DEI in Sales – Recognized Companies

Cintas currently has six Partner Business Resource Groups which work with our diverse population of employees to engage, retain, recruit and develop. Our Partner Resource Groups support the following communities: African American, Women, Asian Pacific Islander, LGBTQ Plus, Hispanic/Latin and Military. Our African American PBRG has taken a large focus on exposure to our Senior Executives in the Sales Organization. This exposure includes executives giving perspective on success in the sales role as well as their commitment to diversity. Our PBRGs have also taken the lead with assisting our Learning and Development department with our Mentor program in efforts to ensure our diverse partner have impactful mentor/protégé relationships. We also have an Executive Leadership Program which fast track professional into sales leadership programs. We strive to ensure that 30% of the employees accepted into the program are diverse. While we acknowledge that we are on our journey to have a more diverse sales incumbency, we are intentional about ensuring that we create an environment that promotes Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and belonging.

Not only has the Paychex sales organization actively embraced corporate DEI efforts, but leaders and reps alike drive efforts among their respective sales organizations. For example, the George Floyd murder in May of 2020 caused great concern among our sales population, with many reps elevating their concerns to their management. A group of leaders saw an opportunity to create greater understanding while supporting their reps. A sales VP, two sales leaders, and a business partner from human resources started an effort within sales to simply talk about the situation, and it grew from there to become the DICE (Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, Equity) committee. DICE has become an important part of the sales culture and is embraced by employees across all sales divisions. A monthly newsletter educates the team on events, observations, and traditions that span cultures, race, sexual orientation, gender, and more. Sales leaders and employees alike report that DICE has been an incredible way to enhance their awareness, learn more about each other as individuals, and increase their sense of inclusion. Some especially meaningful components of DICE are that it provides a forum for people to address difficult issues and gives employees the opportunity to share their own stories about how they faced discrimination and other challenges. One sales vice president says, "The goal was to get people to understand each other better, and it created an environment where people could be themselves." Apart from DICE, the sales leadership team includes diversity as a standing agenda item on their monthly leadership calls and quarterly business reviews. This accountability keeps DEI in the forefront, with leaders reporting on diverse hires, DEI training efforts, mentoring programs, and learnings on things like unconscious bias. As a result of these efforts, leaders report a culture of greater understanding, less conflict, and increased respect.

The culture and strength of Emser Tile begins, lives, and ends with the diversity around us. Whether in our branches, interactions with our customers, or the organizations to which we partner, we know that our diversity is what makes us stronger. Our commitment to a diverse organization in people, thought, operations, and belief, has been and will always be, the foundation of our culture.

We cannot be the best in our business without a best-in-class team. WIN Waste recognizes that diverse perspectives make our company more innovative and resilient. Diversity creates value — for our company, our customers, and our society. That is why we are striving to be the most diverse, equitable, and inclusive sales team (and workplace) in our industry. Our DE&I roadmap is helping keep us on the track toward this goal. Our roadmap includes a robust set of components that are helping us evolve and improve every aspect of our employee and customer experience.

We know that living up to our DEI mission requires more than just words — it means each one of us must do more every day to create an open and transparent culture. And it means transforming our hiring, training, and mentoring to ensure each voice is valued and heard. WIN Waste Innovations' DE&I Council works closely with senior leaders to integrate diversity and inclusion into our operations and business strategy to drive accountability, share progress, and accelerate real change.