16th February 2021
Stories from an Inspiring Leader – Joelle Smith
Joelle Smith, Chief Experience Officer, First Advantage
2020 has been a struggle for many employees, but Joelle took it upon herself to focus on the human element of her workforce. After COVID-19 hit and budgets were impacted, she was one of the first in the organization to recommend that the leadership team take pay cuts to minimize employee furloughs and job elimination. As a result, the company was able to retain more than 300 jobs despite operating in the worst economic downturn in 70 years. Within her own team, she focused on providing flexibility to all who needed it. Those who were monitoring their children’s schoolwork or caring for older relatives were given carte blanche to work flexible hours as needed with no restrictions regarding time off. These measures allowed people to put their families first so they could rearrange schedules and care for others.
Additionally, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) has always been a focus for Joelle, but beginning in January, she was able to grant it even greater prominence within her organization. She was the first leader at First Advantage to actively recruit, track and engage DEI improvements across the company‚ with a strong focus on her Experience organization (Technology + IT + Product). She revamped the Experience organization’s talent recruitment and retention program to focus more on DEI and began tracking relevant metrics to improve results. In 2020, 74 percent of new team hires (50+) were non-white and 30% were female. Joelle has long been passionate about DEI and believes it is critical, not only for employee happiness, but for any company’s success. In response to the social unrest in the wake of the George Floyd murder, Joelle responded immediately. She personally reached out to her African American team members to see how they were handling the news from a personal perspective. She asked if they had suggestions or ideas on the ways First Advantage could improve its DEI efforts before any formal action was taken by the company.
Endorsement
“Since I have known Joelle, she has always demonstrated a strong bias for action, and this year has been no different. I placed her in this challenging new role because I knew she could get the job done. I could not have accounted for the many curveballs that 2020 has thrown her way, but I have been beyond impressed with everything she has accomplished. Her teams see her as a true role model and visionary, and she has already driven the organization to tremendous success. I cannot wait to see what she’s able to deliver in the months and years to come.”
About Inspiring Leaders
The extract above is taken from the Inspiring Leaders 2020 initiative which recognised exceptional leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic. You can download the full eBook with all the leader stories here.
Inspiring Leaders was created as a vehicle to recognize people who stepped up to help individuals, teams and organizations navigate personal and business challenges, and make a contribution to make their business, their community and the world a better place.
Due to the success of IL 2020, we have brought it back in 2021. We are now open for nominations. For more information about how to enter Inspiring Leaders, dates and fees – click here.