Responding to racism and strengthening inclusion. Here are four buckets of action to prioritize:

Send A Message From Your Company, sharing your reaction and values

Why send a message?

• Silence sends an unintended signal, leaving employees to interpret it in their own way - often seeing no message as a sign of disinterest, fear, or lack of care. Inaction is still action.
• Asking employees to be real, present, and authentic at work goes hand-in-hand with acknowledging and making space for the very real impact of events outside of work.
• This message is an opportunity to give especially impacted employees a greater sense of safety and belonging, and all employees a greater sense of meaning and pride in their organization, increasing loyalty and engagement.

What should go in internal (employee) messaging?

• Acknowledge the current situation (see samples below), ideally naming victims by name and acknowledging the disproportionate impact on Black team members.
• Normalize the strain of doing work and staying present in the midst of violence and a pandemic.
• Promote mental health and self-care by encouraging taking time off, taking breaks, sharing what’s on your mind, opting out of conversations if needed, and redistributing workload.
• Unite your team with a connection to your company missions and/or values.
• Commit to action by clarifying how your organization will play a role in building a more equitable and inclusive company and society (e.g., make a donation, have a “blackout day,” roll out inclusion/allyship training, launch a DEI task force). Adjust your messaging based on the actions you decide to take in the buckets below.

Most important:

Take any commitment you make seriously. Vague promises or promises without concrete action can lead to greater disengagement. Once you send your message, create a concrete plan with owners for each action.

Who should send a message?

• A message from the CEO and/or founder sends the strongest signal (see sample CEO messages and a template for encouraging CEOs/founders to speak up).
• People Ops should ideally follow up with more detailed employee resources for all employees and a message to managers (see sample below) with recommended actions to take.
• Managers should ideally send a follow-up message to their teams offering support.

Provide Mental Health / Cognitive / Emotional Support

Employees are under an unprecedented amount of chronic cognitive and emotional strain. Prioritizing mental health now will increase your team’s resilience and capacity to make meaningful contributions in the long-term.