DEI at Graebel: Advancing on Our Journey

As a global company leading with a people-first philosophy, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is a core focus for our organization and for how we engage with clients and supplier partners. Our goal is to create transformative change, for everyone in our network, toward a truly inclusive workplace and global mobility industry.

We understand DEI is a journey and we’re excited to continue on this path while sharing with current and future clients and supplier partners what we’ve learned along the way. Over the past year, since we last shared an update on our DEI initiatives, we’ve been focused on continued education and collaborative engagement to meet people where they are, on their own DEI journey. Guided by our values of truth, love and integrity, we continue to implement innovative ways to engage our employees, clients and supplier partners around the world, to meet the needs of today’s workforce and to build stronger workplace cultures.

DEI Initiatives at Graebel:

• We’ve created course assignments for our employees to complete, covering topics like bias, micro-behaviors and workplace DEI. So far this year, we’ve worked through two of the e-courses, about moving from bias to inclusion and workplace DEI in action. We provide employees with a companion guide for each course, to dive deeper into these lessons and encourage employees to think through the topic as it applies to themselves, their role/work and the Graebel community.
• Upon completion of each course, we offer facilitated discussions hosted by our Learning and Development team, a Graebel DEI Council regional lead, or me. On average, about 60 percent of our employees participate in these facilitated discussions. These intimate conversations are limited to 30 people and feature breakout sessions to foster collaborative interaction with team members around course topics. Through these conversations, we hope to help employees progress in their DEI journeys and recognize the role they play in creating the change they wish to see in the workplace. Here’s what Graebel employees had to say about the facilitated discussions:
  • “I got to know a few of my coworkers better and see diversity at work in Graebel by hearing different people’s thoughts and challenges.”
  • “The small class size and breakout groups seemed to make everyone feel comfortable discussing the topics.”
  • “The facilitated discussions really tie what we learned in the online modules to reality and roles at Graebel. They provided great examples to help with understanding.”
• We’re continuing to distribute The Power of Us DEI quarterlies, which include resources to read, watch or do and provide updates about our DEI initiatives and the DEI Council. Our Q1 quarterly was about the concept of creating ‘a better you’ — instead of the adage, ‘new year, new you’ — and our Q2 quarterly focused on pronouns and their role in gender identity.

DEI Initiatives for Clients, Prospects and Suppliers:

• This spring we hosted a two-day event in Austin for corporate mobility professionals and human resources representatives, which featured a DEI masterclass presented by Trina Scott, chief diversity officer with Rocket Companies. During her presentation, she shared her thoughts on how to create a thoughtful approach to organizational DEI initiatives, including through “falling in love with the problem,” which advocates for identifying underlying issues before immediately moving toward solutions.
• We’re continuing to work with clients to integrate DEI into their mobility programs, with the goal of helping companies take their DEI global mobility initiatives to the next level and unlock lasting cultural and business benefits.
• DEI has become a key component for attracting new business. We’re happy to share our experience and commitment to DEI, both within our own organization and for our clients.
• We’re holding educational meetings with supplier partners regularly to discuss how they can incorporate DEI into their portion of the relocation process, to create an inclusive relocation journey for mobile employees from start to finish. As part of these efforts, we surveyed partners to gain a baseline of where they're at on their journey and their understanding of how DEI is important to their work. Additionally, I led a session on Allyship in the Workplace for the Arizona Relocation Alliance and a DEI training for Synergy Housing. Here’s what Synergy had to say about the training:
  • “Valencia’s presentation was one of the most useful DEI presentations I’ve seen. She was thorough and thoughtful in helping us understand some of the “why” behind DEI.”

What’s Next for DEI?

As we continue to enlighten ourselves and each other on this journey, our focus areas for the remainder of this year include going beyond diversity to also build inclusivity and equity, and to understand how to apply what we’ve learned to the workplace and within our daily lives. As we aim to return to better, we recognize that each accomplishment comes with new ways to improve. As we continue our growth, we’re eagerly embracing the new insights and successes that will help us to bring about transformative change.