When Facebook recently began beta testing of Workplace, its new platform designed to connect a company’s employees, cut down on email, and boost productivity, Weber Shandwick jumped at the chance to be the first global PR firm to use the new product. And as soon as the global communications firm made the beta version platform (then called Facebook at Work) available to all of its employees worldwide last March, Tameka Green, director of Diversity & Inclusion at Weber Shandwick, seized upon the opportunity to enhance employee engagement in D&I throughout the firm.
Green launched a group for Diversity & Inclusion on the platform, and says the tool’s ability to foster team collaboration, gather real-time employee feedback, and foster knowledge sharing has garnered an especially positive response among members— made up of Diversity & Inclusion Committee members across U.S. offices, plus new interns and other employees from worldwide offices. The group quickly has grown to 184 and counting. On the group’s page, she shares relevant news, reports, and studies, and highlights partnerships in which the company participates. She hopes these posts show not just why employees should care about diversity and inclusion, but “why it’s important for the business … [and] why it helps make Weber Shandwick a great place to work.”
Weber Shandwick has 13 Diversity & Inclusion Committees at different offices across the U.S. Green says these committees share photos from various events, post articles about demographic trends, and ask questions or weigh in with information that will help them with clients and their work.
“We try and talk about business-relevant topics and how diversity and inclusion plays a role in that,” Green says, such as “the changing demographics of the U.S. population and how that is shifting the way that marketers and media are shaping messaging, and the way they create products and services.”
Users tell Green they like that the page is updated often with fresh content—demonstrating the group is consistent and active—and that they learn new things there, whether it be recognition Weber Shandwick has garnered for its work, or news about market trends and different demographics.
Some of the group’s newest members include interns and staff from international offices, which Green hopes may inspire them to launch similar initiatives in their offices—and she believes it shows the value of talking about diversity and inclusion on a global scale. Since Weber Shandwick has seen large employment growth in recent months, the group also is useful for new employees, providing them “with a way to learn more about the company and our efforts and how they can contribute,” she says.
As for what’s next, she’s set her eyes on conducting Facebook Live sessions, and hopes employees will start sharing more, helping each other connect the dots on what they’re doing and why it’s important for the agency’s larger goals. This is “a living, breathing thing that we work really hard on maintaining and growing,” Green says, underscoring her intent to increase employee engagement with the initiative. “Because it’s not just the Diversity & Inclusion team’s page,” she explains. “It’s for everybody to use. We’re just trying to spread the love a little bit.”
