Developing a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion roadmap and company mindset

The challenge

The leadership of a large global pharmaceutical company placed a priority focus on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) with the intention of defining and developing a roadmap of internally and externally focused initiatives to be mobilized, and embedding more holistic DEI thinking within the organization. Recognizing that DEI was top of mind for their teams both at work and outside of work, leadership prioritized efforts that would drive their ability to attract and retain a more diverse talent pool, improve the career pathing and opportunities for existing talent, and create an environment for safe and candid conversations related to internal and external events. With a newly minted DEI Steering Committee comprised of representation across the US organization, the leadership team engaged Vynamic as a strategic partner to lead the development and execution of the DEI plan as well as provide a more holistic DEI lens on planned roadmap initiatives.

The approach

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion initiatives reflect an iterative journey rather than a static goal. Continuous changes to objectives and activities are expected as the organization improves its DEI acumen. As a result, Vynamic leveraged an agile but structured approach to enable execution on the roadmap. Through a focus on the US DEI roadmap, dashboard, and mentorship toolkit, Vynamic established themselves as strategic thought partners for the DEI Steering Committee. Vynamic aligned activities to five key areas:

DEI as a business priority

Developed and integrated DEI activities and processes for all levels of the organization and created a process for employees to identify and track their own DEI priorities.

Hiring and retention processes

Reviewed and conducted a gap assessment for current hiring and retention of historically underrepresented groups (e.g. Black, Latinx) as well as led discussions to change the status quo.

Existing talent development

Created and socialized a toolkit to provide guidance on mentorship programming and relationships, understanding that mentorship does not happen organically for all employees.

DEI education

Led DEI-focused workshops with key internal leaders to improve DEI acumen and created opportunities for all employees to learn, discuss, and internalize DEI in their everyday activities.

Accountability and empowerment

Established metrics and developed a dashboard to track the impact of DEI activities in partnership with Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, and leadership. Additionally, empowered leaders to exemplify positive DEI behaviors with their own teams.

The result