Transcript
Colin Uthe:
Welcome to Connected, a podcast about the operations and the people that make up Chamberlain Group.
I'm Colin Uthe, and in recognition of Black History Month and upcoming Women's History Month, we're rolling out a two-part episode featuring both of our business resource groups, which support and empower the diverse employee base that makes up our one team. First up, we're listening to an interview with the current and past presidents of POCA, which stands for People of Color and Allies.
Pat Stanciel:
Hi, my name is Pat Stanciel. I am a senior program coordinator here at Chamberlain. I am a founding member of POCA, as well as I held the role of president for about 18 months.
Corey Norman:
So my name is Corey Norman. I'm currently the manager of Inclusive Employee Experience. I was a senior industrial designer with the connected services team, and at the time of being a designer, I was the president of POCA and I was the president of POCA for about a year.
Tunde Panaki:
Hi, I'm Tunde Panaki, a senior marketing manager at Chamberlain Group. I'm the current president of POCA.
Colin Uthe:
All right. Happy to have you all here.
First things first, what is a business resource group?
Tunde Panaki:
I think it's important to identify the difference between a business resource group and an employee resource group. An employee resource group really is what we are. We are an affinity group for employees here, and we come together to champion the cause of our members. A business resource group is a grown-up ERG. Beyond being a champion and an advocate for our members as a BRG, we would work very closely with HR, with leadership to ensure that what we bring to the table are aligned with the overall goals of the business. So then we become a partner to the business as opposed to just working for the best interest of our employees. It is our dream to become a BRG, but today, we currently are an ERG.
Colin Uthe:
What are the steps involved to evolving from an ERG to a BRG then?
Tunde Panaki:
There are so many. There is a certain level of maturity. If you want to think of a maturity curve, and we're only just at the first rung of the ladder, we, first of all, want to build a member base. We then need a strategy around how we serve our members. And then after we've served our members and we're at a point where that is humming along nicely, then we start to identify what goals the business has to accomplish and how we can then partner with the business to start to accomplish those goals. Then we put a strategy in place and we go out and execute on that.
Colin Uthe:
How does a BRG operate?
Corey Norman:
The BRGs and ERGs are volunteer groups. So the complexity of how we operate is really around what time we have to operate. So we're often trying to weave in our working hours with the working hours of the BRG, which adds a little bit of struggle in terms of schedules and aligning on schedules. But there is a structure, a governance structure for the BRGs.
We formulate our hierarchy within the group. So there is a president, a vice president, treasurer, et cetera, and then there is a committee within the organization that includes the executive leadership team, that oversees the BRG's efforts and supports them as advocates. So there is a budget allocated to our BRG. There are tools and resources at our disposal in terms of the organization to support our goals and what we want to accomplish. So at a very high level, once we've established our group, we've created a cadence of meetings. Within that cadence of meetings, we develop a calendar with various activities. With the activities that we do, we work with corporate communications to advertise those activities and we're supported from the ELT down in terms of our reach.
Colin Uthe:
So let's go into POCA specifically. What is POCA's mission?
Pat Stanciel:
So initially when we first started, when we first kicked off, our mission was set up to advance diversity, inclusion, equity, and respect within the Chamberlain Group. POCA has been created to support coworkers to create a diverse and all-inclusive space and to grow in leadership, to do things actually that we or maybe we didn't see that were available to us to talk to leaders or to talk to employees that maybe we wouldn't necessarily communicate with on a regular basis and to broaden everyone's perspective on our culture.
Colin Uthe:
POCA's overall mission is broken down into three objectives that are closely intertwined. Educate, advocate, and transform. So let's talk about the education objective.
Pat Stanciel:
Yes. So for education, it's very important that POCA has opportunities or creates opportunities that we can highlight how important education is, how we can actually enhance education, offer resources, materials, things like that, workshops. There's so much that we have to still yet do, but we are off to a great start. We want to make sure we create opportunities for our members that they learn from each other and that we can share experiences. Again, there's a lot that we have yet to do, and I think 2023 will give us a great opportunity to offer more.
Colin Uthe:
Are you able to tell me what's on that wishlist?
Pat Stanciel:
We want to have workshops. We want to have interactive communication, whether it's chats, opportunities to go outside of the building to be able to participate in different events. It's limitless. So we just have to get the support, the time, and everything on the calendar.
Colin Uthe:
What education efforts have we made with POCA so far?
Pat Stanciel:
So one of the most important programs that we started was last year, we started a mentorship pilot program. We had, I believe, 13 participants, and I think it was about seven leaders that participated to be the mentors.
And it started off as a, I want to say, I don't have all the notes for that, but I want to say we went for six months and we want to continue to move forward and do that again this year. But that was a very impactful program that yes, it took a lot of work. We had to make sure we vetted everyone, made sure that we knew what they were looking to learn from this or get out of it. But connecting the mentors with mentees was really, I think, very helpful for them. One in particular, I'm trying to remember, she ended up getting a scholarship, I believe, to participate in one of our programs and she's very excited. I'd love to give you her name. I can't remember her name offhand, but we got a lot of good feedback from that program and we continue to move forward this year and provide the second phase of that.
Colin Uthe:
That's fantastic. The scholarship recipient in question was Crystal Questas from the technical support center. Great job. Crystal. Let's move on to advocacy then. So what does advocacy mean to POCA?
Tunde Panaki:
One of the most important functions that POCA serves in my opinion is advocacy. Being able to be the voice to advocate for our members, especially with leaders, a lot of our members tend to be more junior in the organization, tend to not have the visibility, and tend to not be able to have exposure to people in leadership.
Colin Uthe:
Why do you think that is?
Tunde Panaki:
For whatever the reason might be at this point, there isn't a lot of diversity that's represented as you go up the chain here at Chamberlain Group, and that's actually something that I feel very passionate about. So representation matters, right? When there isn't representation in the upper echelons of the organization, it is evidence. And so one of the things POCA is doing, working with Corey and HR and the leadership, is to be involved in how we can help increase the diversity not just in the lower levels of the organization, but also to advocate for internal mobility as well as to expand the representation across the board, especially in leadership. So POCA takes very seriously and really, it is a cause that I'm passionate about, is identifying and empowering the potential leaders in the company.
Colin Uthe:
Can we talk a bit more about efforts for advocacy so far from POCA?
Corey Norman:
One of the main things we've tried to do to help advocate for our BIPOC employees is to, within POCA, give opportunities to present to leadership and be visible to leadership, with the goal of giving them an opportunity to be in a room or at the table in ways in which they hadn't had the opportunity before. And the more that we give our employee base, that opportunity to converse with our leaders, their name and their face start to be remembered. And in those networking events, the leaders get to know you in a different way. So I would love to think that as a byproduct of advocacy and education comes awareness and understanding, and that is around the people, where they come from, what their skillsets are, and how they were formed. And with the right leader and the right mindset from the leader, you can start to see those transferrable skill sets to various positions and opportunities that might be able to elevate our various population.
Colin Uthe:
Let's talk about transformation. What does that mean to POCA?
Corey Norman:
Transformation at its core, it's all about changing mindsets and perspectives, as simple as that. And from the lens of POCA, it's about changing the lens in which the organization views innovation, thought leadership, and diversity in general. And what is diversity? What is inclusion? We help the organization transform by educating. What are our cultural insights that are necessary for people to understand about your workforce? And on the other end of that is, how do we advocate for those individuals that identify as something other than the majority? We have a large population of underrepresented groups within the organization, but when you look around the room, you don't see those underrepresented groups in the upper leadership. So what we want to do in terms of transform the organization is first and foremost, change the mindset. How do we look at our workforce? How do we look at our culture? How can we directionally shift to align to a more inclusive space? Secondly, how do we transform our workforce upward to change the way our workforce looks from leadership down?
Colin Uthe:
That sounds like the hardest objective.
Pat Stanciel:
Very much.
Colin Uthe:
And it also sounds like it leans a lot on the other two.
Corey Norman:
Ultimately, the transformation piece is what evolves us from an ERG to a BRG.
Colin Uthe:
I see.
Corey Norman:
So when Tunde talked about being in our infancy, the education piece and the advocation piece are where we are now.
Colin Uthe:
How do you measure that progress and transformation then?
Corey Norman:
We measure that progress and that transformation once we start connecting with the various people within the organization and understand where our data lies. So if you took a holistic view of our organizational makeup, white employees, Black employees, Asian employees, and Latinx employees, you can get a picture of how diverse we are. Then you start breaking that data down, how many people are at the individual contributor level, how many people are at the manager level, how many people are at the leadership level? That gives us an idea of what areas we might be able to impact and how we can partner with HR, how we can partner with the business leaders to say, "Hey, we currently have three to five manager positions open throughout the organization. We have 15 candidates within POCA in those lanes that feel like they're ready for that next step. How can we, as a BRG, partner with HR to elevate those high-potential employees to transition into those roles?" That is POCA's ultimate vision, shifting the culture, shifting the mindset, and ultimately shifting the numbers in terms of what is representation, what is diversity within the organization.
Tunde Panaki:
And beyond just transitioning into those roles within the organization, being successful in those roles. Because it's one thing to say, "Hey, there's a job opening that aligns with your skills." But then it's something else to actually equip the person with the right tools to be successful in that role and to set them up for continued success as they climb up the ladder.
Pat Stanciel:
I have to just add on that. I would say retainment is very important. So once we get them in those roles and we encourage them and they're set on the success, the role for success, retaining.
Colin Uthe:
So the relationship doesn't end once they take the position.
Pat Stanciel:
Exactly.
Corey Norman:
Yeah. And I think from conversations that POCA members have had with each other, and unfortunately seeing some members of POCA leave the organization, sense, and belonging is something that we know is important that can be improved. There's an opportunity space there to improve. Giving space to be heard, to be valued is an opportunity for improvement within the organization, specifically around our diverse population. How we go about doing that, how can POCA partner with HR and partner with the organization to help with that, is something we're still working on. However, we've identified a couple of areas in which we think we can help improve on those things, and hopefully, that is where POCA will start having its largest impact in the coming years.
Colin Uthe:
So I'd like y'all to have a conversation. I know, Pat, you were there for sure. Was anybody else around in the very beginning of POCA?
Corey Norman:
They tried.
Pat Stanciel:
Just me.
Colin Uthe:
Just you. Okay. Pat, why don't you tell me in your own perspective, how did POCA begin?
Pat Stanciel:
So POCA began in 2020, I want to say it was June of 2020 as we know where we were in the world at that time. Of course, we were all trying to move, maneuver through a pandemic. Our company was trying to continue to work through everything that we started off in the year, all the initiatives, and now that we're now secluded in home and worked through all of that, all the logistics of that. And then there was George Floyd. And so, one employee in particular, she is no longer with the company, decided to reach out.
We were separated and just heads down working, but no one was really talking about that, what was going on in the world. And it was affecting us in different ways. And there were initially eight members that we all kind of got together and just started having conversations, mainly about how we are coping with things and how we can make change in the company, how we can support each other through this and continue to strive in the company and do our job. And so that's pretty much how it started. And that was again in June of 2020. Our official kickoff was in January 2021. We were actually officially POCA, People of Color and Allies, and then we had a real kickoff with all of our BRG members and any other people that wanted to join us virtually in March of 2021. And with that, we presented our mission, our goals. We had a little fun. Jeff came on as our COO at that time and talked about how he supported us. And so that's the initial phases of POCA.
Colin Uthe:
There was a lot of preparation time that you guys put into this.
Pat Stanciel:
A lot of preparation. I think Corey touched on it. We have day-to-day jobs and they're pretty involved, and so you have to set a lot of time up for yourself on when you're going to actually talk about this BRG. This was very important to us. So there were a lot of long days after hours, lunchtime meetings, whoever was available because we were on different time zones. So there was a lot of preparation. I mean, basically just setting out our mission, making sure that that was in place and correct. Having everyone's ideas, just kind of making sure that we are all on the same page and we're heading in the same direction, talking with leadership and making sure they're supporting what we're doing. So there were a lot of meetings going on through all of that. We worked with HR very closely as well to make sure that we were touching based on all of our guidelines. There was a lot of work put in.
Colin Uthe:
Sounds like a lot of that work was emotionally driven.
Pat Stanciel:
It really was. It really was. But that, I think, was what helped to support us through everything else going on in the world and also keep us aligned to what we had to do in our day-to-day work.
Colin Uthe:
Well, that's just amazing to me how much passion was shared in the starting of that. Okay. So timeline-wise, you said there were eight people total that started the group.
Pat Stanciel:
There were eight.
Colin Uthe:
Okay.
Pat Stanciel:
Yep.
Colin Uthe:
When did you guys come on board?
Corey Norman:
So that's funny. This will give you a little bit of insight into at least, I think, a lot of specifically black employees in corporate America, but there was a fear of being tokenized for me. So I was asked to join in the early stages, with the first eight. Some of the folks approached me and were like, "Hey, we're starting this conversation now. Do you want to be a part?" I was like, "Oh no, not at all." And it was largely because of George Floyd. It was largely because of the inability to feel like I could present myself as my true self in the space. No one was talking about it. No one was... There was no advocacy, at least company-wide, right? I had my coworkers who would message me on the side and say, "Hey, are you and your wife okay? Are you and your family okay?"
But I was concerned. I was like, I don't know how I feel about this. But between Pat, Xavier, and Purnell, I've had a few conversations and then Jeff also was like, "You should talk to some of these folks." But essentially they comforted me in a sense of saying, "Hey, what we really want to do is be a support system. This is not about putting a face to the cause. This is about true advocacy and support." So as soon as I joined, I got ushered into a leadership role with POCA. It was quite interesting and it's just been history from there, I think. It's the passion is the keyword right there. There's always been passion there for everything that we do. I think there was some hesitancy in a sense of joining something that may not have the support you wanted to have or may have some side effects. And I've been there before and didn't want to go there again. So I needed that time. But I would say probably summertime of 2021, is when they convinced me to give it a shot.
Colin Uthe:
Tunde, how about you?
Tunde Panaki:
I joined much later and for me, Pat's had approached me. There was a changing of the guards that was happening and they were looking for new leaders and there wasn't any question. She told me there was an open role and it did not matter to me. It didn't matter what the role was. I just wanted to join the leadership of POCA so that I could lend my voice, my passion, and my experience to champion the cause of what I think is one of the most important organizations in the company because there is such a dire need to advocate, to educate and to transform the way we do business and the way we represent the entire population of this company. It's so important for us that we shine light on where the dark spots are and we help advocate. And so I felt so passionate about that. The moment Pat approached me, I was like, "It doesn't matter. Just sign me up and yes, I've joined." And so that's how I came to join POCA.
Colin Uthe:
It's kind of attitude they're looking for. I'm certain of it.
Pat Stanciel:
For sure.
Colin Uthe:
How would you personally describe the impact POCA has left on the business thus far?
Corey Norman:
So I've been at this organization for seven years now and I've transitioned between three CEOs now as well. And the culture shift has been obvious. With each CEO, there is a huge culture shift, but one thing that I've noticed with POCA in its presence is that the advocacy for diversity and inclusion within the organization increased within those transitions, and I think the biggest impact that POCA has had has 100% been around the awareness and the culture that makes up the inclusive workspace, that is the Chamberlain group's One Team.
Colin Uthe:
Thank you, Corey. And Pat, what about you?
Pat Stanciel:
So for me, I am a long-term employee. I've been here very long. I've seen a lot of transition and yes, we still have a ways to go, but where we are now is leaps and bounds from the company that I started with. We have made a huge impact. POCA in general has made a huge impact on that, and having leadership really support that, I think also just made a big difference. For me personally, just having POCA as a support system, speaking to people of like-mindedness, it just helps my normal, my day-to-day, being able to talk about things that we generally wouldn't talk about and just work through how we can present it to the company in a very, whatever way it is, positive way, just flat out what it is, what's going on, happening in the world. It's made a difference for me, for sure.
Colin Uthe:
Fantastic. All right, Tunde.
Tunde Panaki:
Creating a sense of belongingness is one of the most important roles POCA has been able to accomplish in this organization by bringing together a group of people who belong, who feel like they belong, who feel like they can be their authentic selves, who feel like they can share what's going on in their lives and be supported regardless of what may be going on. That is so huge and definitely grateful to the founders of POCA for creating this organization and very excited to see the organization grow, blossom, and continue to foster that sense of belongingness in the organization.
Colin Uthe:
What do we have coming up soon for POCA?
Tunde Panaki:
I'm very excited about our Changemakers panel, that will be on February 28th. In celebration of Black History Month, we are bringing on board Black leaders from different companies in the Chicagoland area. These are executives who have made an impact in their spheres of influence at work and in their communities. They will be joining us for a wonderful, impactful panel session, and I'm very much excited and looking forward to learning from them and showcasing their work to the oneteamers here at Chamberlain Group.
Colin Uthe:
I'm going to be there. I'm very excited. I'm going to be supporting it in a few different ways, I think. Again, thank you all. I am seriously looking forward to this panel discussion. It's going to be a super fun time, and I'm looking forward to seeing everybody there.
Pat Stanciel:
Thank you, Colin.
Corey Norman:
Thank you.
Colin Uthe:
Thank you for listening. One Team member who wish to learn more or would like to join POCA can visit all Access online and check out details on both of our business resource groups. Tune in next month to hear our interview with the team behind Chamberlain Group's very own women's network. This episode was written, recorded, and edited by me, Colin Uthe. Our music was supplied by Pixa Bay and Soundstrike.com. Special thanks to the Chamberlain Group corporate communications team.
