Eighteen months into the creation and advancement of our formalized Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) policy and plan at Reservoir, our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts continue to evolve and grow as we work to make our company a more diverse, equitable and inclusive place of business and support system for our local community. Here are a few key takeaways and learnings as we advance efforts forward:

The energy and support to ensure that D&I is both a company-wide and community-wide engagement opportunity remain strong.

The team built on our 2020 progress to expand our recruiting, internal engagement and community support efforts, with a continued hunger to engage on the issues. Some highlights include:

• Expanding engagement with more diverse schools and school organizations across the greater D.C. and Baltimore area to promote our openings, speak with colleagues at career fairs and provide informational interviews and other networking opportunities;
• Kicking off internal recognition and celebration of observances meaningful to colleagues – educating and engaging staff through emails, chats and internal dialogues, while supporting diverse nonprofits in the community; and
• Helping local residents build on their job-hunting and networking materials and skills, as well as live healthier lives through our support of GOODProjects and Calvary Women’s Services.

There is a continual opportunity to grow and deepen our efforts; we’re focused on relationship building and learning about where our skills and abilities can provide value.

Our work here is truly an ongoing effort, and we’ve learned that how we continue to advance our impact is aligned with how we do so with our clients – by focusing on partnership and what we do best to deliver results. To that end, some of what we have planned to grow our work includes:

• Building and deepening relationships with area organizations and schools to continue recruiting and supporting diverse candidates;
• Helping build a future generation of professionals by engaging underserved middle and high school students in mentorship, resume-building, and professional development; and
• Capturing what we’re learning through our health equity work in a more systematic way so that colleagues and clients can benefit from our body of knowledge.

For us, striving to “be the best” means continuing to honor and expand upon our commitment to exemplifying a diverse, inclusive and equitable company. Ultimately, our actions and learnings since implementing our Diversity and Inclusion plan are making Reservoir a stronger company for our employees and our clients, and our work continues.