World Inclusion Day was celebrated on October 10, 2023. It is a day dedicated to ensuring that individuals of various abilities, backgrounds, ages, races, religions, genders, and other characteristics are accepted, welcomed, and treated fairly. The theme for last years’ World Inclusion Day was “Take Action Make Impact”. Following that theme, the Hometown America DEI Council rolled out Inclusion Boards to make an impact at each of our communities across the nation.
An inclusion board is a fun interactive tool teams can use to get to know each other a little better. By sharing pictures and images that express each of our own individual characteristics and backgrounds, the board evolves into a snapshot of the community team as a whole. Teams from around the country have been sharing pictures of their inclusion boards with the Council, and these are being highlighted in the weekly companywide newsletters.
Several Council members have received positive feedback about team members’ experiences compiling their boards, including that it was an “awesome team building exercise,” “a great demonstration of the company’s core value of inclusion” and some “hope for more similar activities in the future.” After completing the boards, other communities opted to display them where residents could view them. In some cases, this reminded residents that our team members are not that different from them – they have families, hobbies, wishes, goals, and obligations outside of work – and this has improved interactions among team members and residents.
Thank you to all teams who have participated! Looking to join our growing team? Check out our open roles and contact us today.