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Peoplism helps retail start-up build DEIB into its foundation
Results
Increased representation of BIPOC employees
Adapted a more equitable performance management system
The Background
CEO Angie Tebbe reached out to us in the summer of 2020 to ensure her company was not just talking the DEIB talk, but also walking the walk. At the time, Rae was a 10 month-old, 15-person start-up with the mission of making wellness more accessible for everyone.
Angie felt a deep moral responsibility to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive company where everyone could belong and thrive, so she did not need to be convinced that DEIB was important or worth investing in. We’ve talked to hundreds of start-up leaders and know it’s rare for start-ups to invest in DEIB at an early stage. However, for Angie, this work was non-negotiable —it wasn't a matter of the "what" or "why," but the "how."
The Challenge
How does a small company assess their current state, gather valuable data from their employees, and take meaningful and immediate action to improve the employee experience? How can busy leaders increase all forms of representation and create equitable and inclusive policies and practices before they even have a People team?
Working with Us
First, we conducted our 360 DEIB Assessment, which included interviews with each employee and the Leadership Team, administering a demographic survey, and a documentation analysis of all existing People processes and policies. We then presented the findings to both the Leadership Team and the broader company.
After the assessment readout, Angie and her team went straight to work. Together we created a 30-60-90 day plan based on our assessment recommendations for each section (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging). Then we determined prioritization, ownership, timeline, output, and potential stakeholders for each task. Within a few weeks, Angie shared their action plan with the entire organization, along with their end-of-year goals, which included matching the URM representation of the retail industry.
Peoplism did an incredible job interviewing our entire team to understand where we are at, and what needs to be put in place now to maintain our Shine Culture. This is one of the benefits of making DEIB the foundation of our company from day 1. Maya’s ability to fully emerge herself in our business, internally and externally, allowed us to develop a long-term roadmap and begin implementing new processes immediately. Additionally, Peoplism was able to bring our entire Team along for the journey – removing bias and always leveraging data and research to educate and implement new routines.
Angie Tebbe CEO, Rae Wellness
The Results
Rae has made incredible progress since the assessment. Since the company is still a start-up, it was able to make changes quickly, but it is their drive and determination that has made all the difference for its various stakeholders.
Since starting its journey, Rae has taken tangible actions from revamping job descriptions to attract a broader and more qualified candidate pool to developing job levels and an equitable performance management system to completing three sessions of Anti-Bias training.
As a result, Rae has been able to significantly increase the representation of BIPOC employees at the company. Most importantly, Rae is invested in ensuring that all employees have the opportunity to thrive long-term.
We are excited to continue our partnership with Rae and watch them grow and disrupt the retail and wellness industries.