Western North Carolina Diversity Engagement Coalition:realizing the benefits of a diverse and fully engaged workforce

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

Launched in April 2013, Buncombe County Government formed the Western North Carolina Diversity Engagement Coalition (WNCDEC), a network of anchor institutions (all non-profit or governmental agencies) led by HR professionals, dedicated to fostering inclusive work environments that realize the benefit of a diverse and fully engaged workforce. With a combined workforce of more than 15,000 employees, WNCDEC combines resources, expertise, and social capital to create intentional networks of support, development, and policies and practices that increase the diversity and development of professional talent. Coalition partners include A-B Tech, City of Asheville, MAHEC, Mission Health, and UNC Asheville. Given that Buncombe County is 91% white, the strategy is to bring resources and employees together across institutions creating critical mass that fosters a sense of belonging and creates structures of support for developmental opportunities. Within three years, WNCDEC’s goal is to advance 100 professionals across the anchor institutions and standards of practice that other organizations can adopt. The Coalition has developed: • Development Opportunities o Ongoing professional development classes using the expertise of coalition members and the community (with free childcare). The coalition is working toward a professional certification process o Networks of Mentoring/Sponsoring o Collaborative hiring across institutions emphasizing promotions • Social Networks o Monthly social events done in partnership with community organizations such as “Date My City,” and “Drinks and Dialogue” o Web site, Facebook page and Linkedin to connect individuals with resources and provide a platform for connection • Standards of Practice o HR professionals meet every other week focusing on best practices and policy standards across the institutions that support a fair, transparent, and inclusive. The goal is to create a rubric that other organizations can use to assess the inclusiveness of their individual organization and have a roadmap for an improvement process o Metrics of performance (diversity, promotions, turnover, etc)