Better practices. Advancing together.

The journey toward Diversity & Inclusion is not easy. IncludeAll is intended to help organizations be more intentional in this work.

By embedding D&I strategies and metrics throughout all TalNet Innovations, IncludeAll works to increase collaboration and ensure cultural relevance, which inform our efforts to help students and job seekers find their best purpose. Drawing on regional expertise and best practices, we also provide resources to help employers who are ready to start or move to the next level by developing essential D&I leadership competencies. This is vital to our success, because we cannot achieve our goals for West Michigan unless opportunity includes all: people of every experience and background.

What We Do

IncludeAll supports the efforts of West Michigan employers who recognize the importance of diversifying their workforce. Part One: Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Development To be effective, D&I efforts require leadership. IncludeAll provides guidance as companies create diversity officer positions or delegate this important responsibility to their human resource leaders. Because few resources exist documenting the key competencies, roles, and responsibilities of a D&I leader, IncludeAll has developed a guidebook outlining essential roles highlighting what leaders need to know and be able to do. The guide also serves to develop D&I as a field of practice in West Michigan – a status already obtained by fields such as medicine, manufacturing or industrial psychology.
Paperback copies are available for purchase on Amazon.
Part Two: Diversity and Inclusion Embedded StrategiesAs part of the TalNet collaboration of talent innovation, IncludeAll helps each of the innovations embed D&I strategies and accountabilities into their work.

How We Do It

The development of these resources is an ongoing and collaborative process. The guidebook research included a national scan of best practices and a series of human-centered design interviews with leading D&I professionals in West Michigan. The findings were reviewed and refined in focus-group sessions to confirm the recommendations for the first edition, with updates planned to keep the content relevant. The embedded strategies for each of the TalNet innovations were customized to support their specific focuses. These include: HireReach This innovation provides training and support to employers as they implement the essential elements of a fair, objective, data driven evidence-based selection process. A third-party evaluator has been hired to evaluate program outcomes, including first-year turnover and the racial and ethnic diversity of new hires. CareerPoint Community-based organizations serving minority populations will be identified to implement and assess CareerPoint’s seven-step career pathway model for cultural relevancy. Demographics that track diversity and feedback from partners will be used for continuous improvement. SkillSense School district partners will be enlisted to ensure student participation represents diverse populations from racial, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Demographic data and feedback from internal reviews will inform continuous improvement. JobSync As greater understanding is developed about competencies required for West Michigan careers, these competencies will be tied to education and training programs that serve diverse populations. Regular sessions that review JobSync reports will include subject matter experts from diverse backgrounds. Demographic data will track participation in educational and training programs for in-demand jobs.

Who We Are

IncludeAll draws from real-life expertise of leading D&I officers in West Michigan. They represent multiple fields – healthcare, government and private industry – and various dimensions of diversity, including age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, education level, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. The IncludeAll innovation is led by Whitney White, Senior Culture & DEI Consultant, Marsh McLennan Agency.
Whitney White
Senior Culture & DEI Consultant, Marsh McLennan Agency

Why You Should Be Involved

Employers increasingly recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion to meet current and future talent needs, understand evolving consumer bases, and establish new markets. The business case for diversity and inclusion is well established, demonstrating positive correlations between a diverse workforce and overall performance. What often is missing is guidance on how to develop organizational leadership that advances these objectives. IncludeAll fills that gap.
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