AccuStatEnergy partners with companies manufacturing temperature control systems and developers of smart home technologies. The Internet of Things are objects, animals or people which are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. A thing, in the Internet of Things, can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low - or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a network. For smart homeowners, controllers can manage household systems such as thermostats, sprinkler systems, dishwashers, laundry, lighting, water and security systems. Energy savings can come in as high as 30% or higher by using smart home systems, not to mention time saved completing routine household tasks.
For several years, silicon valley and technology companies have sought to improve the diversity of their workforce to be inclusive of more African-Americans, Latinos and women. AccuStatEnergy was expanding their workforce and sought Shale Team services to identify a diverse pool of qualified candidates. The company also wanted to develop a diversity management strategy and plan to proactivity pivot their corporate culture for it’s anticipated growth.
Research and experience clearly show that one primary success factor for corporate change are strong personal engagement and accountability on the part of the CEO and the entire senior leadership team. In this case the leadership team was fully supportive of the strategy. We began addressing AccuStatEnergy’s need to increase their workforce and their desire to attract qualified diverse candidates. Our diversity recruitment approach meant that the company would take an important step towards creating an inclusive and multi-talented workplace that is reflective of the customers it serves and would be best prepared to compete in a changing technology economy and marketplace.
The CEO and leadership team realized they must attract, retain, and promote qualified employees regardless of race, age, gender or ethnicity to keep the business running and continuing to grow. We utilized a diverse recruitment strategy that was wide-ranging (job board advertisements) and narrowly targeted (i.e., using websites to locate resumes of candidates who may not be looking for positions, but neatly match a set of exacting criteria).
The CEO and leadership at AccuStatEnergy were also aware that in order to successfully retain the company’s growing diverse workforce, they also needed to ensure that their company’s culture was aligned with their goals and strategies for growth. Building a business case for the
diversity plan stated the reasons in clear and compelling terms. It served as a call to action and as a set of guiding principles for the diversity plan.
A diversity plan that is successful must be relevant to an organization’s mission, vision and business objectives. A strong business case states these reasons in clear and compelling terms. It serves as a call to action and as a set of guiding principles for all that is done as part of the diversity plan. Accessing AccuStatEnergy’s organizational culture involved a multi-step process which included, but was not limited to, the following steps:
- Gaining commitment from the top.
- Business case self-assessment and action steps.
- Vision, mission, strategy.
- Recruitment and sourcing.
- Employee retention, communication, training and development.
- Establishing corporate culture aligned with diversity strategy and goals.
AccuStatEnergy’s CEO and senior executives were consistently focused on specific diversity strategies that directly helped to ensure the ongoing success of the plan. The strong business case that was developed, with Shale Team, will generate personal engagement and accountability of key employees within the company. It will also provide a compelling link between business success, diversity and inclusion goals.
As a result, the company’s diversity recruitment reached out to new candidates who were highly qualified, and the goal was to fill the talent pipeline with a diverse mix of individuals qualified to broaden the company’s reach and customer base. As a result, the company doubled the number of female and hispanic employees during the first year.
As the company continues to grow, they plan to reassess their plan annually because globally as the corporation expands, addressing corporate diversity becomes even more complex. Different countries define diversity in very different ways, and yet a significant majority of companies around the globe seek diverse workforces in order to remain innovative and, therefore, competitive advantages. With AccuStatEnergy’s new roadmap, developed with Shale Team, the CEO and company’s executives are on track and now have a strategy for
successful corporate growth.