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Kyra Patterson, Chief Human Resources Officer, AVANGRIDReflecting on the past two years, a few words jump out almost immediately: Unprecedented. Injustice. Divided.
As a nation, we examined who we are and what we believe in, from the way we work to what – and more importantly, who – we stand for.
This type of introspection, this upheaval,has influenced the entire employee lifecycle, from attracting and onboarding to retaining talent. We are in a critical moment – to take an inventory of what has been done, and what is being done, and to ask: Are we acting with intent? If not, how would it look different if we were?
For AVANGRID, this meant recognizing where we are as an organization and tailoring our approach accordingly. We have made strong strides towards a more diverse and inclusive work environment: Our non-union employee populations have seen significant increases in women and people-of-color hires;we’ve promoted more women into senior leadership in 2021 than ever before;and we’re offering structured flexibility through hybrid and remote work when possible. We know that we still have room to grow.
Our current change and growth we remade possible through our commitment to a three-prong strategy – building community, driving opportunity and creating and sustaining a diverse talent pipeline. We foundationally believe that our leadership is accountable to creating safe spaces to have real and authentic conversations, removing barriers and leading AVANGRID into improved performance as an outcome of innovation through diversity.
Building Community
With intention, we are building community both internal and external to AVANGRID. Internally, we’ve established seven Business Resource Groups (BRGs) since 2019, each led by a senior leader, to provide a safe space where our employees can raise important issues and celebrate the variety of different cultures, ethnicities and identifies. These groups are also avenues to embed diversity and inclusion into our DNA through group-organized events and communications. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Council, which launched in 2020, is made up of leaders from across our business and geographies, including the chairs of our Business Resource Groups. The Council provides stewardship of our DE&I agenda, leads efforts to embed DE&I into operating norms and advises on DE&I initiatives by integrating perspectives on culture, strategy and business priorities. Externally, through the network of, and with support from,the Council and our BRGs, we are engaging with our communities in targeted campaigns – from volunteering and giving campaigns to adult education programs and university partnerships that aim to not only support our diverse local communities but engage the next generation of AVANGRID’s workforce.
“As a nation, we examined who we are and what we believe in, from the way we work to what – and more importantly, who – we stand for "
Driving Opportunity A major aspect of driving opportunity for AVANGRID is focused on removing barriers. In 2021, our executives and their direct reports took workshops on Racism in Corporate America, conducted by an outside consulting firm, to educate about removing barriers and promoting equitable opportunities for growth and development at AVANGRID. These senior leaders engaged in frank discussions, gained awareness of the history of structural racism in America and undertook actions to continue the dialogue with their teams.
For both 2020 and 2021, the executive team had clear targets for upwards of 60% of employees in their areas to complete Unconscious Bias training. In 2021, the organization’s completion rate far exceeded that, reaching 96%.
An additional area that we are undertaking this year is expanding our scope to the overall career journey. We are focused on pulse surveys to understand what matters most to individuals and groups and increasing cross-training to ensure we have diversity of thought and experience.
Creating & Sustaining a Diverse Talent Pipeline
Investing in our talent pipeline means engaging at all stages of the employee lifecycle. We started with our early-career programs – namely, our Internship Program. Our 2021 cohort was the most diverse in AVANGRID history, with half our participants identifying as women and over a third identifying as a person-of-color. Each year, we aim to hire over 50% of our eligible interns, making it a critical tool to building the next generation of talent.
To ensure we are sustaining a diverse pipeline, AVANGRID signed the Paradigm for Parity commitment to achieve full gender parity by 2030, with a near-term goal of women holding at least 30% of senior roles. To complement this objective, our executive team had goals in 2020 and 2021 to develop succession plans that were progressively more diverse in race and gender.
In 2022, we are building on this accountability with our executives with area-specific hiring goals for all manager-level roles and above and requiring diverse interview panels for each applicant. For AVANGRID, our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are still young, but we have a clear vision and goal posts to build an organization that reflects the communities we serve. Leadership accountability is the linchpin to our continued success. We expect our journey to provide challenge as we embed DE&I into our DNA.
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