Get Noticed, Get Networked, Get Ahead!

On March 10, Herman Miller’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) hosted a conference for employees called “Get Noticed, Get Networked, Get Ahead!” which focused on increasing presence and widening networks.

WIN is one of seven Inclusiveness Resource Teams (IRTs) at Herman Miller that represent the diversity of our employees and our market. The IRTs’ mission is to work toward implementation of business recommendations, with many successes to date—including policy changes and education—to build awareness and celebrate the diversity of individuals. The teams are volunteer-based and each is supported by an executive sponsor. Besides the Women’s team, the other IRTs are Asian, Black, Employees with Disabilities, GLBT, Hispanic, and Male.

This year, the WIN team’s mission is “Growing Future Female Leaders.” To work towards this goal we have focused on initiatives around flexible work arrangements and mentoring programs for office and production workers. We have also sponsored webinars and discussion groups, and the “Get Noticed, Get Networked, Get Ahead!” conference.

The 2-hour conference was attended by approximately 75 people and featured Herman Miller leaders discussing these topics: Building Your Personal Brand, Creating Your Development Plan, and The Importance of Networking. At the end of the conference, attendees were invited to stay and participate in a networking exercise to put to practice the techniques they learned.

I was grateful to have had the opportunity to attend both the conference and the networking event. It was so beneficial to learn that a personal brand is one that consistently reflects my values, shows how others view me, and showcases my skill set. I also discovered that informal development opportunities, such as participating in special projects, are very likely the ones that will have the most impact on my growth and development. And, I learned that in all my interactions with people, truly listening to others is the best way to make a real connection with them. In fact, during the exercise, I made a connection with someone I plan to collaborate with in the future.

Reflecting on Martin Luther King: One Face, Many Voices

Last week I was part of a group of Herman Miller employees from various Inclusiveness Resource Teams (IRTs) who attended a luncheon honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as part of the annual Civil Rights Celebration Week at Hope College. It’s the fifth year in a row that Herman Miller has sponsored the event.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Lawrence J. Pijeaux, Jr., President and CEO, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Dr. Pijeaux’s presentation, “MLK and Birmingham: Turning Point of the Civil Rights Movement,” brought to mind that impactful and powerful movements are often attributed to an individual or at most a few individuals, when in reality it is the words and actions of many that lead to the resulting change. This is also true in the business world. The CEO or president of a company may set the strategy for its success, but it is the many employees who execute the strategy that make it a reality.

At Herman Miller, I have seen the impact of the average employee as we focus on our strategy to work for a better world. Our IRTs and Inclusiveness and Diversity team have expanded our awareness of the uniqueness of each individual through education programs, policy changes, and access to more resources. We have made amazing progress toward our environmentally-focused 2020 goals through the work of more than 400 employees. And our safety incident rate has steadily declined because of the decisions made every day by every employee.