Skills UP: Creating an Inclusive Workplace

@Crystal Bruce, my team has two remote major gift officers, so one of the biggest ways the on-site team works to be inclusive is to schedule meetings at times during which both officers--who live in different time zones--can attend. We're also mindful of scheduling meetings during religious holidays. During meetings, we always make sure to give the folks tuning in remotely a chance to speak up.

@Crystal Bruce
We ar firm belivers of a rising tide floats all boats.

We have talked about doing an internal equity adjustment for certain departments (nursing, cleaning staff, culinary). HR has not rolled it out but it is in the begining stages. This is more of an organization wide plan (outside of development).

@Crystal Bruce under our new leadership I've seen many strides toward this, starting with workshops and specifically how to be anti-racist- challenging our assumptions, who we are, who we perceive we are, and where we want to be. And we learned that while we've done reasonably well for an institution our size, there is always work to be done. The current administration has made it a point to have these kind of conversations on a regular basis and have ongoing training and workshops to support the work and creating an inclusive workplace.

@Crystal Bruce Something I have begun at my organization is at our weekly team meeting I present information about DEAI. The purpose is for general professional development for our team but also to start conversation about creating an inclusive workplace but also making sure that the programming, workshops, events and every day admission activities are the most inclusive, equitable, and accessible they can be!

@Crystal Bruce as a National museum, we recognize that we, as staff, have much to learn from not only our internal diversity but that of our visitors. We put into place things that make everyone feel that they belong in a museum. This includes programs that make a museum accessible regardless of socioeconomic status. We use photos of people with a wide spectrum of ethnic diversity. We are working towards (we are a new museum) putting into place language interpretation for several different languages as well as enhancements for hearing-impaired patrons. The greater the diversity of patrons we see, the more we can learn and make greater strides in enhancing the workplace to ensure everyone feels included and safe.

@Crystal Bruce We have done several assessment tools. Results show differences in work style, personalities, understanding of differences. We have staff in 20s to 60s all with different perspectives on our office culture. We are getting better at recognizing differences in attitudes/preferences but have room for improvement.