‘Encourage Open Discussions to Remove Barriers to DEIB at Workplace’

An exclusive interview with Wendy Turza, Director, HR, OK Tire

 

In order to remove the barriers to diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging (DEIB) in a workplace, companies need to explore, unpackage, and communicate unconscious bias and resistance to change. Employers should provide training along with open and honest discussions to remove the barriers from existing work practices and methodology, opined Wendy Turza, Director of Human Resources at OK Tire, a distributor of tires and tire-related products and services in Canada.

In an exclusive interview with HR.com, Wendy touches upon the cultural changes the company brought to accommodate women in large numbers, the major factors of a DEIB culture, and more.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Thirty percent of OK Tire’s employees are women. What kind of changes did you bring to your work culture to build a workplace that can accommodate women in such large numbers?

Wendy: A lot of things have shifted in the past years with regards to the automotive sector and embracing women as both a part of our workforce and our customer. Educating our employees on diversity and how that translates to daily operations was essential. Physical changes, such as improved restrooms, cleanliness of stores and employing women as service advisors and mechanics have also been a cultural shift.

Q: You have women employees working across roles, such as finance, auto repair, customer service, etc. that are traditionally male-dominated. How was this transformation possible?

Wendy: It was an easy transformation as the workforce and training programs throughout Canada not only support women in these careers, but also have encouraged and promoted that no position should be gender-biased – we have always been a strong supporter of this initiative and are proud to say that we have multiple women, who not only hold these positions within our organization, but are also owners of stores throughout Canada.

Q: How did you gain buy-in from the leadership? What were the challenges?

Wendy: We did not face any challenge on that front as the leadership was 150% behind this initiative.

Q: How important is the leadership's role in this transformation? Why?

Wendy: Our leadership team is always driving to be top-of-class in our industry and this is one of the ways that we outshine other automotive organizations.

Q: What are the major factors in building a culture of diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging (DEIB) in a workplace?

Wendy: Creating a safe space for employees to ask questions and learn about what DEIB means to our organization. Providing clear understanding and training to our employees, embracing each other’s differences and removing barriers.  

Q: What are the top barriers to DEIB?

Wendy: Barriers have been created over many years of history and present different nuances and challenges to overcome. Unconscious bias and resistance to change have to be explored, unpackaged, communicated, training provided along with open and honest discussions to remove these barriers from existing work practices and methodology.

Q: What is your future outlook for DEIB in the workplace?

Wendy: The future is Bright! Increased focus on learning and development (L&D) driven by leadership has set the path for our future.

Q: What should be the important elements of talent acquisition and retention strategies with regards to cultivating DEIB at a workplace?

Wendy: Educating and training our people leaders to embrace DEIB through talent acquisition, and dispersing prejudice and bias is key to bringing new talent to our team.