Lake County Workforce Development Board
The Challenge
In 2020, the Workforce Development Industry began to prioritize equity on both a national and regional level.
Lake County Workforce Development Board saw the need to create an equity task force to ensure that DEI was integral and interwoven in the work that the workforce development community in Lake County was doing, rather than a check the box/compliance exercise.
To help ensure that DEI would become part of the DNA of the organization, the board leadership decided to partner with Shakti Diversity and Equity to guide the workforce community of Lake County to increase their DEI competencies and center inclusion, equity, and antiracism in their work.
Cindu worked with the Executive Director and the Board Coordinator to design a 9 month learning program that would prove to help distinguish Lake County Workforce Development community as DEI thought leaders within the Illinois Workforce Development Community and larger industry.
01 Problem
Strategy
After understanding the unique needs of the workforce development industry and the specific challenges of the Lake County Workforce Development community, Cindu designed four, 3.5 hour interactive and experiential workshops that would be offered over the course of nine months. This workshop series was intentionally designed to develop and strengthen both DEI and anti-racism competencies of the learning cohort.
The custom designed DEI learning experiences spoke to various challenges and complexities of DEI in the workforce development industry and helped to prepare the Workforce Development community to better serve the increasingly diverse population of Lake County, IL. Each workshop in the series included custom designed interactive activities that allowed the community members to be better acquainted with each other and their lived experiences and a post workshop reflective activity that allowed participants to apply their learnings and continue the conversations beyond the training sessions.
Board members, employees, and community partners were invited to be a part of this learning program which was titled The Inclusive Leadership Institute (ILI). Participants of the ILI who completed all 14 hours of training received a certificate of completion recognizing them as Inclusive Workforce Development Leaders.
02 Approach
Walking the Talk
Inclusive Leadership Institute (ILI) Participants committed to eight different dates to complete the ILI learning series. Each workshop was held over the Zoom platform and was broken up into two, 1 hour and 45-minute sessions over two days of the same week. A period of two months was given between workshops in order to marinate over and process the concepts, theories, and knowledge that was gained in each workshop. The first workshop of the ILI was designed to lay the foundations of DEI and the following three workshops all built upon that foundation and knowledge base. Attendance was taken at all workshops and an assessment was sent out after every workshop by the organization.
03 Solution
Outcome:
Increased DEI and Anti-racism competencies within the Lake County Workforce Community
Executive Director, Jennifer Serino indicated that the employees of the organization and Workforce Development board members were able to apply the knowledge and awareness from the ILI to help ensure that DEI was becoming part of the DNA of the Lake County Workforce Development programs.
“This Inclusive Leadership Training took place at the same time the Workforce Development Board was updating the Lake County Workforce Plan. So through the work that we've done with you, our team was able to pull from the work being done, the experiences we had during the training, and the new knowledge we gained into our local plan. This multi-faceted plan can be complex but with the training we were able to tie together many of the plan sections looking through an equity lens and not just a linear one.”
The Lake County Workforce Development employees recognized that through the time, energy, and work put into collectively completing the ILI, they had increased trust and cohesion and were able to talk about once uncomfortable topics internally and externally in a way they had not been able to do so before they established shared language and meaning around DEI and anti-racism.
“The work we do and the programs we deliver are driven by an imperative of creating a cultural of equitable prosperity yet to get there as professionals and colleagues it did not always feel like there was a safe space to have that DEI discussion. As a team and system we didn’t have common language or knowledge or what an equity lens is so it wasn't always a conducive conversation. Working with you helped to create a safe space to learn together. It felt really good with everything we're doing and that we have the knowledge to lead the workforce system in this area. ”
More Results: Beyond compliance and diversification
Beyond compliance
The Lake County Workforce Development Board and organization was able to make the shift from looking at DEI as compliance to DEI as a central pillar that is tied into to the work of the organization.
Executive Director Serrino states:
“Through working with you, we have begun to change the compliance mentality- we're changing that language, and it's not just let's get it done and check the box. We are asking ‘What is the purpose?’ and being purposeful. We look at policies and ask does the policy create more barriers or are we breaking down barriers? Asking the question, who are we serving? And where are we serving? Now looking at it more than just who's walking through our door but how do we get out into the communities to where the individuals are residing. We have gauged ourselves in the work that we're doing and asking those imperative questions as we go along.”
Diversification of Board Members
Lake County Workforce Development Board prioritized diversifying their board members to reflect the demographics of the County and the communities they serve.
“We started to be intentional on the ways we're recruiting new board members and how do create a Workforce Board that looks like the communities and the industries of Lake County. We committed to that and have increased the diversity on the Workforce Board - and it was intentional.
"Cindu is an expert in diversity, equity and inclusion. I have attended several of her sessions and most latterly the one she ran for a the Equity Task Force of the Lake County Workforce Investment Board. The trainings were thoughtful, detailed and full of new perspectives. Everyone got a tremendous amount out of the training course. Cindu says we should "get comfortable being uncomfortable" and that was certainly achieved. I would highly recommend Cindu and her company for any type of DEI training or consultancy."