PIM’s DE&I Resource – Support Systems
Create a support system/committee/team within your organization to help incorporate and enhance Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) at your organization. The goal of this system is to keep your entire organization aligned, informed, and actively involved, while more effectively distributing the workload.
Below are a few Frequently Asked Questions, First Meeting Ideas, and First Meeting Agenda Template. You do not have to use this, just suggestions.
View all PIM’s DE&I Resources. Return to PIM’s DE&I Areas of Accreditation. Return to PIM’s DE&I Home Page.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: How many people should be on the committee?
A: It is a balancing act; you want everyone’s voice to be heard but bigger groups can be harder to manage and people might not be as comfortable to share. DE&I is a sensitive subject and can be tough to talk about some issues.
We suggest 5-8 people. There is no right or wrong way to create a committee. Some organizations have bigger committees and others have smaller. Do what fits your organization.
An Idea: If you have a lot of interested people wanting to join. You could have a main committee (smaller group) to map out the goals/plan and a bigger group to help get the actions done.
Q: Who should be in your committee?
A: First, you could target a few specific people, from all departments (Executive Leadership, Human Resources, Marketing, Production, etc.) and after that, if you want more, open it to all.
Q: Do you have any recommendations for engaging people to form our committee?
A: Send an organization wide emails or hang a poster in a break room about forming a DE&I committee. You could send a survey to your employees and see who would be interested in joining. During a staff meeting or individual ask people if they would like to join the DE&I committee.
FIRST MEETING IDEA:
The point of this committee is to have a group of employees in charge and accountable for making change within your organization. By having employees from multiple departments will allow you to have a range of options and ideas. You will also have support from these departments as you implement DE&I practices. They will be able to report back to their department about the changes that are coming and get people excited about what is coming.
Before the first meeting, we suggest to have all committee members visit the PIM’s DE&I Areas of Accreditation webpage. Have them write down their thoughts, questions, concerns and what excites about this program.
On the day of the meeting, start with a fun icebreaker, consider bringing a snack, and ensure all members feel they are in a safe environment. You do not need to cover an overwhelming amount of information or map out everything during this first session. Focus on having fun and bonding as a group!
FIRST MEETING AGENDA TEMPLATE:
This is a suggestion on what to discuss and an estimate on time spent on each topic. Every organization and committee is different, do whatever works for you.
1. Introduction of committee members (10 minutes)
- Have each member introduce themselves and explain why they are here.
2. Icebreaker (10 minutes)
- Find fun game to break the ice and to help build the relationship of the group.
3. Discuss ground rules of your group (10 minutes)
- DE&I conversations are difficult to have and can be uncomfortable. Start out by saying this is a safe environment and conversations had must stay within the group.
- Ask the group what rules they want in place to make the committee run smoothly and to be a safe place.
4. Briefly review all Star Levels and start thinking your DE&I Plan & Goals (20 minutes)
- Understand what this program is all about
- Ask what everyone’s thoughts, questions, concerns and what excites them about this program?
- Ask what does your organization/committee want to accomplish?
5. Identify or have someone to volunteer to be the chair of this committee (5 minutes)
- This person would set agendas, run meetings, type out minutes and collecting all DE&I reporting documents
6. Set up the next meeting. (5 minutes)
- Decide how often your committee wants to meet. You shout meet at least quarterly.
- During the next meeting, dive into the Star 1 – Commitment. Start devising your strategy and ask committee members to volunteer to take on tasks.
