Over the past year, AMO has grown into a company built for the future. As the world went through a health, economic, racial, societal, and environmental crisis, we focused on our core values: putting people first.
In our eight years of operating, we’ve been a people-focused business. You can find evidence of this value at work in our product creation, our team management practices, and how we make decisions. Eventually, this mindset and these practices led us to create our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. At the center of this committee sits a single goal—to come out of the crises brought by 2020 as a more intentional, mindful, and inclusive organization.
A company is only healthy when its people unlock their greatest potential. In recognition of this, the DEI Committee set out with a goal to utilize our existing people resources and develop a strategic plan to propel AMO into the future.
Adopting a Three-Pronged Approach
The mission of AMO’s DEI Strategic Plan, presented at the onset of 2021, is to guide the company to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. AMO’s vision is to create a better future for students across the globe, which requires us to represent, champion, and incorporate both our internal and external communities. In its research, the committee learned that what separates effective DEI strategies from ineffective ones is formulation and execution. Effective DEI strategic plans arise from a shared vision, are formulated inclusively, and are executed in a transparent and consistent manner; this three-pronged approach opens the box to new ideas.
Fielding Areas of Growth
Through months of research, both external and internal, we measured DEI within our organization and formulated a plan with five strategies to drive effective change: Consensus & Commitment, Recruitment, Retention, Infrastructure, and Progress.
Our first initiatives revolved around communication with inclusive meeting habits, team meeting notes, new DEI training for employees, and a newly introduced internal feedback channel.
The next round of initiatives involved transparency and recruitment. We developed a companywide KPI scorecard, introduced a new hiring matrix for interviews, aggregated employee resources on a landing page, and developed interview note-taking practices.
Introducing a Sustainable Model
As we enter summer 2021, AMO’s DEI committee is focused on retention. We aim to develop promotion guides and be more transparent about how to grow within the organization. The promotion guide will provide all employees a framework for seeking a raise or promotion. Hopefully, this will bring equality to everyone seeking growth.
In trying to maintain a sustainable committee, we’ll begin rotating DEI committee members soon. With each new member, there will be new ideas and diverse viewpoints. The current strategic framework is a working document for current members and those to come. We hope that AMO’s pursuit of a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community is ongoing.
Learn more about AMOpportunities as a company.
