What Should You Do If You Become a Manager of Diverse New Hires? 90 Seconds with Catapult Leaders. Ep. 22

Catapult Leaders: Top Talent for Top Companies

Welcome to 90 Seconds with Catapult Leaders
This is Darryl Mobley.
Catapult Leaders finds and matches outstanding Black undergrad, recent grad, and graduate students with great entry-level jobs & internships at great companies.
Why “90 Seconds”? Because it doesn’t take long to get it right.
I was speaking with one of Catapult Leaders’ client companies about training their junior managers in order to increase their capacity to better manage Black and other diverse new hires.
The goal after the hiring is, of course, retention.
People don’t leave companies so much as they leave their managers. So the success (or failure) of diversity efforts is mostly in the hands of those first line managers.
My client asked me what would be the first things I’d do, if I became the manager of a diverse new hire.
I told her:
First – it’s about the relationship. I’d learned that while leading lots of diverse teams.
Then, I said I’d do the following within the first week – not all in one day:
I’d have a casual sit-down with the new hire one-on-one. We would chat about their interests, my interests, and so forth.
Those who have worked for me know that we’ve had these sessions over pizza at lunch, at a coffee shop, etc.
I’d ask them about their professional goals.
I’d share tips for how to succeed in the organization.
I’d touch on how their performance would be rated.
I would ask them to share any concerns they have and do my best to address them. I’d tell them that I have an “open door” policy if they ever wanted to chat.
I’d tell them point blank that I wanted them to succeed and would do all I could to assist them.
That’s it. 90 Seconds comes at you fast!
Catapult Leaders is America's leading executive search firm that matches Black Mid-to-Senior level managers, Early Career talent, and College Interns with Engineering, Supply Chain, Computer & Data Science, and Marketing roles - at top companies that value a diverse pipeline, equity, and inclusion.
Contact us at CatapultLeaders.com if you want Catapult Leaders to help you get a great job, or you want Catapult Leaders to find outstanding Black talent for your organization’s jobs and internships.