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In this exclusive with HRO’s Tracy Chan, the infrastructure consulting firm shares how to make long-lasting and meaningful progress through both internal and external approaches.
Aligning with the United Nations Secretary-General’s call to stand up against discrimination and hatred, multinational infrastructure consulting firm AECOM has been committed to promoting and celebrating equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) within the team across the globe, and dedicates every June as a special time to foster an inclusive and diverse environment as part of its ‘Sustainable Legacies’ strategy and commitment to ESG.
This year, the company celebrated diversity across its 7,000-employee Asia Region team throughout the Asia ED&I Week 2024, wherein various activities have been in place at its Hong Kong office to foster an environment where everyone can thrive and come as a better team.
These activities include:
- Busking, charity sales and donation drive – A two-day event featured an array of products from five participating non-government organisations (NGOs) and social enterprises (SEs). Over 50 colleagues formed different busking teams to drive donations for various charities, transforming the AECOM office into a busking battle stage and bustling marketplace to raise funds and awareness of ED&I in the community. The funds raised from the busking battle have been donated to four charitable organisations, helping the homeless community, children and youth in need, people with hearing impairment, and victims of sexual violence.
- International Women in Engineering Day panel discussion – With the theme #Enhancedbyengineering, a panel discussion highlighted the contributions of female engineering professionals from diverse organisations, including government, institutes and consulting firms, to honour their achievements and empower future generations of women to continue building a better, more inclusive world.
- ‘Asia WoMentoring Circles’ launch – Starting this July, the ‘WoMentoring’ programme is designed by women for women, aiming to help colleagues achieve their career aspirations and promote a peer mentoring culture. Participants are connected with colleagues at similar career stages or different walks of life, enabling them to learn from each other's experiences and challenges.
Fostering an inclusive environment
Angela Tong, Hong Kong Sub-regional Representative of Asia ED&I Steering Committee, AECOM, shares that all these initiatives have been made possible through the collaboration that spans regions, with steering committees in various sub-regions being formed for programme planning.
For instance, the central focus of Asia ED&I week 2024 highlighted the essential role of ED&I in delivering positive social outcomes through its projects and initiatives. An extensive internal communications campaign has been launched to reinforce the theme, utilising mass emails, internal social media posts, and customised messages for different sub-regions, which sparked broad interest and enthusiasm.
In designing the ED&I week programming, making the experiences engaging and inclusive, while aligning them with the overarching theme, has been prioritised. This multifaceted approach included Asia-wide online quizzes to promote interactive learning, virtual panel discussions featuring industry leaders from across the region, tailored in-office activities, such as a Chinese medicine health talk in the Mainland China office and WoMentoring happy hour discussions in the Hong Kong office.
By incorporating a variety of formats and content, these activities appealed to the diverse interests and learning styles of the global workforce.
“We understand that having a unified tone of messaging from our leaders, a scalable implementation framework, and a clear communication strategy are key to success in driving the ED&I culture,” Tong says.
“Therefore, our steering committees at the sub-regional level are empowered to adapt the programmes and contents to resonate with their local context and captivate our staff members’ interests. Individual employees are encouraged to share their thoughts and views via AECOM social media channels. This blended approach not only effectively enhances the reach and impact of our communication campaigns, but it also increases our employees’ sense of belonging and pride as part of the AECOM family.”
Cissy Ho, Director, Talent Management, Asia, AECOM, believes that when employees feel a deep sense of belonging, they are empowered to bring their authentic selves to work, share unique perspectives, and collaborate more effectively. This, in turn, directly benefits the organisation by driving innovation, problem-solving, and the ability to understand and meet the diverse needs of its clients.
The HR team plays a pivotal role in driving the company's ED&I agenda to unlock the full potential of its diverse teams.
Apart from the above-mentioned activities, other intentional efforts made by AECOM's HR team include inclusive hiring practices to increase the representation of women in the workforce and ensure inclusivity for people with disabilities, employee resource groups (ERGs) for early professionals to ensure diverse perspectives are represented and heard within the company, as well as flexible ‘Freedom to Grow’ policies to allow employees to tailor their work patterns to suit their needs.
Training for employees on disability inclusion in the workplace has also been provided from time to time to drive broader sustainability and equity initiatives within the company.
“By proactively addressing systemic barriers and embracing our ED&I culture, we send a powerful message that all talent is valued and has a place to thrive at AECOM,” Ho affirms.
With these efforts, AECOM has made significant strides in improving the diversity of its workforce over the past year. Its near-term goal of having women make up at least 20% of its leadership team has been achieved. Additionally, its executive team and board of directors now include representation from a diverse array of communities. Approximately 56% of the executive team and 44% of the board members come from diverse backgrounds in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
The company has also been recognised as a top employer for gender equality, the best place to work for LGBTQ+ equality, and one of the world’s most ethical companies by international organisations.
“AECOM is at the forefront of championing equity, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) within the corporate landscape of Hong Kong,” Ho says.
Creating broad and long-lasting impact
Tong emphasises that the key to making meaningful progress on ED&I initiatives is to take a comprehensive and multifaceted approach. It starts with clearly identifying specific, measurable goals and targets, ensuring everyone is aligned and working towards the right objectives during the planning and execution stages.
“Next, the focus should be on both internal and external approaches,” she continues.
“Internally, companies should arrange regular employee engagement activities centered around ED&I. This helps embed these values and practices within the workplace culture. Externally, building partnerships with non-governmental organisations can enhance employee understanding of diverse social needs.”
With this in mind, AECOM’s commitment to building an inclusive workplace is not just about nurturing talents internally; it extends to fostering partnerships with key stakeholders such as professional institutions, universities, and community partners.
For example, to increase awareness and support for the visually impaired community, the company collaborates with Orbis and organises workshops for its staff to learn basic braille letters and understand the communication challenges faced by this community. Externally, the company will then extend its collaboration with Orbis and seek volunteering opportunities that put this learning into action.
“These collaborative efforts are pivotal in driving innovation and operational excellence, reflecting AECOM's dedication to building lasting contributions to the communities we are privileged to serve,” Ho adds.
Moving forward, AECOM asserts its continuity to uphold and improve ED&I within the company and beyond by building a diverse talent pool, expanding understanding, thinking without limits, and enriching communities.
By leading by example, breaking down biases, and sharing best practices and insights with HR leaders across Asia, the company aims to inspire a ripple effect of positive change, across the broader community and society as a whole.
“This initiative is more than a corporate mandate; it's a social imperative that AECOM Asia is proud to lead, creating lasting impacts that transcend the workplace and enrich the broader community,” Ho concludes.
“AECOM will continue to be the place with opportunity for everyone as we believe that when we feel free to be ourselves, we thrive.”
All photos / Provided
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