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For new employees, the elation of coming to the end of the hiring process and being offered a job can be such a rewarding feeling. Out of all the candidates that applied, they were the one who made it to the finish line.
However, this elation can quickly fizzle out if they come to discover that they were not the first-choice candidate. It’s not uncommon for employers to offer a job to their top candidate only for that candidate to decline, and so naturally they will present the offer to the next best candidate.
While this is a common occurrence, it can be tricky for employers if this new hire discovers they were not the initial pick. This notion is proven by a recent study conducted by Harvard Business Review, which discovered that those employees who knew or believed they were an alternate choice were less socially integrated and less likely to seek feedback than their peers.
In other words, this knowledge can have a real effect on morale, confidence, and overall job satisfaction for the new employee, as well as open up the door for imposter syndrome to creep in.
So, when this situation arises, how should employers handle this to ensure the relationship with the new hire remains positive and productivity remains unaffected?
1. Acknowledge the Situation with Transparency
Honesty and transparency are the foundation of a good working relationship. If a new hire confronts the fact that they weren’t the first choice, the worst thing an employer can do is deny or downplay the situation. Instead, acknowledge it openly, but add a positive spin to it – “we had a number of strong candidates, and it was a difficult decision. However, we’re confident that you bring the right skills, experience, and attitude to succeed in this role“. The key thing here is to focus on the value the new hire brings to the team, which should hopefully mitigate any potential hurt feelings.
2. Reaffirm the Candidate’s Strengths and Value
When someone discovers they were the second choice, it’s natural for them to feel a bit insecure, so reaffirming their strengths is a crucial step in managing this reaction. Ensure to reiterate the reasons they were chosen and emphasize the qualities that set them apart. By highlighting their unique contributions, you reinforce their confidence and show that they weren’t just a fallback option but a candidate with real potential.
3. Focus on the Future, Not the Past
Once the issue has been addressed, it’s important to shift the focus from the hiring process to the future. After all, what matters most is how the new hire performs in their role, not the order which they were selected in. This forward-looking approach helps the employee move past the “second choice” label and concentrate on their own success.
4. Create a Supportive Work Environment
Once the conversation is over, employers should ensure that the new hire feels welcomed and supported in their role. A positive onboarding experience, continuous feedback, and professional development opportunities can all help boost the new hire’s confidence and solidify their commitment to the company. In addition, regular check-ins during the onboarding process can provide the new hire with a platform to voice concerns and give them an opportunity to receive constructive feedback – which as highlighted by Harvard’s study above, can be a real issue!
5. Don’t Let the “Second Choice” Label Stick
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that the “second choice” label should not define the employee’s experience. Managers must ensure that this detail doesn’t follow the employee throughout their time at the company, as at the end of the day, the candidate who was ultimately selected for the job is the best fit for the organization, regardless of the hiring order.
Discovering that you were the second choice in the hiring process can be a delicate moment for any new employee. However, how employers respond to this situation can make all the difference in preserving, and even strengthening, the relationship with the new hire.
By handling the situation with transparency, focusing on the new hire’s strengths, and creating a supportive work environment, employers can turn a potentially negative discovery into a positive and affirming experience.
If you would like to discuss the training we offer around creating an inclusive working environment, please get in touch with us today.
You can accomplish remarkable things in just sixty minutes.
In 1969, Neil Armstrong’s first steps and initial exploration on the moon took about an hour.
In 2020 Mo Farah set a world record by running 21,330 meters in 60 minutes. That’s an average speed of over 13 mph, which is faster than most of us can run if we sprint just 100 meters. He just maintained that pace for a whole hour – try that on your next fun run!
Alternatively, you could make yourself a delicious meal of Beef Tacos with Homemade Guacamole. Our favorite recipe takes about an hour from ‘fridge to fork.
What we see here is that while sixty minutes might not seem that long – the length of a team meeting, a workout at the gym, or an episode of your favorite podcast – it can also be incredibly productive and even transformative.
At OrgShakers, we champion The Power of the Hour … 60 minutes where leaders can brainstorm, gain expert insights, or get the unbiased feedback needed to spark something extraordinary. After all, every major breakthrough began with an idea and someone ready to listen.
That’s why we’re excited to introduce our new consulting service: OrgShakers CL!CK.
OrgShakers CL!CK offers a one-hour, private and confidential online consultation with one of our experienced HR professionals. It’s perfect for those moments when you need advice to tackle a new challenge, to test and refine your HR strategy, or simply to try out new ideas to see what resonates.
With extensive global corporate experience, our team is equipped to provide guidance on any HR-related question, whether you’re dealing with everyday tactical issues or complex strategic concerns.
If you would like to learn more about this service and book in time with one of our team members, head over to https://orgshakers.com/orgshakers-click/
As we look to 2025, enlightened organizations will be planning to invest in enhancing the capabilities of their senior leaders.
Why now?
Because across multiple areas of business, opportunities are emerging to gain significant competitive and commercial advantage – and smart companies know that seizing these opportunities means shaking things up: Appointing new leaders. Building new teams. Giving existing teams important new goals and objectives. Enabling and empowering executives to think and act differently. Strengthening working relationships across the senior leadership group.
And for these changes to be successfully implemented, the development of key executives is vital.
At the same time, cost management is at the forefront of the C-suite’s agenda, which is why we have created the Executive Action Series – a leadership development program which is laser-focused on the five areas that will create the greatest return on investment:
1. Customer Experience
Customers are the fuel that keeps the fire burning for organizations, and so 2025 needs to be all about driving customer experience. This means personalized marketing that delivers what someone needs when they need it, an easy setup and installation, and efficient problem resolution. The idea is that companies will be creating business strategies that promote a sense of individuality and value for each customer, making their experience unique to them and putting their specific needs at the forefront.
2. Generative AI
A recent survey from Access Partnership discovered that 93% of employers expect to use generative AI in the workplace in the next five years. While the presence of AI isn’t necessarily new, generative AI has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for organizations, and is seemingly the harbinger for the age of working smart. But in order to optimize its uses, business leaders need to have a deep understanding of generative AI to unlock its full potential.
3. Remote and Hybrid Working
The tug-of-war between employers issuing ‘return to office’ mandates and employees wanting flexible working arrangements has been going on since lockdown ended. But aside from flexibility being a strategy for attracting talent, the digitalization of the working world has seen the barriers of place and time evaporate, allowing organizations to gain access to the best talent on a global scale. Hybrid and remote work, if managed successfully, can play a huge role in a business’ economic strategy.
4. Skills-Based Hiring
Employers have increasingly relaxed their need for qualifications in favor of skills, aptitude, and attitude. Skills-based hiring continues to gain momentum, and by identifying areas where this can be woven into business strategy, employers will catalyze social mobility and foster a more diverse workforce.
5. Resilience
An organization that can foster resilience is going to be best prepared for disruptive events that can happen at any given moment (economic downturns, cyber-attacks, global pandemics, etc.). Having the knowledge to recognize, predict, and mitigate risk will be fundamental to the health and sustainability of a business.
The Executive Action Series is divided into five modules that are spread across the corporate calendar. Each module covers the theory behind best practices, and then brings these to life through a combination of case studies, real-world scenarios, and visits to organizations where these practices can be experienced first-hand. Participants will also hear directly from world-class subject matter experts, as well as collaborating with other leaders in their organization.
Each module will help equip leaders with a variety of new tools and knowledge that will create resilience and sustainability for the future:
Module #1: Leadership Portrait
We use comprehensive diagnostics, alongside personal and team reflection, to gain actionable insights into individual leadership brand and enhance contributions to team effectiveness. We also consider how the ensuing levels of trust allow leaders to leverage differences of opinions for enhanced outcomes.
Module #2: Shaping Strategy Through Customers, Diversity & AI
Together, we examine the impact on strategy of three levers that the research above identifies as critical to current success: customer experience, workforce diversity, and generative AI. Further, we introduce world-class thought leaders to facilitate discussions about key issues that will be important to future success.
Module #3: Activating Strategy
At this stage, we explore a range of powerful tools for activating strategy through operations, including effective leadership of large-scale change and the impact of operational choices on customer experience. We also introduce the concept of the Program Acceleration Office as a best practice for optimizing a portfolio of projects.
Module #4: Winning Through Talent
Knowing that 46% of CEOs have Talent in their Top-3 immediate priorities, we explore the evolution of the workplace and the talent strategies that will help us win the war for talent. What can senior leaders do to enable the recruitment, development, and retention of the right people across the right organization?
Module #5: Sustaining and Evolving a Resilient Strategy
To sustain success, we must smooth out the peaks and troughs that are typical of ongoing change. We explore the latest methods of building strength and flexibility throughout the organization to cultivate resilience across your workforce, your culture, and your strategy, and to help weather turbulent business cycles.
To ensure skills and insights gained from the program are applied when executives return to the workplace, Program Guides will provide virtual facilitation between modules and encourage ongoing collaboration through small group peer support coaching.
If you would like to discuss the Executive Action Series in more detail, please get in touch with us via gordon.robinson@orgshakers.com or anya@orgshakers.com
As we continue to navigate new technologies and advancements in AI, it can be challenging for employers to keep up with the rules of the working world when the rules are always changing. That’s why this month we’re recommending Gary A. Bolles’s The Next Rules of Work: The Mindset, Skillset and Toolset to Lead Your Organization Through Uncertainty.
Gary is the Chair for the Future of Work with Singularity University and a Partner in strategy consulting firm Charette, LLC. As a globally recognized expert on the future of work, he regularly consults with C-suite leaders of global companies, labor and education leaders from Brazil to Canada, and global non-profits.
This vast amount of experience and expertise has been channelled into his latest book, which acts as a guide for employers to thrive in the modern economy where the rules of work are changing almost as fast as people can learn them.
‘Old rules’ have long dominated modern companies – under this ethos, bosses embraced the idea of presenteeism and the basic hierarchical structure that leaders called the shots and workers obeyed. But the new way of working is shedding these old rules, and in its place the ‘Next Rules’ are emerging.
Those companies embracing these new rules are following a new mindset. Managers are not the source of all knowledge, but rather the guides who help workers achieve their goals and flow in the right direction. It’s about embracing innovation, creative thinking, and autonomy to result in a workplace that is fluid enough that it can take change in its stride whilst still growing in an upwards direction.
However, change has always been a tough pill to swallow, for employers and employees alike. But if employers are proactive about change and creating and implementing strategies to mitigate change fatigue, then those businesses can thrive under the new rules of work.
Gary’s book captures the notion of change and the mindsets that are needed to thrive from it expertly, pooling his own knowledge with psychological data and analytics to create a guide that all employers should read if they want their organization to not just survive, but thrive in a contemporary working world.
If you would like to discuss how we can help you strengthen your change management strategies, please get in touch with us today.
And in the meantime, make sure you grab a copy of The Next Rules of Work – you can purchase it here in the UK and here in the US.
You can do a lot in sixty minutes.
In 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright marked the dawn of aviation with their FOUR successful sustained human flights. All four of these happened in the space of just one hour!
In 2022, Filippo Ganna cycled 56.8km in one hour setting a new world record. To achieve this, he sustained an average speed of over 35mph for a full 60-minutes. Try matching that at your next spinning class!
And, today, it’s estimated that Jeff Bezos will be earing around $3.5 million an hour.
(So, Jeff, if you read the whole of this article it will have taken up just $120,000 of your valuable time which I’m sure you’ll agree is great value!)
What we are seeing here is that although 60-minites may seem like a relatively short amount of time – the length of a lunch break, the time it takes to travel home, the duration of an episode of TV – it’s also possible for an hour to be highly productive … and maybe even groundbreaking.
At OrgShakers, we believe in The Power of the Hour … 60-minutes where leaders can bounce around ideas, receive expert advice, or get the objective feedback they need to start something incredible. After all, every successful business we’ve come to know started with an idea – and someone who was willing to listen.
That’s why we have launched our brand-new consulting service: OrgShakers CL!CK.
OrgShakers CL!CK is a one-hour, private and confidential online consultation with one of our seasoned HR professionals. It offers instant advice and is designed specifically for those times when you need help figuring out how to overcome a challenge, when you need advice on your HR processes, or if you simply just want a sounding board for new ideas to see what sticks.
With years of first-hand corporate experience on a global scale, our team can advise you on any HR question you may have, whether that be the day-to-day tactical challenges or a complex strategic issue.
If you would like to learn more about this service and book in time with one of our team members, head over to https://orgshakers.com/orgshakers-click/
As the pace of change continues to increase, forward-looking organizations will be planning to invest in enhancing the capabilities of their senior leadership teams.
Why now? Because across multiple areas of business, opportunities are emerging to gain significant competitive and commercial advantage – and smart companies know that investing in the development of their key executives is vital if they are to successfully seize these opportunities.
At the same time, cost management is at the forefront of the C-suite’s agenda, which is why OrgShakers has created the Executive Action Series – a leadership development program which is laser-focused on supporting your senior leaders and executives with their strategic goals in the face of five emerging business challenges:
1. Customer Experience
Customers are the fuel that keep the fire burning for organizations, so the future needs to be all about driving customer experience. This means personalized marketing that only requires a simple approach for putting it to good use which will deliver what someone needs when they need it, as well as efficient problem resolution. The idea is that companies will be creating business strategy that promotes a sense of individuality and value for each customer, making their experience unique to them and putting their specific needs at the forefront.
2. Generative AI
A recent survey from Access Partnership discovered that 93% of employers expect to use generative AI in the workplace in the next five years. While the presence of AI isn’t necessarily new, generative AI has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for organizations, and is seemingly the harbinger for the age of working smart. But in order to optimize its uses, business leaders need a deep understanding of how generative AI will support and enable their business strategy to unlock its full potential.
3. Remote and Hybrid Working
The tug-of-war between employers issuing ‘return to office’ mandates and employees wanting flexible working arrangements has been going on since lockdown ended. But aside from flexibility being a strategy for attracting talent, the digitalisation of the working world has seen the barriers of place and time evaporate, allowing organizations to gain access to the best talent on a global scale. Hybrid and remote work, if managed successfully, can play a huge role in a business’ economic strategy.
4. Skills-Based Hiring
Employers have increasingly relaxed their need for qualifications in favor of skills, aptitude, and attitude. Skills-based hiring continues to gain momentum, and by identifying areas where this can be woven into business strategy, employers will catalyse social mobility and foster a more diverse workforce.
5. Resilience
An organization that can foster both organizational and individual resilience is going to be best prepared for disruptive events that can happen at any given moment (economic downturns, cyber-attacks, global pandemics, etc). Having the knowledge to recognize, predict, and mitigate risk will be fundamental to the health and sustainability of a business.
The Series is divided into five modules that are spread across the corporate calendar. Each module covers the theory behind best practices, and then brings these to life through a combination of facilitated conversation and group coaching paired with case studies, real-world scenarios, and visits to organizations where these practices can be experienced first-hand. Participants will also hear directly from world-class subject matter experts, as well as collaborating with other leaders in their organization.
Executive Action Series
Each module will help equip leaders with a variety of new tools and knowledge that will yield resilience and sustainability for the future:
We use comprehensive diagnostics, alongside personal and team reflection, to gain deep, meaningful insights into individual leadership brand and enhance contributions to team effectiveness. We will also consider how the ensuing levels of trust allow leaders to leverage differences of opinions for enhanced outcomes.
Together, we examine the impact on strategy of three levers that the research above identifies as critical to current success: customer experience, workforce diversity, and harnessing the power of AI. In addition, we’ll introduce world-class thought leaders to facilitate discussions about key issues that will be important to future success.
At this stage, we explore a range of powerful tools for activating strategy through operations, including effective leadership of large-scale change and the impact of operational choices on customer experience. We will also introduce the concept of the Program Acceleration Office as a best practice for optimizing a portfolio of projects.
Knowing that 46% of CEOs have Talent in their Top-3 immediate priorities, we will explore the evolution of the workplace and the talent strategies that will help us win the war for talent. What can senior leaders do to enable the recruitment, development, and retention of the right people across the right organization?
To sustain success, we must smooth out the peaks and troughs that are typical of ongoing change. We will explore the latest methods of building strength and flexibility throughout the organization to cultivate resilience across your workforce, your culture, and your strategy, and help weather turbulent business cycles.
To ensure skills and insights gained from the Series are applied when executives return to the workplace, Coaches will provide virtual facilitation between modules and encourage ongoing collaboration through small group peer support coaching.
If you would like to discuss the Executive Action Series in more detail, please get in touch with us via anya@orgshakers.com or gordon.robinson@orgshakers.com or reach out to us through our website.
During our Inspiring Inclusion Webinar, panellist Kelli Hammersmith read an excerpt of David Brooks’s How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. This inspired us to choose David’s book as this month’s reading recommendation.
David is an Opinion columnist for The New York Times, as well as being the author of several books. With his specialism being centred around political, social, and cultural trends, he has poured his years of expertise into this fantastic book, which explores the true and unkempt value of understanding people on a deeper level. As he himself observes, “The older I get, the more I come to the certainty that there is one skill at the centre of any healthy family, company, classroom, community or nation: the ability to see each other, to know other people, to make them feel valued, heard and understood.”
However, despite the importance of this skill, many of us can often fall short in truly understanding and valuing one another. The book is therefore driven by a series of questions which David endeavours to supply the answers to: what kind of attention should one cast on others? What conversations are vital to truly knowing a person? Which aspects of a person’s history deserve attention?
The answers to these questions are all drawn from various research from the fields of psychology and neuroscience, as well as the worlds of theatre, history, and education – interwoven with David’s own personal experiences and trademark sense of curiosity. This allows the book to act as a helpful and practical guide to fostering deeper connections at home, at work, and throughout our lives.
It is for this reason why we believe that this book is a must read for HR professionals and leaders alike. Our roles require us to understand the fundamentals of being human – it’s in the name! – and David expertly conveys not just how to ensure you are seeing and valuing the people around you, but also why it’s so important to be doing so.
If you would like to discuss how we can help coach your leaders to better understand the art of seeing their employees deeply, please get in touch with us today.
And in the meantime, make sure you grab a copy of How to Know a Person – you can purchase it here in the UK and here in the US.
British department store Marks & Spencer’s was one of the latest large companies to announce that they were adopting a co-leadership structure. They now position themselves alongside such names as Salesforce, Netflix, and Goldman Sachs in this venture – and this has rekindled the debate over whether more organizations should consider a co-CEO format.
A recent study of 87 public companies with co-CEOs were found to produce more value for shareholders than their sole-CEO peers. Co-leaders generated an average annual shareholder return of 9.5% – significantly better than the 6.9% average for each company’s relevant index.
The study also found that co-CEO tenure was basically the same as sole-CEO tenure; about five years on average.
Despite these promising statistics, when we asked our followers on LinkedIn if they thought co-CEOs are a good idea, the results were divided nearly down the middle: 57% of respondents said no and 42% said yes.
Let’s explore some of the promising aspects of co-leadership, as well as some of the potential drawbacks.
Benefits of co-leadership:
Potential drawbacks of co-leadership:
As seen above, there are a number of ways co-leadership can lend to the success of an organization, and also a number of ways it could stunt this success. Context plays a key factor in deciding whether or not co-leadership is the right move for your business. For start-ups and smaller companies, as well as companies going through significant changes or mergers, co-leadership can be a fantastic tool to help these processes go smoothly.
It’s important to be able to recognize when co-leadership could be effective; a company may benefit from using the co-leadership structure at a certain point of development, but it may not be as beneficial later down the line.
I believe proper preparation is fundamental in mitigating potential co-leadership drawbacks. At the beginning of a co-leadership endeavor, both leaders can increase their success and effectiveness by having a dedicated coach to help them address workplace tension, optimize their skills, and complement each other rather than tread on each other’s toes. This same notion applies to the team as well. Offering them group coaching around what to expect and how to navigate being led by co-leaders can help avoid that ‘playing parents off each other’ scenario.
If you would like to discuss how we can help identify areas where co-leadership would be beneficial and support this implementation, please get in touch with me at amanda@orgshakers.com
It’s not a far cry to assume that positivity is a positive thing…but is it always?
There is a lot of research to show that being happy and positive at work leads to better productivity. The famous study from Oxford University is commonly cited after discovering that employees are 13% more productive when happier. Meanwhile, a different report found that positivity in the workplace had a significant impact on employee wellbeing, productivity, and organizational performance.
However, positivity can only lead to productivity if it is grounded in realism, otherwise it can very quickly slip into toxic positivity.
Leaders exhibit traits of toxic positivity when they convince themselves that acting happy and being blindly positive will help change the outcome to a situation that is near-impossible to fix. No matter how bad or stressful the situation, or how difficult the circumstances, they will keep on smiling and tell their teams they ‘won’t take no for an answer’ and to ‘persevere’ – placing the responsibility on their team to attempt to survive in a broken and dysfunctional environment without addressing the underlying issues in the first place.
This is why it’s important to strike a balance and ensure that positivity is grounded in reality. In order to do this, there are two main points of focus for leaders to consider:
If leaders are actively fostering transparency and psychological safety, this will create a fertile working environment for growth and innovation to take place, while mitigating the risk of becoming toxically positive. This balance will keep positivity grounded, and result in a team that feel valued and are fully engaged with the organization’s goals.
To discuss how we can help build psychological safety and inclusion strategies into your workplace culture, and help coach leaders on how to avoid the slippery slope of toxic positivity, please get in touch with me at marty@orgshakers.com
In the latest episode of Dr. Jim Kanichirayil’s podcast, Engaging Leadership, OrgShakers’ very own Brittany Burton sat down with him at the HR Transform in Las Vegas to delve into the nuances of talent strategy within high-growth organizations.
Brittany hones in on the importance of recognizing and nurturing emergent leaders within a company, especially in the context of start-ups. She discusses how identifying and developing these individuals is essential for innovation and growth, emphasizing the personalized nature of effective talent development.
Listen to the full episode below:
Ever feel like your HR department is lost in a jungle of software solutions? You’re not alone. In today’s dynamic business landscape, navigating the maze of HR technology can feel like an overwhelming task. But don’t fret! With a strategic mindset and expert guidance, organizations can turn this challenge into an opportunity for growth.
Let’s start by demystifying the problem. HR software sprawl – the proliferation of disparate software solutions within HR departments – is a common headache for organizations worldwide. From recruitment tools to performance management platforms, the array of options can be overwhelming. Recent studies reveal that organizations are managing anywhere from 15 to 50 different HR technologies, highlighting the magnitude of the challenge.
But what does this mean for businesses? Beyond the logistical nightmare of managing multiple systems, HR software sprawl carries significant costs and risks. Fragmented data, duplicated efforts, and underutilized software licenses are just the tip of the iceberg. Shockingly, research shows that a staggering 83% of HR leaders regret recent tech buying decisions, underscoring the urgency for a strategic overhaul.
Fortunately, there’s a solution. Organizations can tame the HR tech beast by adopting a strategic approach to tech investment. This entails streamlining technology stacks, meticulously evaluating vendor solutions, and aligning tech investments with organizational goals. But it doesn’t stop there – another crucial aspect is streamlining HR business practices.
This involves reevaluating processes, automating repetitive tasks, and empowering employees with self-service tools. AI-powered solutions like Rippling, Copilot, and Harriet can revolutionize HR operations by speeding up processes, providing new insights, and uncovering trends. By leveraging AI and corresponding tools, organizations can unlock unprecedented efficiency and effectiveness in HR management.
Amidst the tech revolution, it’s also crucial to recognize the value of the employee data your organization collects. People data is vital to understanding employee performance, engagement, and satisfaction. And by harnessing the power of people’s data, organizations can make data-driven decisions that drive business success and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Equally important is that this data – much of it personally identifiable information (PII) – is securely stored and processed in accordance with local data protection legislation. Here network security specialists like ditno can help manage the potential security risks presented by systems using multiple applications and databases.
At OrgShakers, we’re passionate about empowering organizations to thrive in the digital era. Our wealth of experience and collaborative ethos empower HR leaders to make informed decisions and drive meaningful change. Whether it’s optimizing tech stacks, vetting vendor solutions, streamlining HR business practices, or leveraging AI and people data, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
So, whilst the HR software sprawl may seem like an insurmountable challenge, it’s also an opportunity for innovation and growth. With a strategic mindset, the right partners, and cutting-edge technology, organizations can navigate the complexities of HR technology and emerge stronger than ever. With OrgShakers by your side, you can simplify HR, realign your practices, and embrace the future of HR technology with confidence.
To discuss this topic in further detail, please get in touch with me at sayid@orgshakers.com
Taking inspiration from the International Women’s Day 2024 theme – #InspireInclusion – this webinar explores how organizations, leaders, and individuals can create inspiring, equitable workplaces.