Belonging: The New Secret to Retention in an Evolving Remote Workplace

More important than ever before for every member of an organization is a sense of belonging – not just being a cog in the machine, but truly feeling valued, heard and recognized for one’s contributions. As highlighted by these experts, this dovetails into the DEIA practice, as workplaces place increasing importance in elevating historically marginalized voices – and in doing so elevate the importance of belonging for all.

Moderator: Angel Jennings
Assistant Managing Editor for Culture & Talent, Los Angeles Times

As assistant managing editor for culture and talent, Angel Jennings oversees the L.A. Times’ Metpro and internship programs, as well as working closely with HR and department heads to help manage tracking, recruiting, interviewing and selecting diverse candidates for job opportunities. She also advances the company’s efforts to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. Jennings was previously a Metro reporter for the Times and worked with many departments in the newsroom, including Metro, National, Calendar, Business and podcasts.

Panelist: Gary Bushrod
Global Head of DEI, Amazon Music

After graduating from Hampton University with a degree in business management, Gary Bushrod took jobs in finance, learning and development. Utilizing those varied skills, he transitioned into global head of DEI for Amazon Music. His mission is to help Amazon Music grow a diverse and inclusive workforce through cutting-edge programs, philanthropic and strategic partnerships and creating a work environment that all can celebrate being part of.

Panelist: Carolyn Caldwell, FACHE
Hospital President and CEO, Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center

Carolyn P. Caldwell, FACHE, is president and CEO at Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach. With a long history in medical leadership, Caldwell has received many accolades for her service to organizations and patients. She holds a master’s in healthcare administration from Texas Women’s University, Dallas, and worked as a medical technologist prior to her leadership roles.

Panelist: Jamison Escobar
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program Manager, Los Angeles Lakers

Jamison Escobar is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practitioner with experience in both the sports industry and the military. As a diversity manager for the U.S. Coast Guard, Escobar formed connections through shared experiences and in unique situations. Within the Lakers organization, he is involved in program development, group facilitation, organizational culture change and initiative implementation.

Panelist: Dylan Pany
Managing Director, Phaidon International

Dylan Pany has held several leadership positions at Phaidon International and is now their managing director, overseeing six distinct brands that bring business-critical talent to industries worldwide. Phaidon specializes in getting talented individuals to where they are needed most with a specific focus on DEI. Pany arrived at Phaidon International’s Los Angeles office in 2020 after several years in New York City, and he holds a BSBA from West Virginia University.

Shared Insights From the Forum

On belonging in a remote or hybrid work model:

Jamison Escobar: One thing that the Lakers organization is trying to do is to be as accommodating as possible. You treat individuals as adults and give them the opportunity to show up to the office at different times or even not show up for certain weeks. We instead empower our employees to do their job and I think that has really helped us foster inclusivity throughout the organization.

Caroline Caldwell, FACHE: For those of you to know anything about healthcare: we like being together. And so COVID was very challenging. What we found out is that because we had to create a remote working environment, we were able to add flexibility - someone needs to take care of a family member but not have to take an entire week off - we were able to accommodate our employees.

Gary Bushrod: I would say we’re being more flexible with relations that we were having. If I’m working with someone in, say, India - they’re working late hours or early so that they can meet up with us on the West Coast, but I have to be accommodating as well. So I take 7:30 a.m. calls or 9:30 p.m. calls to make sure that they understand they’re valued.

On measuring employee engagement:

Dylan Pany: I look at little things. Whether you’re in the office or out of the office, I try and create and cultivate an environment where everyone wants to work together to get to where we want to be, and I genuinely think that if you are engaged, you are going to quickly put your hand up and say, “Hey, I want the same thing.”

Escobar: This is new to everybody, and so how we track these things - we’re going to have to change. You can’t use legacy tracking, programming or the same things we used to do in the past. This is different and hard. It’s a very ongoing and dynamic situation from a normalization standpoint. My biggest takeaway is to be flexible and be okay with reframing what your expectations are.

On being a better remote manager

Caldwell: During COVID, those of us on our leadership team still came to the hospital to make sure our employees were okay and ask if they needed anything. It’s a requirement that all of our leaders go on rounds with the employees - we also do night rounds. As part of our employee engagement surveys, we asked the question about belonging, and we were so excited when what we did showed significant improvement in our employee engagement.

Bushrod: I would say in this new remote environment, we’ve adjusted, gotten a lot more creative and a lot more technologically savvy. How are you making it so that people who are not physically in the office with you feel like they’re being heard? I think one small trick that we’ve done is that we’ll have a physical office where some people are in a conference room, and if there’s someone who’s attending virtually, we’ll be hyper-conscious of that person. And then we gather feedback about engagement, and with that feedback we’re able to address employee needs.

Pany: I’ve been working on myself and on understanding that good work is good work, whether it happens in some apartment, or house or in the office. That took a lot of time, to be honest with you. There was some failure and trial and error, and having hard conversations. For me, I just try to focus on my job as a manager and that’s what helped. Getting a good performance out of my team is my business, and I have to make sure everyone feels included and that they are a part of that mission.