Page 27 - BusinessWest June 17, 2024

“As employees are more educated, they’re more authentic with themselves. And that creates
a culture of self-value for employees, a stronger sense of belonging, which makes it easier for them to be fully engaged with the workforce.”
Specifically, he explained, diversity is about representa- tion — not only in terms of race and gender, but in back- grounds, viewpoints, and experiences.
Then, “when you look at equity, it’s about recognition — recognizing what people need in order to be successful. As a business, what do my people need in order to be successful? And what you need and what I need might be totally differ- ent. That’s why equity is so important.”
Inclusion, meanwhile, is about the actions a business takes to make people feel like they’re included.
“All three of those really create a sense of belonging. So it’s diversity, equity, and inclusion, and then you have the B, the belonging piece,” Henderson explained. “If I feel valued, if I feel trusted, if I feel I can be my authentic self at work, I feel like I belong.”
It’s a message more and more companies seem to be get- ting — and even reaching out for help in implementing, he added. “We do get a lot of calls and do trainings around that piece. We want people to understand that differences bring creativity and increased productivity. And when you foster
a culture of respect and people feel that they belong, it increases retention rates, and it makes it easier to recruit people.”
Monson Savings Bank President Dan Moriarty has been actively been involved in DEI strategy for some time, not only at his own institution, but his past co-leadership of an executive council estab- lished by the Massachusetts Bankers Assoc. to promote DEI efforts across member institutions.
Adopting some best practices recommended by Mass Bankers, Monson Savings has created a DEI commitment statement, devel- oped and implemented a DEI program that continues to evolve, provided DEI training to board members and employees, identified and monitored key performance metrics, and conducted periodic self-assessments of the program.
In addition, he said, the bank has reviewed numerous docu- ments, including its strategic plan, along with communications, pro- cesses, and facilities, to ensure that potential barriers are identified and removed and that DEI expectations are reflected, while also
Dan Moriarty says efforts to create a more diverse, inclusive workplace have to start at the top.
Staff Photo
conducting outreach and expanding the bank’s relationships with key community members and organizations.
“We’ve developed a program which is a lot about education and training, from board members to senior management to the entire staff,” Moriarty said, adding that the bank conducted an employee summit a few weeks ago to discuss topics aroud DEI that some might not be familiar with, and explaining the reasons why they’re important.
“As employees are more educated, they’re more authentic with themselves. And that creates a culture of self-value for employees, a stronger sense of belonging, which makes it easier for them to be fully engaged with the workforce,” he added. “If they feel valued,
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