Convergint Colleagues in Washington D.C. Celebrate Cultural Diversity

Inclusion and Diversity is a long-standing priority for Convergint—it’s core to our Values and Beliefs and reflected in our corporate culture every day. In order to be successful, it’s absolutely critical that diversity of thought and background is highlighted and celebrated at the local level. Part of my work as Vice Chair of Convergint’s Inclusion & Diversity Council is to find ways for CTCs to gather, get to know each other and have the opportunity to recognize their individuality and diverse experiences.

I was born and raised in the United States and my family is from India/Trinidad and Tobago–my own culture is important to me and I’ve always enjoyed learnings about the people around me, including my colleagues. Our CTC has a long standing, quarterly town hall meeting—it struck me as the perfect opportunity to get together in the office, break bread and spend time together as a team, with the goal of appreciating both our commonalities and differences.

We originally set out to gather our colleagues in-person for an afternoon of fun and laughter—the goal was to spend time together, collaborate and shift the format for our quarterly town hall. It was only natural to then think about how we could deepen our connection with each other by giving colleagues the opportunity to wear cultural attire and bring food to share. Arlene Wilde, our Service Manager, had the idea to make sashes that said, “I am Convergint”, this was a great reminder that amazing things happen when diversity is recognized and celebrated. We ended up with an excellent turn out and participation from local colleagues, I can’t wait to work with my team to plan the next event!

The bigger picture is that I&D is so much more than a corporate initiative. There are ways to bring I&D into every day workplace experiences in meaningful ways. As business leaders, we have to identify those moments and encourage education and participation.

For me, Inclusion & Diversity means accepting everyone and working to create opportunity for all backgrounds, races, cultures, values, etc. and consistently showing that you support and celebrate these differences. With strong I&D initiatives in place, everyone is able to feel comfortable within their roles and have confidence that their colleagues will always support them and make them feel represented. Here’s what it comes down to—when we have diversity of thought and experience, we do better work and enjoy the work place.

One important initiative (among many others!) that I’m focused on with the Council is creating a roadmap to ensure that our I&D efforts are carried through every single facet of Convergint. This starts at the recruiting/interview and onboarding process through to ongoing support for managers to ensure that our corporate initiatives are consistent and transparent at every level of the business. I’m personally working towards an I&D certification that will help me better contribute to our efforts.

I want to stress to other CTCs that incorporating culture into your office doesn’t mean it has to be an extravagant event. For example, we are planning to celebrate Kwanza and will simply incorporate it into our next town hall. And down the line we will want to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day too. These celebrations can be an American holiday or anything you want your CTC to embrace. Any theme or culture that you want to pick to celebrate on quarterly basis that you are passionate about and want to bring!

We need to create greater visibility for opportunities available in the security integration industry to increase the representation for women and POC in the workforce. For example, Convergint Women Connect was created with the mission of connecting the women of Convergint Nation to inspire them, support them, and develop their leadership mentality. This group offers the chance for Convergint to become a stronger company through the benefits gained by developing and leveraging the power of Convergint’s female colleagues. We believe that by doing this work, our colleagues will be able to extend their own efforts to make the industry more inclusive and diverse.

I also think that when companies emphasize I&D as a key component of their culture, they must make their initiatives clear. Too often, I&D is ambiguous—which can be a barrier to progress. To ensure alignment across an organization, it’s critical to be transparent about the work that’s being done.

As far as my favorite Value & Belief, it would have to be: I have integrity. I work hard to be an advocate for both my customers (and be their best service provider!) and my colleagues. When you have integrity, you’re always seeking to do the right thing. As a result, I want everyone that I work with to trust me and know that I always have their best interests at heart. I believe this is reflected in my I&D work at Convergint as well.