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How to talk to your team about racism and other hard subjects

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This year has been full of life-altering changes. With a global pandemic, the decline in our business and the current civil unrest, the stress, fear, and anger of it all is taking a toll on most of our people. And they’re turning to you, their leader, to help them navigate through all of it. We understand that is a very hard position to put you in.

For years, racism and many other social and human rights issues were things that we felt uncomfortable talking about. As an organization, we chose to remain silent not knowing what to say or how to say it or even how as a company we could help solve these complex issues. With a lack of leadership in many areas of society, employees are now looking to and requiring their companies and company leaders to take a more active role. We need to do more than just condemn racism, we need to support our employees personally affected by listening and offering to help as well as educate employees about social injustice, openly acknowledge and discuss it, and provide support and opportunities for individuals who want to be part of the solution.

I am sure that many of you are getting questions from your team members that you don’t know how to answer. And that’s okay. This is new territory for a lot of us. So, here are a few tips to help you successfully have an open dialogue with your team about racism and better understand the discrimination Black Americans face every day.

1. Acknowledge what’s happening

Our lives encompass so much more than our jobs and everything that happens outside of work has an impact on us. So, it’s important to acknowledge current events when meeting with your team.

The death of George Floyd and subsequent marches and protests are dramatically affecting the lives of many of our employees, leaving many feeling upset and overwhelmed. To build trust with your team and an openness for future dialogue, you need to first acknowledge what is happening and that it isn’t going to be business as usual.

2. Provide support to employees

Start by reaching out one-on-one to your team members who may be in pain to see how they’re feeling and to ask how you can support them during this time. Recognize the physical, mental, and emotional toll that current events have on your team members, especially Black employees.

We encourage our people to bring their whole selves to work. For our Black employees, racism and discrimination are a very real part of their daily lives, and the pain they’re feeling isn’t something they can just shut out while they’re working. Give them the space to be upset or even disengaged from work.

For any of your team members who are struggling, let them know we have resources available to help them through this difficult time, including mental health counselors through Marathon Health and the Employee Assistance Program.

3. Take time to learn

The first step toward any change is education. If you don’t know what to say, educate yourself about racism from reliable sources. We’ve compiled a list of resources that will help get you started. We also want you to encourage your people to do the same. CHG is committed to providing more information and education on these issues, so please take the time to educate yourself.

Another great education tool is listening — listening with the intent to understand, not the intent to respond. We as leaders have the drive to quickly move to solutions. It takes a conscious effort to listen with intent, but it makes a world of difference. As I have been reminded over the last few weeks, racism has been an issue for hundreds of years, it will not be solved in a week. But we start by listening and learning about experiences of our Black employees and communities.

It’s also important to remember not all Black employees want to share their experiences and perspectives, and don’t assume they’ll be able to provide educational resources or teach you about racism. You have to do that on your own.

4. Create a safe space for dialogue

Open, honest conversations are crucial to making real change. It’s important to create a safe space for all your people to discuss how they’re feeling, ask questions, and share experiences and different perspectives. This can be very uncomfortable for all of us. So, start by connecting and supporting your employees through individual conversations first.

As a company, we’re helping to continue the conversation about racism and bias by facilitating upcoming roundtables. I encourage you to participate in one of them. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable during these conversations and share your own reflections and struggles with what’s going on. Also, be the advocate for your employees to attend. Sometimes, your employees are waiting for your encouragement before they participate.

And if you find yourself needing support, please reach out for help. We know that discussing racism is unchartered and uncomfortable for many of us so if you need to talk, reach out to Scott, me or one of your senior leaders. We are here to help.

5. Encourage action

We believe in supporting our employees in the causes our people are passionate about. Not only is this belief embedded in our company’s purpose statement, it’s also the mission of the Making a Difference Foundation. So, it’s important that you support employees who want to be actively involved in making a difference.

One way to do this is to remind them that we have programs available to help them take action in this movement and other causes they are passionate about. They can join Employee Network Groups and use volunteer time off to support causes important to them. And for employees actively involved in a non-profit organization supporting the Black community, remind them they can apply for a Making a Difference Foundation grant.

Moving forward, CHG will be leaning into racism and other social and human rights issues much more than in the past. Our approach will be the same each time: acknowledge the issue, support our employees, provide education and dialogue opportunities, and provide ways our employees can get actively involved.

I hope these tips will help you feel more comfortable starting conversations and having open discussions with your employees and team. I encourage you to learn more about how you can create a safe space for your people to have open, honest dialogues about racism and other social injustice.

Here are a few additional resources to help you have a more open, honest dialogue about racism.