Action Now.

A few days ago, I sent this message to our team:

"Hello Dialers,

I hope you all are safe and sound. It’s a unique time in America, and although I generally dislike taking positions on things that are not work related, I feel like this is such an extraordinary situation that it deserves for that policy to be revised.

Most importantly, obviously, the death of George Floyd is impossible to make sense of. Completely wrong, completely confusing, and worthy of everybody’s anger and frustration. But, so was Oscar Grant’s death. As was Michael Brown. As were countless other stories over the years like Amadou Diallo, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, etc.

I don’t want to vilify the police. I don’t. It’s got to be a very difficult job. High tension. Dealing with criminals on a daily basis. Trying to (hopefully) do the right thing, but often in very stressful, dangerous and dynamic situations. But for God’s sake, these extreme examples of abuse have to stop. They have to. Thankfully we have cell phones with cameras and (limited) body camera footage, to finally show in living color what people have been complaining about for decades.

I understand that it might be difficult to focus on your day to day job with all the mayhem around us and around the country. I also understand that you may be angry, worried, nervous and unsettled during these times (not to mention the 3 month lockdown, economic meltdown and unprecedented worldwide health crisis all going on at the same time). It is completely normal and rational to feel unsettled. You are not alone.

We have already said that the first Thursday of every month is going to be a mental health Thursday, with no meetings, and an opportunity to step away from work and deal with life if needed. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. If you need more...if you are feeling stressed, if you are worried or confused...please do what you need to do for yourself. Take time, spend time with your family and friends (safely), and don’t stress about work for a while.

Ultimately, I hope this national crisis helps the country get better. Better for everybody. But mostly, better for those who are treated differently than others. Those who are unsettled in their daily lives because of bigotry and prejudice that make them the undeserved focus of others’ attention. This country (and this company) were built on the idea that all men and women are created equal and that everybody has an equal opportunity to do great things if they work for it and make it happen. Everybody deserves that opportunity, and I hope the country can allow that for everybody. I will make sure that Dialpad always does."

But it became more clear that we can't just say we're going to care and create an equal playing field, we have to put processes in place to ensure that happens. The entire #WorkfromAnywhere movement that COVID-19 has made obviously apparent is that we are no longer all trying to hire from the same limited talent pool of a few key cities where a lot of startups live. We now have the ability to hire great talent from anywhere. And, one of the greatest advantages that gives us, is that we can now hire a much more diverse team of talented individuals than are concentrated in San Francisco, Vancouver, Austin and New York. That broader talent pool allows us to cure an extremely troubling trend in high tech startups where company after company (our own included) do not have the diversity, especially from the African American community, that would fundamentally improve the quality of the company, its products, and the culture of meritocracy and inclusion that we strive to create.

From this point forward @DialpadHQ will require that every open position have African American candidates *actively* engaged in the interview process before any candidate is ever hired. This starts now. Action matters.