The organization advances research, provides essential support, and works to achieve health equity to meet the critical needs of its community.
The leadership team recognized the growing importance of health equity and advocacy within its mission. The organization is now working to build a dynamic and inclusive culture that aligns with the new CEO’s vision of fostering high-performing and productive teams.
The company is headquartered outside of Washington, D.C. in Alexandria with over 50 employees across the country.
During a leadership transition, the ZERO team wanted to embed DEI into the heart of their organizational culture. They saw the potential to enhance employee engagement and retention by integrating DEI into their talent strategy.
Since nonprofits are often faced with having a lean team, limited budget, and fewer resources, the ZERO team needed a clear plan unique to its size and industry. Team members were extremely passionate about DEI, but needed a structured process to infuse that passion into an effective roadmap.
Although ZERO had a supportive DEI committee and HR leader laying the groundwork, there was a need for a sustainable, long-term strategy. Our focus was on advancing DEI maturity, embedding it into the organizational culture, and aligning DEI initiatives with their community impact.
Opportunities for improvement included:
ZERO engaged Perfeqta to partner on a forward-focused approach to evolve its DEI maturity and embed DEI into the company culture and community work. This began with an organizational assessment to identify gaps and opportunities.
Perfeqta was brought in to help ZERO’s leadership team boost employees' sense of belonging, deepen leadership’s understanding of DEI, and align DEI efforts to health equity work in the community.
To address these challenges that the ZERO team was facing, Perfeqta proposed a three-phase approach:
We have successfully completed Phases One and Two, and are currently working through Phase Three. Below are more details on the solutions and deliverables we provided during the first two phases.
Perfeqta kicked off the engagement by delivering custom DEI training for ZERO’s Board Leadership and the entire company. Key initiatives included a company-wide Allyship training and a Board Excellence in DEI session for the Board of Directors.
These trainings were designed to build a more inclusive culture at ZERO by raising employees’ awareness of the foundation of DEI, helping them navigate cultural differences with sensitivity, and understanding how current workplace trends impact ZERO.
Team members learned more about their roles as allies and how to actively support marginalized colleagues. The Board Excellence in DEI session helped leaders make informed and inclusive decisions, driving systemic change and improving employees’ sense of belonging.
The assessment phase involved collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data through surveys, leadership interviews, and focus group discussions. This process was designed to assess ZERO’s current DEI state and readiness to evolve.
Here’s an overview of data our consultants gathered from the assessment.
The DEI assessment included 54 total closed-ended questions, but the number and specific questions available to each participant depended on their responses. These responses were then used to inform the DEI strategic plan, splitting recommendations into high, medium, and low priorities.
Perfeqta is currently helping ZERO work through top-priority recommendations in Phase Three of the engagement.
The DEI assessment revealed significant insights into ZERO’s current DEI efforts:
Key results from our partnership also included:
Increased employee belonging: Custom DEI training fostered a shared understanding of the founding of DE, leading to a stronger sense of belonging.
Better understanding of employee sentiments among leadership team: Leaders gained deeper insights into employee experiences and the organizational culture, which provided a clear view of what changes need to be made to improve employee engagement, productivity, and retention.
Data-driven DEI strategy development: The DEI assessment provided critical insights for creating a targeted, effective DEI strategy. Leaders were able to identify gaps in DEI policies and felt empowered to make more strategic decisions.
Foundation for long-term DEI integration: The groundwork laid in Phases One and Two ensures ZERO has a strong base for embedding DEI practices throughout the organization. With a clear roadmap, the team is more confident that the company culture will align with the new CEO’s vision of fostering high-performing teams.
As ZERO continues its DEI journey, the organization is focused on moving from fragmented DEI efforts to a well-structured, strategically aligned, and fully operational DEI governance framework. This will result in:
As we now transition into Phase 3 — DEI Roadmapping — we are prepared to communicate the results of our assessment and begin constructing a strategic DEI roadmap.
Next steps include:
ZERO will leverage the DEI strategic plan to design, refine, and implement initiatives that will evolve the organization’s DEI maturity. Over the next two years, the ultimate goal is to help ZERO build a solid in-house DEI function and make sure leadership is equipped to sustain this function long-term.
Perfeqta is fully committed to supporting ZERO throughout this culture transformation and is excited to work through Phase Three of our engagement.
“Our partnership with Perfeqta has been instrumental in evolving ZERO's approach to DEI. What we found most valuable was Perfeqta's ability to truly understand our team's unique needs and develop a tailored growth plan that aligned with our passion for creating an inclusive environment. They provided DEI training across all levels of our organization – from our board of directors to our key mission-based volunteers. This top-to-bottom engagement ensured that our DEI initiatives were consistently implemented and embraced throughout ZERO.”
Talk to our team to learn more about our DEI strategic planning services.
Perfeqta’s client is a healthcare organization that’s committed to increasing access and lowering the costs of medications.
Perfeqta’s client is a commercial real estate company with more than 500 employees working in 50 locations across the US and around the globe.
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