CreateMe Technology Start-Up
CASE STUDY IN THE TECHNOLOGY SECTOR
New York, NY & San Francisco, CA
Opportunity: CreateMe is a technology start-up at the intersection of automation, customization, and apparel with offices in New York and San Francisco. The company contacted Harriet Speaks to advance its diversity and inclusion efforts, something that is both a tremendous opportunity and a rarity for a tech start-up. The co-founders of CreateMe and Harriet Speaks shared a view that the way to increase the representation of diverse individuals in technology is for start-ups to make this work a priority.
Harriet Speaks not only introduced the topic of diversity and inclusion into the 100+ people organization but clearly defined who is underrepresented in technology.
Harriet Speaks led the D&I work for CreateMe in the following ways:
1) Introduced the company's first internship program, in partnership with INROADS, that placed six Black, Hispanic, and/or women college students with summer internships in engineering or human resources roles
2) Provided ongoing educational opportunities to learn about diversity and inclusion via lunch and learns. Program topics included conflict resolution, Juneteenth, Harvey Milk (LGBTQIA), and implicit bias
3) Curated an all-employee diversity and inclusion channel via Slack to regularly highlight and share ideas, as well as discuss strategies for diversity and inclusion
4) Trained and coached the 18-person executive team utilizing CliftonStrengths, a strengths-based tool that helps individuals and teams understand their and others' strengths and reinforces the idea that our differences are assets and not deficits. Daniels is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach.
5) Engaged in regular 1:1 coaching sessions with key staff to build capacity for diversity and inclusion, as well as expand management skills
Impact: After a 12-month engagement, diversity and inclusion (in all of its forms), is embedded into the culture of CreateMe. The company has increased its recruiting of diverse candidates and identified important ways to incorporate DE&I best practices into its hiring, recruiting, and retention process.