Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) has been a subject of corporate conversation lately. How to implement it, whether it’s effective, and even what to call it has been called into question by business and political leaders.

While some DE&I programs were started in 2020, they have roots in the civil rights movement, when in 1961, the first affirmative action executive order said that federal job applicants and employees of color must be treated equally. While early DE&I initiatives focused mainly on race, they expanded to include gender, religious, and LGBTQ+ diversity.

Diversity programs have continued to evolve. Despite the changes, people leaders tell HR Brew that some constants, including leadership support, employee network groups (ENGs), and continuous education, are important to DE&I.

Business-wide effort. Ty Beasley, chief talent officer of US operations at RSM, an assurance and tax consultancy with more than 16,000 US employees, recently told HR Brew how the company’s culture, diversity, and inclusion (CD&I) program, a variant of DE&I, has morphed since its beginnings a decade ago.

Keep reading here.—KP

Docs have been the same thing for far too long. Canva Docs aren’t like the other docs. Here’s why:

• For starters (and it’s a biggie), it has a built-in AI text generator powered by OpenAI. Simply start with a prompt and watch copy appear in seconds. It can generate job descriptions, offer letters, hiring docs, you name it. Generate your draft, tweak…and…done.
• Canva Docs are visual. Grab readers’ attention with images, graphics, charts, tables, and videos playable right in the doc. Docs don’t have to be just words on a white page.
• Canva Docs play nice with other Canva programs. Transform a Canva Whiteboard brainstorm into a Canva Doc in a click. Need to present a doc? Easy. Turn it into a Canva Presentation in seconds.

Try Canva Docs with the built-in AI text generator and do more with docs.

With Gen Z expected to make up 30% of the workforce by 2030, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, HR pros may want to prioritize strategizing to recruit and retain workers from this demographic.

There are three initiatives HR can undertake to not only attract Gen Z employees but make sure they don’t fly the coop, according to Jeri Hawthorne, who has been Aflac’s CHRO for just over a year. Hawthorne recently spoke with HR Brew about these strategies, and how they’re used at Aflac.

Provide wellness solutions. Some 65% of Gen Z workers say it’s “very important” for their employers to provide mental wellness benefits, according to data released in February 2023 by Securian Financial. Employers should consider offering benefits that support mental and financial wellness, Hawthorne said.

At Aflac, employees have had access to behavioral and financial wellness benefits since 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Keep reading here.—AS

Here’s this week’s edition of our Coworking series. Each week, we chat 1:1 with an HR Brew reader. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Katie Davis works in talent management at consulting firm Ankura. She oversees L&D and career development programs at the firm, but she also designs performance management processes like goal-setting, mid-year reviews, and performance evaluations. She has been with the firm for seven years, beginning in a more traditional HR business partner-type role, and has grown her HR career to focus more closely on talent management, which is “what fills up my cup,” she said. And as a trainer herself, Davis said one thing she’s grateful for at Ankura is the mentorship she has had along the way.

Davis’ approach to training and employee development is inspired by her “love of communication.” She contends that what you say is half the message, and how you say it is the other half. Davis studied communication in college with a focus on social influence. She told HR Brew that in coaching new leaders on having difficult feedback conversations, for instance, it’s rewarding to see colleagues put those capabilities into practice. Her trainings have helped colleagues prepare for conversations to be the most meaningful and productive, she said.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s the best change you’ve made at work?

I’m really proud of the comprehensive training programs I’ve helped develop, including a new manager training series and an onboarding process for newly promoted executives.

Keep reading here.—AD

All teed up: Your 2024 talent acquisition trends. In coordination with HiBob, Lighthouse Research just put together their 2024 study on the talent acquisition trends driving recruitment efficacy and candidate engagement. Stay ahead of the curve when it comes to candidate-to-onboarding integration, recruitment data management, avoiding hiring traps, and more. Download the full report.