more minorities into leadership roles by improving the way it hires, mentors, recognizes and rewards people.
It’s building on a nationwide “memorandum of understanding” signed with six national civil rights organizations last year, including $25 million in grants.
Texas Health Resources is developing a care team and leadership pipeline that is diverse, engaged and reflects the demographic makeup of the communities it serves, CEO Barclay Berdan said.
“Outside our own walls, Texas Health is expanding our efforts to increase diversity in our pool of suppliers, address health care disparities, create diversity in governance, and continue to provide an inclusive environment for all patient and team members to deliver culturally welcoming care.”
Fidelity Investments launched a number of programs to advance its women and minority employees into leadership roles, said Kirsten Kuykendoll, head of associate experience and Fidelity Texas regional leader.
Fidelity’s other initiatives include procuring goods and services from minority-owned suppliers and vendors and matching employees’ charitable donations to organizations addressing civil rights and social justice issues.
The learning curve
“Difficult subjects require honesty and courage,” said Greg Gordon, president and CEO of Gordon Highlander. “As a company, we strive for this every day. I hosted a podcast with a fellow Highlander, Brian Thompson, in which we spoke candidly about the purpose of the Black Lives Matter Movement from different perspectives.
“In this discussion we tried to unpack the importance of educating ourselves about the African American experience and identifying our own biases.”
Pariveda Solutions, which calls its employees “Fins,” developed a learning forum series called “Systemic Inequality Towards Black People,” said Bruce Ballengee, founder and CEO. “Led by our Fins of color, the series focuses on educating non-Black Fins about the difficulties our Black Fins face as people and professionals.”
Officers of GPA started department team huddles for each service area.
“This has allowed our board to gain valuable perspective and our employees one-on-one time to share their individual thoughts and ideas,” said CEO Kathy Enochs. “As a result, we see that our employees feel empowered and safe and know that their contribution is important. The added bonus is that we have experienced almost immediate action on day-to-day operations that impacts our ability to service our clients.”
I learned a new term — microaggression — indirect, subtle or unintentional discrimination. Scott + Reid General Contractors Inc. bought in an expert speaker who taught workers how to spot and address it.
The week after the George Floyd killing, Justin Bell, CEO of Credera, launched a five-part discussion series that he led. Each session featured a diverse group of leaders from within and outside the management technology company in Addison to give unvarnished views on race, racism, anti-racism, forming allies and general diversity and inclusivity concepts.
“I asked them to share elements of their background and experience so that our people can learn, develop more empathy and ultimately become better allies,” Bell said last week. “We just published each of the panel discussions as well as some of our key takeaways from the panelists experience on our website, and starting Tuesday, Dec. 1, we will disseminate them through LinkedIn and other social media channels.”
Catalyst Health Network created a three-week “Listen. Be. Do.” educational series featuring stories from employees and physicians who have personally been affected by racial injustices and inequalities, said Christopher Crow, president and founder. “We had a Black Lives Matter walk where our team members and their families united in support against injustices within and outside health care in the Black community.”
Showing the love
Sometimes little acts of kindness sent a powerful message.
Immediately after the killing of Floyd, Tyrone McCall, a surgeon at Cornea Associates of Texas, sent a personal email to the eight Black team members expressing his and the company’s concern and support for them.
“This touched me so deeply,” said administrative team leader Patricia Tompkins-Sullivan, who has been with the company for 19 years. “The email didn’t have to be sent. In this time of hurt in our race and community, Cornea made us feel like we were all that mattered.”
So why did McCall do it?
“I remember [Dallas Mavericks CEO] Cynt Marshall saying at a Top 100 luncheon that diversity is being invited to the party, but inclusion is being asked to dance. We want to make sure that our entire team is being asked to dance,” he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly identified Katherine Krause as being in the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas photo.
