Action Steps

 

Action Step – KICKSTART 2025: BUILDING TEAM SUCCESS THROUGH STRATEGIC PLANNING

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center. 

As we begin 2025, energize your team and set the foundation for success through purposeful team retreats. These gatherings, whether in-person or virtual, provide an ideal platform to strengthen team bonds, align priorities, and create shared momentum for the year ahead. Here’s your roadmap for a productive kickoff:

1. Pre-Retreat Engagement: Set the stage for meaningful discussion by gathering team insights before the retreat. Team members often have valuable insights that may not surface in group settings. Pre-retreat questions allow for thoughtful reflection and help identify themes that might otherwise be missed. This step ensures all voices are heard and helps leaders identify common themes and concerns before the retreat, leading to more productive discussions.

Questions to send:

  • What accomplishments from 2024 should we celebrate and build upon?
  • What didn’t work well in 2024?
  • What opportunities do you see for enhancing our effectiveness in 2025?
  • What priorities should shape our vision for the year ahead?

Review responses carefully to identify themes and incorporate insights into your retreat agenda.

2. Choreographed Connection Activity: Begin with an engaging choreographed team connection that deepens team relationships. Choose questions that reveal professional and personal dimensions, such as “Share a favorite holiday tradition” or “What’s one activity outside of work that energizes you?” These conversations build connections and understanding across the team.

 

Members: Continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

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Action Step – INCREASING GENDER PARITY WITH CONSISTENCY & INTENTIONALITY

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center. 

Our 2024 New Partner Report demonstrates concerning results.  The 41.6% share of women in the 2024 new partner class represents a nearly 2% decline from last year’s figure of 43.3%.  Further, we saw declines across AmLaw 50, 100, and 200 firms, a nearly 3% increase in the gap in the share of new women partners compared to the share of women associates, and a reduction in the new partner class size by an average of 1.3 partners.  These data points demonstrate consistency in the reduced share of women in new partner classes across firm sizes, a pipeline challenge at the top, the shrinking of the overall pool of advancement opportunities, and a boomerang effect over the years pointing to the volatility of women promotions.

On a more positive note, we did see certain bright spots.  Notably, member firms had an average of 1.6% higher share of women partners in their U.S. new partner classes over the last five years.  In addition, a nearly 13% increase existed in the share of firms reporting a 50/50 split or greater in favor of women in U.S. new partner classes over the last two years.  We also saw a 2% decrease in the share of firms with no women partners from last year.  These bright spots suggest that a number of law firms are making concerted, intentional efforts to address gender imbalances during the partnership promotion process.

Firms need to adopt an intentional, structured and data-driven approach to make consistent progress with gender parity at the top.  The Alliance encourages organizations to leverage the data and recommendations from our 2024 New Partner Report along with specific practices discussed with top Talent & DEI leaders from firms with consistent progress regarding gender parity at our 2024 New Partner Summit.

Members: Continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. 

Action Step – HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS FROM OUR 2024 ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center. 

 

The Alliance’s 2024 Annual Conference, Harnessing the Power of Your Organizational Culture, brought together industry leaders and innovators to explore transformative approaches to workplace culture. Through dynamic keynotes, collaborative networking opportunities, and innovative panels, participants gained actionable insights for elevating their organizational and talent strategies. Here are the key themes that emerged:

  1. Culture involves so much more than being in the office.  

Manar Morales, the founder and CEO of the Alliance, discussed in her opening remarks how culture is the heartbeat of the organization and so much more than four walls.  the critical difference between stated culture and lived experience. The key message resonated clearly: organizational culture isn’t merely a buzzword or website content—it’s the heartbeat of your organization, defined not by physical walls but by clear answers to fundamental questions. These essential questions include who we serve (Stakeholders), what we do (Mission), what we stand for (Values), what we expect of our people (Accountability), why we do what we do (Purpose), and where we’re headed (Vision).

When organizations maintain clarity on these cultural foundations, they can operate from a position of strength rather than reactivity, make decisions based on cultural alignment, move beyond finding common ground to reaching higher ground, and enable their people to be effective culture carriers. The bottom line remains clear: your culture is your organization’s heartbeat, defined not just by what you say, but by your actions, values, and treatment of people.

Later, when discussing the upcoming release of her new book, The Flexibility Paradigm: Humanizing the Workplace for Productivity, Profitability, and Possibility, Manar deepened the conversation about culture by exploring its intersection with flexible work. She emphasized that successful flexibility requires shared responsibility—both leaders and employees must actively contribute to maintain growth, productivity, engagement, and culture.

This perspective resonated throughout the conference, as speakers challenged the notion that culture solely develops through office presence. Instead, they demonstrated how employee engagement, connectivity, culture, and business growth can flourish in hybrid and virtual environments when supported by thoughtful infrastructure and intentional design.

Members: Continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

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Action Step – Stay Interview Implementation Guide: The R.E.T.A.I.N. Framework

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

Stay Interviews are a powerful tool in the modern corporate landscape, offering a proactive approach to employee retention and engagement. Unlike exit interviews, which gather insights when it’s too late to retain an employee, Stay Interviews allow organizations to address concerns, leverage strengths, and foster loyalty before valuable talent considers leaving.

The benefits of implementing a robust Stay Interview program include:

1. Improved Retention: By identifying and addressing potential issues early, organizations can significantly reduce turnover rates.

2. Enhanced Engagement: Stay Interviews demonstrate that the organization values its

employees’ opinions and experiences, leading to increased engagement and productivity.

3. Targeted Development: These interviews provide insights into employees’ career aspirations, allowing for more tailored professional development opportunities.

4. Cultural Insights: Regular Stay Interviews offer a pulse check on company culture, helping leadership understand and shape the employee experience.

5. Predictive Power: Stay Interviews can help identify trends and potential issues before they become widespread problems.

The R.E.T.A.I.N. framework outlined in this guide provides a structured approach to implementing and maintaining an effective Stay Interview program. By following these steps, organizations can harness the full power of Stay Interviews to create a more human centered workplace.

Members: Continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

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Action Step – From Command & Control to Inspire & Influence: A New Paradigm for Leading Change

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the way we lead organizational change is undergoing a profound transformation. The traditional command and control approach is giving way to a more nuanced, people-centric model of leadership focused on inspiration and influence. This shift is not just a trend; it’s a necessary evolution in how we navigate the complexities of modern organizational dynamics.

The command and control leadership style, characterized by top-down directives and rigid hierarchies, has long been the default approach for many organizations. However, the limitations of this model have become increasingly apparent, especially in the wake of recent global events…

The new paradigm of leadership focuses on inspiring change rather than dictating it. This approach recognizes that sustainable change comes from within – it’s about shifting mindsets and motivations, not just behaviors.

Key aspects of this leadership style include:

  1. Collaborative Change: Instead of imposing changes, leaders bring people along on the journey. This involves open dialogues, shared decision-making, and a genuine consideration of diverse perspectives….

Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

Action Step – Framework for Affinity Group Meetings

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

Effectively running affinity group meetings presents a valuable opportunity to enhance member engagement and drive meaningful impact, especially in today’s hybrid environments. A well-designed meeting framework can help affinity group leaders maximize this opportunity, fostering deeper connections, facilitating learning, and spurring action. By implementing the following 5-part structure, you can create more purposeful and effective affinity group meetings that align with your group’s mission and goals while providing an engaging experience for all participants.

  1. Celebrate and Connect (10-15 minutes):
    • Begin with shout-outs for member accomplishments, both personal and professional.
    • Use a “choreographed connection” question to align with the meeting’s purpose or foster personal connections.

Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. 

Action Step – Leveraging Generational Differences

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

With five generations working side-by-side, there’s a lot of talk about generational differences and how that affects work preferences. Expert Chris DeSantis recently led a very informative “Embracing Generational Diversity” Signature Seminar for the Alliance, during which he discussed generational perspectives and how these different perspectives can be beneficial to a team. With so many generations in the workplace, it is truly in everyone’s best interest to work respectfully with each other to leverage everyone’s strengths. We discuss a framework below to help cross-generational teams work successfully.

  1. Listen & Interact: Providing opportunities for interaction leads to understanding each other’s values/needs and breaking of stereotypes. In a hybrid environment, this is especially important, because deeper relationships lead to less bias and greater understanding. As Chris DeSantis discussed in the Alliance’s Signature Seminar, we often unconsciously use confirmation bias (the tendency to favor information that confirms or strengthens one’s beliefs) to support stereotypes.

Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. 

Action Step – Leading Through Change

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

Many organizations have faced a great deal of change over the last few years, including: the pandemic; a new way of working; economic growth and a war for talent; recession/inflation concerns and layoffs; tightening of hybrid work; and reorganizations. Organizations that navigate through these changes systematically and intentionally fare much better. Take a look at the Alliance’s framework for how to successfully lead through change:

  1. INSPIRE – 
    • Power of the Frame: Frame your change initiative in an inspiring way that rallies people around a shared vision of the desired future state. Specifically, connect the change to a broader purpose and organizational values. By doing so, you will likely gain more buy-in and support…

Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. 

Action Step – Organizational Solutions to Foster Well-Being

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

Since the pandemic, organizations have increased their acceptance of workplace flexibility significantly. Greater workplace flexibility has many business benefits, including improved well-being. However, organizations need to invest in a number of additional solutions to truly enhance well-being. As with workplace flexibility, employee well-being has numerous far-reaching organizational benefits, including better productivity and engagement. Our recommendations regarding critical
organizational solutions to truly move the needle on employee well-being are as follows:

  1. Enhance Autonomy & Control. Give employees more control over their schedules and projects to increase their autonomy, which is associated with higher levels of well-being.
    • Increase control over work schedules: If possible, create workplace flexibility policies that allow employees some control over their schedules. Offer as many flexible work options as possible so employees can utilize what works best for them…..

Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. 

Action Step – Feedback: Key to Performance, Engagement & Inclusion

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

Delivering effective feedback is critical to developing and enhancing employee performance and engagement. Most organizations and leaders know and understand the importance of feedback. The vast majority of organizations have an annual performance evaluation process, where employees receive feedback on their areas of strength and development over the year. While annual performance evaluations are necessary, feedback needs to be given much more regularly – even daily. According to research, employees who receive daily feedback are 3x more likely to be engaged than those who receive feedback once a year or less.

However, unconscious bias can negatively impact our ability to provide fair, objective feedback. Common bias patterns that impact feedback may include:

  • Confirmation bias – looking for information to confirm pre-existing opinions about someone’s abilities;
  • Recency Bias – overemphasizing someone’s most recent mistake and ignoring their overall track record……

Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.