Outsiders Made Insiders: Our DEI Journey  

We all must constantly evolve as direct marketing fundraisers to keep up with the times and to remain infinite as growing organizations – but how do we do this? At Production Solutions (PS), a Moore company, we are committed to making everyone in our orbit feel a sense of belonging. Evolving as an organizational whole includes designing, implementing and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives so we can bring the paradigm of insiders and outsiders to a halt.  

Since April 2021, PS has been mindfully working towards goals for a DEI strategic plan with an ultimate idea aligning us: we will always operate our business with respect for our common humanity. Our strategic plan is built upon what PS has defined as our five pillars of success with which all core business decisions are made – people, organization, clients, partners and community. 

To move forward, we needed to know where we stood to begin with, so we kicked off our DEI journey by conducting a comprehensive diversity audit. We used that diversity pulse-check to then build our DEI strategic plan, and PS leadership introduced it to our employees, motivating our people’s hearts and minds around the significance of our DEI process.  

With our people on board, it was time for us to advance DEI initiatives in all aspects of our business including recruiting, hiring, training, promotion and retention. PS developed a recruitment policy to increase the quality and diversity of candidate pools. All PS managers completed diversity recruitment and retention training driven by our Human Resources department and we have rolled out a formal mentoring program. To learn about and overcome unconscious biases in the workplace, PS employs an ongoing diversity education series. Our staff has completed multiple DEI training courses, and we are just getting started!  

Additionally, we are working towards Compensation & Benefits and Performance Reviews goals to ensure career advancement opportunities, compensation packages and leave policies are equitable across PS operations. 

Knowing we could not make this journey alone, PS hired two expert consultants, without whom none of our progress would be possible. Dr. Tyrone Holmes, founding principal of T.A.H. Performance Consultants, LLC., and Armers Moncure, co-founder and managing partner of Culture Shift Consulting Group, LLC., have been an integral part of our success in collaborating with us on a DEI solution.  

Ben Harris, PS President, played a vital role in building the framework for DEI expectations for other organizations in our field. Harris got ahead of the curve and raised his hand to suggest starting the Moore DEI endeavor pilot launch in the summer of 2020, partnering with Steve Harrison, CDR Fundraising President, Lisa Behuncik, SPHR, Human Resources Director at CDR and Denise Moxam, SHRM-CP, PS Human Resources & Engagement Director. Together, they work toward continuous DEI improvement throughout our field, recognizing that our DEI journeys are constant and evolving – every bit as ongoing as the work we do for our clients. 

We hope you will join us in continuing (or beginning) your DEI strategy! PS is proud to be a leader in DEI in our industry and we hope you will contact us if you would like to meet with us and share our trainings and resources. Let’s break the paradigm of insiders and outsiders so we can all be insiders, together.