PBN Diversity Equity & Inclusion 2023 Awards
Financial Services: R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp.
HELPING PEOPLE SECURE a home is among R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp.’s core initiatives. So is helping dismantle barriers within the Providence-based quasi-government organization and the community.
Last year, R.I. Housing partnered with the consulting firm Exeter Group to survey its employees and stakeholders to see how it can take actionable steps to achieve the goals laid out in its five-year strategic plan for 2022-27.
According to Whitley Werts, R.I. Housing’s human resources director, the organization swiftly responded to those survey results. Werts, who has been in the role since August of this year, said she is focused on breaking down silos, promoting from within and increasing options for training. One of the first steps was to double its diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging task force to 14 employees. The task force’s December meeting will begin to formalize plans for improving the workplace.
“Listening to our employees is our main framework for this,” Werts said.
R.I. Housing’s employee turnover rate in the last year decreased to 3% from 6%. That statistic, Werts says, is the result of working with employees to ensure there are growth opportunities within the organization.
Because of high retention rates, multiple employees in leadership positions have been with R.I. Housing for decades, which Werts says is both an advantage and disadvantage. Werts noted that it can lead employees to incorrectly assume there will be few or zero opportunities to move into leadership positions. Such assumptions naturally create silos, and breaking down those silos is an important step, she said.
Werts said R.I. Housing worked to create mentorship programs, improve inclusive training modules and development programs, and encourage employees to apply for tuition reimbursement. It has also worked to promote from within and create positions for people who are ready for the next step in their career, she says.
In January, R.I. Housing will conduct “stay interviews” by asking employees what growth opportunities they are seeking. Next year, it will also assign DEIB training modules through an e-learning platform for its employees.
Hiring a diverse workforce is also R.I. Housing’s top priority, Werts says. The company continues to post all openings on Professional Diversity Network, which in turn posts to a wide range of job-posting websites. Currently, more than 65% of its workforce are women and just over 40% self-identify as either Black, two or more races, Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific islander groups.
“I think having diversity [is important], whether it’s in our organization or people on the ground doing work on projects we finance. I think diversity is just so, so important and it brings different lenses to everything we do,” R.I. Housing CEO and Executive Director Carol Ventura said.
R.I. Housing works with residents of the state to find, rent, buy, keep and build homes. According to its strategic plan, in the next few years R.I. Housing will also look to expand partnerships to increase the creation and preservation of affordable homes for Rhode Islanders.
“We are pretty much in the deal from start to finish,” Ventura said. “At the end of the day, we want to make sure the housing is safe and decent for the people that will ultimately live there.”
R.I. Housing gives developers specific guidelines for the project, including what the construction should look like and how it’s physically and economically accessible for everyone.
But the benchmarks don’t stop there, Ventura says. R.I. Housing also expects its partners to have 10% utilization of women- and minority-owned businesses during the process of developing. Thus far, Ventura said the partners have met or exceeded those expectations.
R.I. Housing also continues to work with community partners, such as Progreso Latino in Central Falls, to ensure residents of all backgrounds with low and moderate income are aware of opportunities with the organization.
But Werts and Ventura say there is always more to do. “I have a fantastic team here that challenges me to think strategically about how we can do more,” Ventura said.
