NEC took the second half of 2020 to develop specific areas for improvement. We are steadfast in our efforts to create a safe and unified workspace at NEC. As we think about our values and who we want to be as a company, it's clear we have an opportunity to extend ourselves in new ways and set the standard for what NEC represents to our NEC family, clients, network partners, subcontractors and the real estate and construction industry.
Our Pillars
Employee, client and network partner feedback will be essential in this process. Our anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion strategy is focused on four pillars, and each of our new goals aligns with one of those.
- Talent
- Education
- Culture
- Service
Our Current Initiatives
To be successful, a commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging needs to be felt across all levels and aspects of our company. Every person who walks through our doors or onto one of our job sites needs to feel welcome and respected. That’s why we're revisiting our practices and the training resources we offer to ensure they include anti-racism and anti-bias content. NEC will also provide all of our stakeholders, including employees, clients, network partners, and subcontractors, with opportunities and space to connect, share their stories and learn to act as allies.
To lead and drive this work, we're adding this initiative to our accountability chart and appointing a Diversity Officer. Kim Sluter, Vice President, will champion developing, implementing and measuring programs that drive our anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. Regular updates will be reported at all quarterly meetings and each department will focus on developing department-specific anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion rocks in their quarterly meetings.
We know that we can’t do this alone, which is why we plan to partner specifically with organizations focused on anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion as we work to make NEC and the industry at large a better place.
We'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge our responsibility to be active corporate citizens. One way we can do that is by using our platform to encourage our employees, customers and communities to vote. Voting is both a privilege and a responsibility, and we strongly encourage all NEC employees to maintain an active voter registration and vote in all national, state and local elections.
We know we have a lot of ways we can improve as we strive to be a better, more inclusive and anti-racist company for you, our customers, partners and communities. These concrete actions represent the next phase in our journey, not the finish line. We continue to be committed to doing the work, being transparent about our progress along the way and holding ourselves accountable. We ask that you continue to help us by giving feedback, sharing ideas and challenging each other to grow and evolve.
