Silverline, a Salesforce Platinum Consultant Partner headquartered in New York City, today announced its Diversity and Inclusion program, Silverline Allies. The dedicated group of over 40 Silverline volunteer members will work towards making Silverline a more diverse and inclusive workplace. They will accomplish this by focusing on the employee experience, and by creating initiatives to encourage and highlight underrepresented groups within the community.
Towards the end of 2017, CEO Gireesh Sonnad set one of the 2018 corporate goals for employee experience to focus on ensuring that unique and varying perspectives were celebrated throughout the organization. “Silverline Allies focuses on how our company values allow us to pull from a diverse set of beliefs and expectations for continued innovation and growth,” said Sonnad.
He asked Melissa Greenwell, former EVP and COO for Finish Line, Inc. & author of Money on the Table, to join the Executive Team at its headquarters in New York City and inform them about education and awareness. Melissa then joined the entire Silverline team in Arizona for the annual retreat to speak about gender balance, how to have transparent conversations, and what strategic actions could be taken right away.
All employees are given the opportunity to join Silverline Allies. In order to officially join the group, employees were asked why they were interested, if they have any experience either professionally or personally, and to show completion of the Salesforce “Cultivate Equality at Work” Trailhead course.
“Silverline Allies is dedicated to fostering a culture that celebrates inclusivity and a diverse workforce from a wide variety of backgrounds. Doing my part with Silverline Allies allows me to provide opportunities for veterans like myself,” said Shane Hayes, Solution Architect and Silverline Allies participating member.
Silverline Allies currently meets once a month and has focused on how the individual fits within the community and how to come to the table with a common vocabulary. The group is focusing on four main areas: education & awareness, recruiting & hiring, coaching & mentorship, and career development. There are team leads for each area who lead breakout brainstorming sessions. In the coming months, Silverline Allies intends to tackle issues facing both the internal Silverline community and those communities in which they work and live.