Beyond the Commitment: Embedding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within Public Utilities

At the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), we have been working strategically to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for fifteen years. However, like many public utilities, in 2019 we began rethinking what 'intention' and 'strategic' meant for our DEI work. Over the last four years, our goal has been to embed DEI throughout practices, policies, and procedures, rather than leaving it up to one person to achieve alone. Some key elements in this work have been comprehensive organizational commitment, department-specific goals, focused DEI committees, and a robust learning and education strategy. While there have been lessons learned, we are on the path to ensuring that our employees, regardless of identity, are understood, appreciated, and fully included to create an organization of excellence. This presentation will demonstrate strategies to move beyond talk and to intentional, practical actions to embed DEI. In articulating NEORSD's commitment to DEI, a multi-prong approach has been implemented to establish expectations and reinforce the importance of this work. The foundation of this approach was established through a resolution passed by the Board of Trustees in 2020. From this foundation came the addition of the core value of equity, the inclusion of DEI in NEORSD's three -year strategic plan and continued emphasis in the CEO's annual goals. Furthermore, new employees are introduced to NEORSD's commitment to DEI on their first day of employment to emphasize how critical this is to our work. To remain accountable to these commitments and to the DEI program purpose statement, five overarching action goals were created: (1) recruit, engage, and retain a diverse workforce; (2) work together in ways that incorporate employees' skills, creativity, perspectives, and talents; (3) learn and apply diversity, equity, and inclusion principles to District business practices; (4) eliminate barriers to participation for employees, customers, and vendors; and (5) engage business and community partnerships that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. These action goals serve as a foundation for tactics and KPIs that each department creates annually to encourage employees to understand their role and take ownership in creating an equitable and inclusive culture. From 2021-2023, this strategy resulted in the creation of 350 tactics, across 11 departments. Departments, on average, have completed around 80% of their tactics. While many organizations have DEI advisory committees, NEORSD has expanded to include DEI subcommittees to guide specific work. This has resulted in the proliferation of employees involved in providing input and guidance for DEI strategy. We have grown from just 15 employees involved in the DEI advisory committee to over 50 employees across our various DEI committees, with many employees serving on multiple committees such as Environmental Justice, and Disability Inclusion. Not only have these subcommittees increased avenues for feedback, but we have engaged employees at all levels throughout the organization who are interested in and motivated by this work. NEORSD's training and education strategy is guided by the objective to meet employees where they're at in their DEI knowledge . Not only do we provide a robust set of DEI trainings to employees, but we offer other educational outlets as well, including racial justice dialogues, employee resource group events, DEI learning communities, and a DEI toolkit for independent reading and learning. These varied learning opportunities have resulted in over 3,600 engagements by employees from 2021-2023. This presentation will walk through these strategies and corresponding lessons learned for embedding the work in DEI into the various facets of NEORSD's work. Additionally, future measures to continue this progress will be shared. Attendees will learn how to manage a DEI strategy beyond commitment statements and how successfully embedding DEI can meet the needs of different stakeholder groups within your organization. This presentation will go beyond merely stating the importance of DEI and will discuss how to practically pursue diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces for public utilities.