September 17, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
What happened: Alvin C. Hill, Jr, , who runs diversity efforts at the Milwaukee Center for Independence, a social-services charity, chose race as a topic last year for the charity’s annual mandatory diversity training session for employees. He felt a sense of necessity, he says, because the majority of clients his charity serves are minorities, yet only 30 percent of the organization’s staff are people of color. And, he adds, “in terms of recruitment and retention, Milwaukee is known for being one of the most segregated cities in the country.”
The topic was a risky choice. He worried, he says, that making employees consider and discuss race as it relates to their work would lead to him being accused of sowing division. But it turned out that asking a diverse group of co-workers to talk about the taboo subject led to “some rich conversations,” Mr. Hill says. The episode fostered an understanding by employees that candor was welcomed, he says: “People came away thinking we could talk about it, and talk about some of the pinch points that we all have brought with us from our upbringing, for the good of all.”
It also uncovered a brewing interest in the topic. After the session, representatives from a charter school affiliated with the Milwaukee Center for Independence asked to continue the discussion, which resulted in a couple of follow-up talks with the school’s workers. The school, he says, also employed a mostly white staff to serve mostly minority students, and employees were keen to get in touch with their unwitting biases. “They wanted to know about things that might inhibit students,” he says.
The experience not only helped improve the charity’s ability to serve a diverse array of clients, he says, but also sent a signal to all its workers about its commitment to inclusion.
What he learned: Don’t be afraid to ask workers to confront difficult topics, as long as the discussion remains constructive. Mr. Hill says, “People are interested in the betterment of the organization sometimes more than we think.”
