This April, ExpertVoice was treated to a powerful and introspective presentation by Franque Bains and Aja Washington - artists and activists who introduced to us the concept of ‘Routes of Safety’.  Developed by a social worker, Routes of Safety highlights eight of the most common attributes that people require to cope when feeling a lack of safety (emotional, physical or otherwise).  The attributes include ‘Private Retreat’, ‘Closeness & Proximity’, ‘Protective Measures’, ‘Quality Relationships’, ‘Sensory Experiences’, ‘Structure & Clarity’, ‘Inner Guidance’ and ‘Common Humanity’.  The final attribute, ‘Common Humanity’ deserves special attention and will be the focus of this post.

It goes without saying that 2020 was a year of extreme hardship that required every individual and business to adapt in sudden, often surprising ways. ExpertVoice was certainly no exception.  One of the ways that our business leaned into this new reality was to institute a much more flexible and broader hiring policy - effectively removing the need for physical proximity to one of our two main office locations (Salt Lake City and Kirkland, Washington).  Unsurprisingly this change led to a meaningful increase in diversity and talent for our company, with employees now spanning the nation (and beyond).  

In response to this ‘new normal’ and as a way to index and celebrate our ‘Common Humanity’, the Diversity and Inclusion committee recently ran a survey for all employees to weigh in on a myriad of subjects - from frivolous to serious - in order to get a better understanding of who we are as a collective group of employees and to learn what areas we still need to improve on.