Celebrating COHR’s Commitment to Diversity

As an HR professional, I know and see the value of Diversity in the workplace and support the business case for it. However there are times I need to be reminded of the need for Diversity in other areas, namely professional and civic organizations. My SC local SHRM affiliate, Coastal Organization of Human Resources (COHR – www.CoastalHR.org) hosted our annual Diversity program at our monthly general meeting today. We were happy to have a great learning session hosted by our Diversity Chair, Kimmy Raymond. Training a group of HR professionals on Diversity can be a daunting task even for the most seasoned trainer, but Kimmy did an excellent job! The meeting was thought-provoking and full of energy. Kimmy shared anecdotes and facets from her background and experience as a corporate and contractual trainer and even took us through a Privilege Exercise that shed light on perceived differences and how they impact other’s views on us. It really brought about a better feeling of understanding among our members and guests. Kudos to Kimmy and her skills!

Earlier this year, I tasked the COHR Board of Directors (I am the 2011 President of COHR) with developing a brand and mission statement – more on that in future posts – for the organization and Kimmy volunteered to lead this charge. Last month she put together a comprehensive survey and sent it to our general membership to get their buy in on various issues and ideas pertaining to their COHR membership and their expectations of the Board. The responses were overwhelming and resulted in over 20 pages of compiled data. Kimmy incorporated the results of the survey and shared some highlights during her presentation focusing on the Diversity attributes from the study. The feedback was met with positive energy and continued to fuel the Diversity theme of our meeting. Diversity is a vital piece of any brand and mission and will surely play a key role in the creation of our COHR Brand. Thanks, again, Kimmy!

For more information on COHR and our commitment to Diversity, please email me at John@JohnHWilliamson.com.

Don’t forget to CELEBRATE!