From HR to DEI Champion: Carol Lewis’s Impactful Strategy at MRI Software

With SHRM’s announcement that it was changing its use of the acronym DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) to I&D (inclusion and diversity) recently, along with some major companies publicly pulling back on their I&D efforts, some might feel that these efforts are no longer valued or important.

That’s far from the case. Over the past decade, DEI has become a central focus of virtually every major company as well as large numbers of small and medium-sized organizations.

That growth was initially fueled by many factors, including the social justice movements of recent years. But businesses are also embracing DEI for other reasons—most notably the recognition of the real value that a real and concerted focus on DEI can add to the bottom line.

HR departments are naturally at the forefront of those efforts, and Carol Lewis, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at MRI Software, the subject of our latest installment of our series on DEI leaders, is a great example of the impact they can have. Lewis entered the field early in her HR career.

“I started my career in a human resources rotational development program designed to expose new college graduates to all aspects of HR,” Lewis recalls. “I incorporated a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens to all the work I was doing as an HR generalist and became known for incorporating that lens into talent practices. When an opportunity presented itself, the CHRO of the organization I worked for asked if I was interested in developing the strategy and spearheading the company’s efforts. I didn’t hesitate to say yes!”

DEI Efforts at MRI

MRI puts DEI at the center of its mission and values. The company focuses its DEI efforts around four overarching strategic DEI pillars—people, culture, community, and marketplace—around which they align their efforts.

“We embed DEI into our talent practices,” Lewis says. “It isn’t something separate, an add-on, that is done at the end-stages of any process. It’s core to the process itself.”

So much of DEI begins with appreciating that individuals’ lived experiences can vary dramatically. A workplace that welcomes them, has space for their voice to be heard, and is valued is a great starting point. Consequently, any successful DEI program necessarily places a strong emphasis on education—not just educating the DEI or HR teams, but the company as a whole. DEI is a collective effort, not a discipline meant to be siloed among a small group of staff, Lewis believes.

“We work to educate the organization on DEI, build cultural competency skills, and make DEI relevant to an individual’s day-to-day work,” she explains. “Part of the education is helping people see that they leverage DEI principles daily in most things they do.”

Lewis and MRI have also incorporated top-down messaging into their DEI efforts. This is a key strategy, because employees take cues from senior management when trying to gauge how serious an organization is about various initiatives. Involvement of key leaders can turn DEI from a talking point into real cultural change.

“We incorporate DEI-focused talking points into key leadership messages for global/regional town hall meetings as well as integrate the focus into our annual product conference,” says Lewis.

Doing Ordinary Things Extraordinarily Well

As a relatively new discipline for MRI, DEI has seen its fair share of evolving strategies and approaches to achieving its primary aims. However, over the last decade or so, enough companies have embraced and explored DEI both in theory and in practice that plenty of best practices have emerged.

It’s not necessary to re-invent the wheel and develop revolutionary strategies and methods relative to other organizations. Often, it’s enough to simply identify some key approaches and excel at implementation and execution. That’s the approach in which Lewis and MRI have found success.

“We’re following similar strategies to other companies,” she says. “What truly sets us apart is our people. The way they approach and execute our initiatives with an eye to DEI is truly awe-inspiring. Their unique perspectives enable us to deliver content that not only captivates audiences, but also drives change.”

Like many organizations, MRI has also launched employee resource groups (ERG), which they call Pride Resource Groups (PRG), and Diversity Councils. These groups have helped to create space for conversations and sustain a culture of belonging throughout the organization.

“Our strategy involves active listening, and prioritizing understanding over immediate response,” Lewis says. “This approach enables us to adapt to the needs of our employees, meeting them where they are rather than imposing our own perspective. Our efforts include incorporating pronouns in our interactions, offering sensory items in offices and conferences, and collaborating with our PRGs to gain insights on benefit offerings that best support their respective communities.”

Recruitment Efforts at MRI

One area Lewis sees as having potential for further improvement at MRI is recruitment. Recruitment (and retention) of diverse talent is crucial as part of any DEI effort. The relationship between recruitment and retention on the one hand and a company’s success with DEI on the other is often a chicken-and-egg situation.

Companies that are known to have DEI success naturally do better at attracting diverse talent, who are confident they’ll be joining an organization that values and develops them and in which they’ll feel a sense of belonging. At the same time, it can be hard to develop such a reputation without first creating the diversity that’s foundational to DEI.

“This is an area we are working on,” says Lewis. “First and foremost, we have one hiring process. We are working to broaden our sourcing to ensure we are connecting with talent where they are. We are building long-term relationships with organizations and schools that invest in cultivating/developing demographically diverse talent.”

Building a Diverse and Inclusive Culture

At the end of the day, one of the ultimate goals of DEI teams is to develop a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture. This is a challenging task, not necessarily because DEI itself is challenging, but because changing and shaping corporate culture is notoriously difficult and slow-going.

MRI has sought to advance this cultural transformation through a set of shared values.

“MRI has 5 cores values; the first of which is ‘Make the Pride Proud,’ Lewis shares. “We define that as ‘Be nice. Do good. Act with integrity.’ Kindness, honesty, respect, and inclusion are at the core of how we operate as individuals, as a team, and as a global business.”

MRI’s culture is built on the solid foundation of its core values. “We have leadership behaviors that strengthen our ability to live the values,” Lewis notes. “The active involvement of PRGs and Diversity Councils plays a crucial role in sustaining and amplifying our commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture.”

The journey of DEI from the fringes of HR to a cornerstone of corporate strategy showcases the evolution of workplace culture. Carol Lewis’s early adoption and integration of DEI into HR practices at MRI Software illustrates the proactive shift towards inclusivity. MRI’s focus on embedding DEI across all facets of its operations—people, culture, community, and marketplace—highlights the comprehensive approach needed for meaningful change. This narrative is a testament to the power of education, leadership involvement, and the collective effort in fostering an environment where diversity, equity, and inclusion thrive, setting a precedent for organizations worldwide.

Lin Grensing-Pophal is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.

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