Our #EmployeeForward vision: DE&I approach in the US

Combining our global and local goals to create a holistic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program

Signify local teams are empowered to?identify and address the dimensions of DE&I that are most pressing within their specific cultures and geographies.?

Cathy Cubberly , Head of HR, Genlyte Solutions, Color Kinetics & Entertainment Business Unit and North America at Signify, explains?in detail about how DE&I is?deeply?embedded in #SignifyLife?in the workplace in the United States.

Beyond the global DE&I priorities (increasing representation of women and increasing early career talents), which DE&I issue(s) are most important for Signify in the US?

In the US, our local priority – the +1 in our global 2+1 approach to DE&I – is increasing racial and ethnic diversity. We have long-since complied with federal policies and goals and continue to develop processes and systems to help us build, advance the careers of and retain a representative workforce. For example, we’ve integrated DE&I throughout the hiring process, from presenting candidate shortlists that reflect a diverse pool of applicants, to forming diverse hiring panels to prevent unconscious bias in our decision-making.

On top of this, embedding inclusion into our culture, or what we call #SignifyLife in the region, remains a priority.

Why is this a priority for Signify in the US?

Our people each bring their own unique experiences to Signify and make an impact in our company. We want to ensure that they are supported and heard; these different perspectives enable us to better serve our customers and deliver on our Purpose and goals. I strongly believe that we get the best from our people when they feel they can show up as their authentic selves and are confident that they belong.

Have you set measurable goals for this?

We track our progress in recruitment, retention and promotions – in line with the Diversity Dashboard that you can see in our most recent global DE&I report. We also measure the impact of our inclusive practices through our quarterly team survey.?

What initiatives are in place to help achieve your goals? Do you have any progress you can share / anything interesting learned along the way?

A particular bright spot for me in our local US DE&I journey is our seven, employee-led Connection Point (CPs) Groups, which offer a place for colleagues from different communities and backgrounds to belong. The CPs support professional development, promote community outreach, and foster multicultural fluency and allyship. I am so impressed by the group co-leads’ creativity and ability to bring our people together to listen to, learn from, support and celebrate one another.

I’ll also add that last year, our team developed a playbook to help our fellow colleagues around the world embed DE&I into their country’s practices. It’s powerful to 1) reflect on the progress we’ve made since 2020, which was truly an inflection point in the US, with heightened social dialogue on racial inequalities and violence, and 2) now see others such as the Greater India team embark on their own journey.

How have people at Signify in Greater India reacted to the program?

We held a DE&I best practice deep dive with Sumit Joshi, Irani Roy and the Greater India Leadership Team in early 2024. The leaders asked the right questions about the US’s inclusive practices and were very receptive to bringing them to life for our colleagues in India.

It’s important to remember that this journey requires a shift in thinking about diversity in terms of KPIs to embedding it as a cornerstone of our company culture. It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight.

That said, the US team and I are proud of and continue to be inspired by the work we’re seeing on our internal and external communications channels from the Greater India team, such as the stunning wall mural project the Bangalore team undertook in a similar fashion to ours in Bridgewater.