DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

Since 2022 began, Guest Services has welcomed four new Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), has evolved its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff Advisory Council (DEISAC) to include the leaders from those groups, and employed the use of a variety of DEI tools to continue making our community welcoming to all.

Each new ERG designated an executive sponsor and two co-chairs, has independently created their unique name and charter, and chosen one or more of the “4-C” model to focus on at the start.

“Remember, everyone is welcome to join any ERG. These are open and inclusive to all. You can join as a member or ally, as long as you’re a Guest Services team member,” says LaJuana Warren, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Commerce

Making a business impact for your company

4 C’S FRAMEWORK

Community

Benefiting the communities you serve

Career

Making an impact on the careers of your members

MEET GUEST SERVICES’ EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS

WIN: Women’s Initiative Network (Women’s ERG)

Executive Sponsor: Barry Trice

Co-Chairs: Angie Thurston, Joana Vasilescu

The women’s group is focusing on ‘Career’ as their first ‘C.’ The group hosted a panel discussion in September with several female senior leaders at Guest Services, during which panelists shared career advice, how they achieve work/life balance, and ideas on self-care.

Hola: Hispanic Latino Assembly (Hispanic/Latinx ERG)

Executive Sponsor: Laura Sherman

Co-Chairs: Ody Hernandez, Ken Lopez

The Hispanic/Latinx ERG is focusing on ‘Career’ and ‘Culture.’ The group created a flyer to share ideas on how to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month, is leading the charge to ensure our communication is multilingual, and is working with a language interpreter service to make future ERG meetings more inclusive by providing realtime translation capabilities.

CULTURE

Raising awareness to social/cultural group issues

Kaleidoscope (LGBTQ+ ERG)

Executive Sponsor: Jeff Ritter

Co-Chairs: Lisa Duncan, Joe Pereira

The LGBTQ+ group is working on ‘Culture.’ At each meeting, they have an individual share their “coming out” story. The stories have been heartwarming and inspiring. Future events include viewing the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index and looking at best practices we might be able to incorporate.

BELIEVE: Black Employees Leading in Inclusive, Excellence, Vision & Education

Executive Sponsor: Dan Stoltzfus

Co-Chairs: Paulette Lassiter, Mona Aleem

This group is working on the ‘Career’ initiative and in their last meeting brainstormed ideas for future sessions, which included succession planning, working with mentors, and having a panel discussion with senior leaders to understand the skills and competencies that are valued for promotional opportunities.

Reinforcing Our Dei Strategy

In addition to developing our ERGs, Guest Services has implemented an arsenal of initiatives and exciting developments. Here are a few:

• Working to provide more robust Harassment Prevention Training and Unconscious Bias Training.

• Relaunching EmPulse to ensure we are focused on potential discrimination or harassment issues –in essence, being more proactive versus reactive.

• Working to upgrade our current helpline to include different language options.

• We are working with a language interpretation company to make sure our communication materials are bilingual so that we are connecting with all team members.

• We have made significant adjustments and updates to our harassment policy.

• Nico Foris has signed the CEO Action Pledge. This reinforces our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and gives us access to a massive platform of tools (learn more at CEOAction.com).

• The Speaker Series has welcomed seven speakers to wide acclaim since its creation early in 2022 and will continue in 2023.

• Additional Training has been implemented and distributed to expand on all covered and protected classes of employees, including gender identity.

• A Juneteenth Luncheon and Celebration was held at Columbia Island Marina.

• Team members throughout the country attended local Pride Festivals.

To continue expanding on our community outreach programs, “We’ve been exploring the possibility of a partnership to assist the company with organizing community outreach. It’s something we’re excited about expanding on in 2023,” says Warren.

“We’re extremely proud of our progress this past year and look forward to building on it even more in 2023!”