DS News

57 "My journey is to make sure that everybody has a voice at the table. Empowering our employees cultivates diversity." —Ali Haralson, General Manager and Chief Business Development Officer, Auction.com Auction.com's Wall told DS News that the company had recently formed its own Diversity and Inclusion Council, "made up of employees with the mission to help guide the advancement of inclusion, social responsibility, and engagement … specifically relating to employee relations, business practices, community involvement, and partner, supplier, and customer relations." e overall goal, Wall explained, "is to always strive to create an inspirational workplace and a great everyday experience for all employees." Some of the other concrete D&I efforts Wall cited included appointing a Head of People and Culture to help the company "implement best practices and make improvements in any disparities and to help create a dynamic, strong leadership team." For International Women's Month, the company honored some of its top female leaders by publishing their stories and inspiring advice for others to follow. Wall also noted that Auction.com had created a group called NOW—the Network of Women. Auction NOW is described as "an empowerment platform for women to unite, inspire, and support one another with the common goal to improve the lives of our members and the greater community." NOW provides an array of professional development, networking, mentorship, and educational opportunities for women at various levels of their careers. "I've been here for 10 years, and when I started, there was only one female member on the executive team," Wall said. "Now, we have very good representation across our organization." Auction.com's Diversity and Inclusion Council have so far set the groundwork for four programs that have been or will soon be implemented: » Enhance recruiting efforts to create a pipeline of diverse candidates and a diverse slate for hiring managers. » Implement mentoring programs to create a path for advancement and expanding diversity into management teams. » Expand the 2021 Holiday Schedule with focused efforts on volunteerism on MLK Day and attention to diversity and inclusion, such as celebrating Juneteenth. » Monthly diversity and inclusion communications and education. "I'm proud of the success we've achieved in creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace and look forward to continuing this journey of celebrating and championing diversity," Wall said. INDUSTRY DIVERSITY HIRING EFFORTS ere are a significant number of associations in the industry, such as the AMDC, the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America (NAMMBA), and MBA's mPower, that are working to promote D&I within the mortgage industry, Oyewole said. "For example, NAMMBA's Visionary initiative seeks to connect over 50,000 high- potential, talented undergraduates and recent graduates to internships and careers in the real estate finance industry over the next five years." Beyond those industry groups, many industry businesses have developed their own partnerships aimed at promoting diversity in hiring. NTC utilizes many different methods of obtaining diverse applicants, including job boards, local schools, job fairs, and employee referrals, Young said. "Our company strives to ensure everyone feels validated and important regardless of their gender, background, and differences," Young added. Hiring diverse associates allows companies to have "someone for everyone," said Nash Subotic, CEO, WestPac Wealth Partners. "With so many advisors with different backgrounds, we quite literally have an advisor who can connect on a deep level with just about any client out there," Subotic continued. "Because we have such a diverse team, we can cater to the needs of all different types of people. ese client-advisor relationships turns into something more meaningful—a

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