Chime builds innovative diversity, equity and belonging programme with Momentive
Learn how Chime builds internal belonging and diversity with nuanced data from Momentive.
Erica Johnson, Head of Diversity and Belonging at Chime, has one piece of advice for organisations looking to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging: embrace complexity and find the resources that will help you navigate it with confidence. For Chime, that resource is unquestionably Momentive.
“Diversity, equity and belonging are complicated issues, and sometimes organisations shy away from complication,” said Johnson. “That’s why it goes back to clarity. Momentive gave us the clarity to understand where to start building efforts and have a real impact, without diluting the complexity of viewpoints. For us, that’s invaluable.”
Chime is a financial technology company that recognises the importance of empowering people who may have been marginalised within traditional banking. But the company’s commitment to equity, inclusion and education isn’t limited to the 8 million customers it serves. Chime’s also focused on building internal belonging and diversity in a meaningful and programmatic way, and Johnson relies on Momentive to gather the nuanced and confidential feedback she needs to make it happen.
“Momentive managed to capture the nuance to diversity, equity and belonging work, moving beyond the surface level; it helped us achieve a higher level of understanding.”
Navigating the nuances of diversity, equity and belonging
When Johnson joined Chime, her first priority was to listen to employees and understand the state of diversity, equity and belonging (DEB) at the company. But navigating the inherent complexities of DEB and collecting rich insights can be a challenge.
“It’s one thing to ask whether a person feels engaged in the company culture as a whole, but belonging is a much deeper issue,” explained Johnson. “When you start talking about whether there is equity or whether or not the company is in line with an employee’s expectations around diversity, there are a lot of important nuances and factors that must be considered.”
Chime already used Momentive to land slam-dunk partnerships and secure sensitive customer data; when Johnson turned to Momentive to understand the holistic DEB experience of Chime’s employees, she was pleasantly surprised by the level of insights she received.
“It can be difficult to get a clear read-out of things like intersectionality, but it’s ultimately so important because nobody has just one identity,” said Johnson. “Momentive managed to capture the nuance to diversity, equity and belonging work that says we’re thinking about this at a deeper level than just black and white. We’re existing in the grey here, and Momentive helped us achieve a higher level of understanding.”
“To get honest responses from employees, there needs to be clear confidentiality. Momentive provided us with that trustworthy process, so we felt confident that the data represented our team’s range of experiences.”
Reliable insights, expert guidance and real momentum
Momentive empowered Johnson and her team to collect responses from Chime’s employees while respecting both confidentiality and sensitive DEB topics. This was essential to ensure reliable results and a positive employee feedback experience.
“In order for your employees to give honest responses, there needs to be clear safety, trust and confidentiality,” said Johnson. “Momentive was able to provide us with that trustworthy process so that we felt confident that the data represented our team’s range of experiences.”
Momentive’s team of diversity, equity and inclusion experts helped Johnson and her team understand and analyse their DEB data so they could create actionable next steps for Chime. Presenting these plans to Chime executives made all the difference for Johnson and her team. “They were delighted to receive the data and understand why we’ve identified specific priorities and created certain initiatives, which led them to double down on support for our work,” she said.
Johnson plans to share insights throughout all levels of the organisation as she embarks on the first of many DEB initiatives. With Momentive, Johnson feels that valuable employee experience improvements are well within reach. “At the end of the day, we want to have an impact on the things that really matter to Chimers,” said Johnson. “Momentive is vital in shaping this meaningful work.”
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