Automox Forms RAISE Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council

Elements of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have been part of Automox’s ethos since our founding. It’s been a priority for our team to foster a genuine, collective dedication to the betterment of the communities we live and work in.

As we’ve gotten our footing over the last few years, formalizing these initiatives was a step we had to take. So now, in an effort to build a more collaborative culture in which we all feel safe to advocate for ourselves and our peers, we’ve validated our company-wide commitment with the creation of a DEI Council.

Though the council is still in its early days, we realize we are (and will always be) a work in progress. We hope to not only accomplish goals related to representation and allyship but to continue to evolve as our team and inclusion efforts grow. Today, there are fourteen volunteer members on the DEI Council – which we affectionately call the RAISE Council.

RAISE stands for:

Representation

Our employees, across all levels of the company, reflect the larger demographics of the countries we work in and the customers we serve.

Allyship

Leaders and employees across the company understand the importance of DEI and are empowered to amplify the message of inclusion and equity.

Inclusion

This is a welcoming and supportive workplace where employees feel they belong. Our company culture encourages meaningful connection, mentorship, and growth.

Social Impact

We embody our values and create meaningful social change in our communities.

Equity

We want to foster equitable processes, opportunities, and systems across the company. From eliminating bias to pursuing transparency, we are committed to constant improvement.

How to move forward and encourage transparency

As a company, we’ve made some progress but there’s still plenty of work to be done.

In early DEI conversations, we sought to understand our true starting point and establish transparency across the organization.

In this same spirit of transparency, we acknowledge that there are many areas of opportunity ahead of us as we work toward becoming an inclusive, supportive environment where all employees feel they belong.

In an ongoing effort to specify our mission, we asked our DEI council members why diversity, equity, and inclusion were important to them. We also asked them to share their ideas for the vision of the council and help us explore its path forward.

Here are some mini-samples of why our members feel DEI is essential and some directions in which they’d like to see us go:

Why is DEI important to you?

• Building a diverse community helps everyone learn more about different perspectives and experiences. DEI provides an avenue to expand individual knowledge and foster an inclusive and supportive environment. – Maggie Bacon, Manager, Enterprise Sales Development

• Our personal journeys shape how we approach the world, its problems, and its people. When we have diversity in our perspectives and mindsets, we're better able to overcome challenges and build resilient communities. We're stronger together. – Lauren Walter, Quality Engineer

• I strongly believe every individual should have the same opportunity and be treated with kindness and respect no matter their appearance or where they’re from. We know many people do not receive these things in life. DEI is our opportunity to create that space for respect and opportunity for all of us. – Elspeth Arnold, Manager, People Experience

• DEI goes beyond a program within company walls. It’s a way for individuals inside our organization to develop deeper trust and commitment to one another and subsequently radiate this respect and knowledge to our customers and peers outside of the workspace. – Grace Rogers, Customer Success Manager

• Holistic and successful DEI provides a positive feedback loop: Underrepresented minorities feel a sense of belonging, that they are not the ‘token’ representative for their group(s).

  With increased representation, younger generations see a pathway for themselves into a previously underrepresented field, with fewer barriers to entry. Being in a technical role, I’m often the only woman in the room and/or the only person of color. Diversity is critical to progress and innovation. In a room full of people of the same demographic, there can be homogenous ways of thinking. So, conclusions made in such rooms are prone to maintaining the status quo.

  Only with a healthy, open exchange of various ideas and discourse can we arrive at a well-thought-out solution that will account for different scenarios and viewpoints. – Marina Liang, Sr. Security Engineer

What is something you'd like to improve as a member of Automox's DEI Council?

• DEI is the late acknowledgment that professional fields have been uneven for far too long. To me, it signals the commitment to seeing, hearing, and valuing the perspectives of people who are not used to being seen, heard, or valued. The presence and depth of DEI in a company shows the level of trust, value, and respect it has in the people who make the machine run.

  But, in order for DEI initiatives to succeed, we need to get more senior leadership buy-in and involvement. It’s great that individual contributors in collaboration with HR are working on improving DEI. But without resources and messaging from the top, we aren’t able to make as much progress as quickly. In addition, I want to see a deeper commitment to allyship and opportunity.

  Mentorship programs and learning and development are wonderful opportunities to help the underrepresented find their voices in the professional world. – Amelia Vacante, Dr. Instructional Designer

• I’d like to see DEI become part of our everyday business commitment and move away from it being just another 'initiative'. I value the work we’re doing to raise our awareness here and believe we’re on our way to being more insightful and better educated around DEI. But we have to influence a change beyond the 'initiative' stage. We need reflexively encourage and consider different perspectives and fully understand the impact of our decisions. Ultimately, then, we won't have to have a DEI Council because it’ll all just be a part of our company nomenclature. – Teri Keller, VP, Human Resources

• I would like to see diversity in all facets and at every level of our organization. I’d like to see dedicated resources (for example, DEI consultants or professionals we could lean on to help guide our efforts in the right direction). That way we can make sure we are laying the right foundation for inclusion, progress, and change. – Akin Disu, Enterprise Business Development Representative

Fostering authentic connection and offering opportunities for career growth

Our mission is to develop a culture where every employee can foster authentic connection, grow their career, and thrive at work.

As a dispersed workforce, we’re uniquely positioned to create a community that transcends geographic location and instead builds a culture rooted in our shared commitment to representation, allyship, inclusion, social impact, and equity.

To bring this vision to life, we’re intentionally driving toward meaningful, tangible impact with our DEI strategy and initiatives.