Building Belonging In The Workplace

Ingram Micro has a special philosophy when it comes to who they hire and the culture of belonging and innovation that they have come to cultivate. These two factors help the company to drive business success while fostering an inclusive, talented and successful workforce.

In an exclusive interview with CRNtv, Dr. Ashley Goodwin-Lowe, an advisor and DE&I lead at Ingram Micro, discusses what makes company’s inclusive leadership strategy so unique.

How does the culture of Ingram Micro position belonging as a business power source? Tell me an example.

Ashley: I believe we position it right in the center of what we do and who we are. It is definitely a priority for us as this is a journey. It is at the very heart of what we do. Inclusion is the key that drives business. When you hone into that, when you lean into that, you really can help associates feel authentic in the space, comfortable, feel seen, heard, valued and allow spaces where you have those magical moments of growth, professional development and achievement in that sense of dignity and pride of work.

How does culture match or fit impact hiring decisions within an organization focused on inclusion and belonging?

Ashley: I believe fitting means to foster inclusive talent. And of course, it has merit as you would like to look at skills and how they keep performances and things of that nature. But, when it comes to matching, you allow for so much more possibilities. You allow for growth while highlighting similarities, interests, perspectives, goals and ideas, but you also allow those to show what they value. When you show value or when you endorse value, that is when you get high achieving, high-performance associates because you now have endorsed it. You know that we value you and we value what you're bringing and how you match with what the company has, so that's awesome.

How and why do leaders need to make time to match colleagues rather than just fit people into roles based on skill alone?

Ashley: If you think about fitting, fitting is like being a puzzle piece and the organization is the puzzle. So how do we fit the puzzle pieces? It's about allowing associates to grow and to have opportunities to train, be educated and meet other associates to be mentored and sponsored in that way, as well.

Matching really speaks to the intentionality and being deliberate about knowing what someone's skills and competencies are and where they'd like to go in the company, as well. By doing that, you increase the commitment, you increase the performance and you increase the culture of belonging and connectedness. It's not enough to be a part of a company, people want to feel like they belong.

How does your company embrace and leverage the diverse knowledge, skills, and experiences of a multi-generational workforce to drive business success?

Ashley: We do that every day by amplifying the voices of others. And I say amplify a lot, but I really mean that in terms of giving others the microphone and giving someone the seat at your table. Inviting someone new to your network, inviting someone else's voice to a different initiative, which needs a different perspective, that allows for you to bring fresh eyes to conventional ideas.

And so, how do we solve problems? How do we create solutions? Currently, the world is representative of a multi-generational workforce. And so how do you prepare for that? It's through leveraging the skills, the competencies, the talents, the perspectives that coincide or those individuals identifying with. It's not shying away from tradition, but it's also not shying away from innovation. It's showing how you collaborate and engage with one another so that you can solve problems creatively. And it really helps with the vitality and the vibrancy and the tapestry that we want to continue to connect others and drive innovation with the business.

For more information about Ingram Micro, visit IngramMicro.com.