It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

By Tieisha Smith

I started with Marsh McLennan as an analyst in 2004 and am now the Chief Administration Officer for Infrastructure Technology. My career shows how hard work, a willingness to learn and speaking up for what you want are rewarded.

There are many reasons why I have been at Marsh McLennan for nearly 20 years: our DEI accomplishments, our people (including fantastic mentors and supportive managers and leaders), and the tremendous amount of learning and growth opportunities. I’ve grown professionally, lived in four different states and built friendships with colleagues across the globe. I have gone sightseeing in Liverpool, tried octopus for the first time in Barcelona and enjoyed a food crawl in Hong Kong-all with my colleagues that have become friends.

During my time here, I have seen our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts evolve considerably.?

?In 2008, MGTI created a DEI team. I am a proud founding member of that team, which:

• Increased our diverse talent pipeline by collaborating with our HR partner on referral bonuses.
• Partnered with YearUp to bring in diverse interns who later transitioned to full-time hires.
• Created more awareness of DEI and related colleague retention programs through leadership roundtables with our colleagues.
• Started a buddy program to help new joiners feel included and quickly assimilate.
• Developed a language immersion program where colleagues help one another improve non-native language skills.

I was proud of how far we had come on our DEI journey. However, on May 25th, 2020, the world stopped when we witnessed George Floyd’s murder. Although this wasn't the first time we'd seen or heard about police brutality, there was something different about watching a man call out for his mother and die before your very eyes that shook everyone to their core. It changed so much for me, and I began to wonder: had I done enough?

I'd never seen so many of my colleagues as emotional or supportive as they were after this event that changed everything for the social justice movement. There was a feeling of community among black colleagues as we checked in on one another, got on Zoom calls and cried our hearts out with one another. At that moment, we were all together – we were one.

I was so grateful for that sense of community. We heard from Marsh McLennan leadership and I felt it was important to hear the support from our technology organization. I raised this with our technology leadership, and I was pleased with how receptive they were. I felt heard and supported.

From these discussions came a colleague communication empathizing with our pain and a listening session with all CIOs where black colleagues (including me) were able to discuss our feelings and our experiences.

Next we created the Technology Advisory Council on Race and Diversity (TACORD). The council has established partnerships with Blacks in Technology and Women Who Code to expand the pipeline of diverse talent into the technology organization. We’ve started to see success through these partnerships and more BIPOC women are being promoted across the organization.

Our team also produced a video of BIPOC colleagues sharing their experiences with racism and bias. To date, this has been one of my most powerful and rewarding experiences here at Marsh McLennan.

Our technology group and our company have accomplished quite a lot in a short span of time in the DEI space. However, we recognize that we have more work to do to further an environment of belonging. I remind myself constantly that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and I am committed to seeing the finish line. Part of this marathon to belonging and equity is that we should lift as we climb! I make it a priority to give to others the type of guidance and assistance I have received throughout my career. Pay it forward.