CHAMBER INITIATIVES Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee Hema Heimuli is an expert in organizational change and development, making him the perfect leader of an initiative looking to help local businesses maximize their profitability potential through changing their culture. As chair of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative, Heimuli is creating a committee that will work to define what diversity, equity and inclusion look like for Utah County as well as help businesses implement DEI programs in their organizations. “We feel that this is a very important initiative,” said Heimuli, who also works as director of people and organizational development at US Synthetic. “It’s one that we need here in Utah County and it’s one that we feel needs to be strongly at the forefront of people’s minds and in the way that they develop their culture.” The idea of diversity and inclusion can be misinterpreted as catering to a specific group or groups, Heimuli said. However, his approach centers on promoting diversity of thought and creating a safe environment where those thoughts can be expressed. “There’s been several studies that have been done where we know organizations perform better when there is greater diversity of thought, greater diversity of people, in organizations,” he said. “There are data and there are studies out there that truly show that organizations with true diversity and inclusion perform better, and so that to me is what we are after and that to me
FRIENDS, STAFF, RESIDENTS & RESIDENT FAMILIES MAKE US THE BEST.
Thank You
Located near you: AMERICAN FORK LEHI OREM PAYSON PROVO SALEM SPANISH FORK To Schedule a Tour CALL 801-836-9527
www.BeeHiveHomes.com 46 • Utah Valley Chamber • www.thechamber.org
“We feel that this is a very mportant initiative. It’s one that we need here in Utah County and it’s one that we feel needs to be strongly at the forefront of people’s minds and in the way that they evelop their culture.” - Hema Heimuli Chair of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative is what we need.” A 10-year study conducted by Google found that one of the biggest ways for an organization to be successful is to create a culture of psychological safety. This would include, for example, a culture where people felt safe expressing their views during a meeting, even if they differed from those of others. Heimuli said it is also important to consider people with different thought processes when hiring. “These are principles that we’re hoping to bring out that would make everybody be more productive, more effective,” he said. The ultimate goal is for his committee to develop a program with all the resources local companies would need to implement a DEI program in their own organization. The resources could eventually be put up on a website where companies could access them. “We understand that DEI is a big initiative,” he said. “We understand that people don’t have the resources to implement a DEI initiative, and so we want to make it easy for these organizations.” Doing so will literally result in companies improving their cultures. “This initiative is going to help organizations be more productive and increase their productivity in their culture in so many ways as a whole,” Heimuli said.
