LEADERSHIP
I learned that a smile and a wave of acknowledgement is a universal language .
and inclusion , at Georgetown University . Shortly after she started , Covid-19 hit . And then she found out she needed surgery on her hip .
But where others might have buckled under so much stress , Francis doubled down . Three weeks before she was due back at work following her surgery ( by this time , she was a warehouse manager ), she got a call about a job opening in the regional office , where she would be responsible for the administrative functions of all 96 warehouses in the northeast .
“ I would describe that position as [ like ] being the adviser to the President of the United States ,” Francis said . “ From doing deep dives into HR investigations , to environmental compliance , to being the Covid coordinator for the region , to capital budgets and expenditures – you name it , and that was the responsibility of the regional administrative manager .”
She performed that role for 18 months . Then , at the end of 2021 , Costco ’ s longtime chief diversity officer , Joe Portera , announced his retirement , and Francis was named his successor .
“ I ’ ll be honest , I never thought I was going to be chief diversity officer ,” Francis said . “ I didn ’ t go back to school because that was my goal . I went back to school because I personally wanted a master ’ s , and I wanted a master ’ s that was focused on people , celebrating differences , and seeing how those differences can contribute to an organization .”
But while her path to becoming chief diversity officer may have been unconventional , she ’ s grateful for all the experiences and lessons she has learned along the way . And in fact , she sees them as her secret weapon .
“ I think what makes my role so impactful is the fact that I understand Costco and how it works ,” she said . “ I have been in the inner workings of the organization . [ Coupling ] that with DEI is impactful because I can speak the language that the other leaders are speaking .”
A forum for healing One of Francis ’ proudest achievements since stepping into the role in March 2022 is the launch of Costco Connect , an internal initiative she designed to help leaders better understand the concerns of their team members .
“ I was thinking about all the things that employees have gone through over the last couple of years with Covid , whether it was loved ones passing away , or mental health for themselves or their children . They can ’ t bring their whole self to work if they ’ re so weighed down by everything ,” she said . “ So I thought , what if we had global listening sessions ?
Employees can sign up for whatever session they want ,
and it ’ s not the leader talking , it ’ s the leader listening to employees , whether it is work-related or outside of work .”
She admits that some people were skeptical at first , but the initiative turned out to be a runaway success . Nearly half of Costco ’ s roughly 300,000 global employees participated in a Connect session this year , and the feedback from leaders throughout the organization has been overwhelmingly positive .
Multiple leaders told Francis they had “ no idea ” what their employees were going through , and feel better equipped to support them now . One example of this occurred in a listening session in Georgia , where all eight participants realized that they had lost a person in their life to suicide .
“ It wasn ’ t planned , but somehow they all ended up in the same meeting , so it was a forum for healing ,” she said . “ They were able to connect and share the resources they were using to cope . The general manager was also able to share company resources with them .”
Francis aims to make the listening sessions a permanent part of the company ’ s employee engagement offering going forward .
Another area of focus for her is strategic workforce planning and employee retention . While Costco historically has had very low turnover , especially for retail , she still sees room for improvement .
“ Costco has a probationary period of 90 days , and generally , if somebody doesn ’ t make it the full 90 days , nobody blinks an eye . But we ’ re really starting to look at why not . What is happening during our orientation process ? What could we improve ?” she said .
In part , this speaks to Francis ’ fundamental belief that “ there ’ s value in everyone ,” but there ’ s also a business imperative to ensure the company is able to keep attracting – and retaining – new employees .
“ If we ’ re not retaining those in their 20s and 30s , and keeping them as longer-term employees , then who is going to share the culture with the next generation ?” she said . “ At the heart of Costco , and the heart of our DEI efforts , is how we continue to maintain our culture and our values , and how we pour them into our people .”
Looking at the retail industry more broadly , Francis had some frank advice for retailers that are looking to invest in their own DEI initiatives and departments .
“ You need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable – that is every day in this job ,” she said . “ Everything is possible . It ’ s possible to make progress , but it ’ s not a sprint . It ’ s definitely a marathon , and it will be a continuous journey , so you have to buckle up for it .”
September 2023 www . insideretail . us 55