Building a culture that's accepting, inclusive and supportive

What does it mean to you to be the first Black woman officer at Schreiber?

As I reflect on the words, “first Black woman officer,” I have a variety of emotions.

It's still surreal. When I started with the company 15 years ago, I was intentional about getting mentors who were men, worked in different countries, other plants and different areas of the business. About six or seven years ago, I realized that I didn’t have a mentor who looked like me in Schreiber. I struggled with that. In particular, I struggled to articulate that, as most people wouldn't be able to relate.

Not working with someone who looks like you is a non-experience for most Schreiber partners. But there were years I was the only Black HR person, Black Team Leader, Black woman at home office and Black Director.

It felt isolating at times, but I made the choice to go outside the organization and get mentors who looked like me and could coach and counsel me on things I was experiencing that I felt were unique to who I was. I want to shift that narrative. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did for many years.

Representation matters. When people see others like them doing what they want to do, they feel it's possible and would be supported.??

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What makes Schreiber different from other companies you have worked for??

There is a genuineness about our organization. We truly care about each other and desire for us to collectively succeed. When I hear a new hire talk about our culture and how welcoming and caring it is, it reminds me of when I first started and wondered: "Will this wear off?" It hasn’t!

Turnover and retention are problems for many organizations right now. How is Schreiber trying to recruit and retain African American talent?

More than ever, companies have to care about people in ways relevant to them. We have always had different avenues to recruit African American talent. What we have not been as effective at is keeping our African American talent. To address the turnover we're seeing, we're dialing up our connection and development efforts all over the organization and creating specific programs for our talent, such as our Multicultural Leadership Development program and more focused outreach efforts. Both are intended to let our African American talent know we see them and are here to support them. Sometimes it can be hard to feel seen and connect with others who look like you when you're represented in small numbers and in various locations.

Moving forward what excites you most about what Schreiber is doing to embrace DE&I?

Early in our DE&I journey, conversations often started with the “business case." At times, that felt offensive when asked and caused me to wonder:

“Why do I have to give you the business case on how to make me feel valued, appreciated and supported?"

The reality is DE&I has always been part of our caring culture. But what's different is we have acknowledged that caring for people must be relevant to them and what they need. The needs and challenges of our partners are different. Our DE&I efforts are in place to make sure that our culture is accepting, inclusive and supportive of all partners.

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