JANICE PARKS LOOKS AT MORE THAN METRICS WHEN IT COMES TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION .
THE PEOPLE ISSUE
CHANGE
BEYOND
NUMBERS
JANICE PARKS LOOKS AT MORE THAN METRICS WHEN IT COMES TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION .
Contributed by MEGAN ROWE
Setting a goal number for diversity and inclusion is a nice idea , but Janice Parks doesn ’ t think it ’ s the best approach . Numbers only tell part of the story , says Parks , First Hospitality ’ s chief human resources officer based in Rosemont , Illinois .
“ I ’ m not saying I don ’ t look at numbers ,” she admits . “ But if your focus is only on how you need to increase the number of Black employees , you ’ re missing the other part . I might hit a number and think I ’ m done .”
Change involves more than simply hiring , she says ; it ’ s about retention and underlying culture , and about understanding the impact of microaggressions .
To Parks , diversifying a workplace is an organic process . “ If you create a culture that embraces diversity and inclusion , it becomes natural ,” she says . Building that kind of culture has been her mission since joining First Hospitality .
Hospitality companies have pledged to diversify their leadership ranks for years , but statistically speaking , progress has been slow . Last year ’ s Castell Project finding that 18.5 % of industry workers are Black versus 1.5 % of industry executives underscored how endemic the disparity is . The organization also noted that the boards of hospitality public companies and those in the Russell 3000 Index averaged 23 % women .
Parks says statistics like those are no surprise . “ Maybe because as an African-American woman working my way up at various roles in corporate America , I ’ ve seen it ,” she says . But she also thinks the industry has attracted plenty of Black leaders who simply don ’ t get the spotlight .
Janice Parks is chief human resources officer at First Hospitality .
AMPLIFYING DIVERSE VOICES Parks — who joined First Hospitality in 2019 after nearly a decade in human resources posts at McDonald ’ s Corporation — says hospitality employers need to hire and cultivate more diverse candidates to take on increased leadership responsibilities , also providing them with role models . “ I believe the opportunity is there — that the industry is open to learning how best to solve this gap in representation ,” she says .
At First Hospitality , Parks has taken a multifaceted approach to systemic change . She developed a culture survey and asked the team to share their takes on diversity , what obstacles they had faced and how the company could do better . The results of that survey influenced next steps .
Parks helped establish a diversity and inclusion advisory council — a leadership team of seven employees representing various demographics who are dedicated to building a more diverse workplace . Council members frequently meet with the president and chief executive officer to share what they hear and feel happening in the lower ranks .