For this round of our spotlight on diversity and inclusion (D&I) leaders in corporate America, we spoke to Mia Vasser, Culture, Diversity, and Engagement Program Manager with CallRail. Vasser is relatively new to the D&I scene, but she has found a great organization where she can have a positive impact. CallRail has made D&I efforts a priority, and Vasser is helping shape and guide those efforts.
Vasser spent the first decade of her career working in television and film production in Atlanta before taking a yearlong sabbatical in Australia for missionary work. After returning to Atlanta, she found herself in a career transition. She started at CallRail as an office assistant. After 6 months, she became the company’s first culture manager in January 2017. Since then, her role has expanded to overseeing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as well.
Creating Engaging and Inclusive Spaces
Something that has defined Vasser’s career has been her interest in creating a sense of community and belonging for her coworkers. “My career path might not be considered ‘typical’ for a talent and culture practitioner,” she says, “but a common thread across my experiences is a drive to create engaging cultures and help make work a great experience for everyone.”
Vasser says she was encouraged to create space for her own unique role at CallRail and quickly realized there was an opportunity to build a holistic employee experience in tandem with the company’s rapid growth. “While I didn’t possess the exact language at the time, I knew I wanted to create an environment that allowed all of our employees to show up fully, care about each other, and do their best work,” she recalls. “I worked closely with our VP of Talent & Culture at the time who helped me gain vocabulary around culture and define my role. During this time, our executive team made the decision to invest in building out a people team at CallRail, which resulted in me leading the culture aspect, while my colleague Chelsea Michael took on the talent side.”
Staying Ahead of the Curve and Keeping Pace with Rapid Change
In the wake of recent events, like the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May 2020, social justice issues and D&I have become top-of-mind topics. Suddenly, virtually every major organization is taking a renewed interest in the importance of DEI. But even companies like CallRail with long histories of D&I efforts are feeling an even greater need to address these issues.
“Prior to the racial justice movement that swept the nation in the summer of 2020, CallRail had taken steps to prioritize diversity and inclusion, including working with an external coach to provide inclusivity training for employees,” says Vasser. “But as the events of 2020 further sparked internal conversations, we leaned very intentionally into developing more comprehensive DE&I efforts as an organization. All my years studying and researching culture, diversity, and inclusion prior to this moment prepared me to pivot my role and gain the support to build a more holistic culture program.”
Employee Resource Groups
Employee resource groups (ERGs) can be effective tools to help promote a sense of belonging and discuss shared experiences among discrete workforce populations, and they’ve grown in popularity in recent years.
CallRail currently has two ERGs: Women’s Circle and BlackandBrown. Its PrideRail resource group for the LGBTQ+ community is currently being revived with new leadership.
“Our ERGs focus on education, allyship, and fostering a sense of belonging for people who identify with those communities,” says Vasser. “Each board has four leaders that work tirelessly to enhance our DE&I efforts. This year, we made it a priority to give ERGs the resources and the platform needed to grow, including executive sponsors and building strong partnerships with CallRail’s leadership team. ERG leaders also have the opportunity to take part in leadership development training.”
Vasser feels both of CallRail’s active ERGs are doing an incredible job of engaging CallRail’s community and promoting D&I throughout the organization. “For example,” she says, “Women’s Circle recently hosted a panel called ‘Listen to Our Stories’ in which five women, including myself, discussed their career stories followed by a Q&A session. Black & Brown has a Slack engagement each week called ‘Woke Wednesdays’ where they post an article for discussion and people are encouraged to share their own stories. After the most recent racial injustices of this past summer, many people shared how they personally experience racism. It was a powerful and eye-opening way for our community to connect and learn about each other’s experiences.”
Establishing a Foundation of Psychological Safety
CallRail has an internal program called Doing the Work that supports its DEI efforts. This year, the focus of Doing the Work is on psychological safety. The idea is that many companies try to go too big too quickly with their DEI efforts without first establishing a foundational support for open dialogue.
“When we first implemented our framework and philosophy for D&I in 2020, we dove head-first into antiracism training, but soon realized to do this successfully required first establishing a safe space where everyone felt comfortable showing up for that hard work,” says Vasser. “This year, my approach has shifted to making this a slower walk. As D&I practitioners, we’re very invested in this work, but we also need to meet people where they are. It’s important for everyone to have common language around D&I and a solid foundation for antiracism work.”
CallRail is now focused on building an environment of psychological safety, which the company believes is critical for supporting diverse workers. “If they’re not safe to speak in front of their peers, how can we expect them to have difficult conversations?” Vasser argues. “Speaking up also applies to feeling comfortable giving feedback to managers or navigating disagreement within teams.” Vasser adds that CallRail’s ERGs are also a key part of supporting that sense of psychological safety.
Putting It All Together
Like most leaders and companies that are successful in the D&I space, Vasser and CallRail understand that D&I is not just the work of one group or person. “It’s on everybody to show up,” Vasser says, adding that showing up has both an internal and an external component.
“Internally, we have to become self-aware and see the shadows around us, which is how we identify areas for growth,” she says. “Recognizing our biases/prejudices and facing them requires honesty, vulnerability, and a behavioral change. As D&I practitioners, we don’t always see immediate gratification, but it’s about encouragement and continually planting the seeds that will allow a diverse culture to flourish. Letting go of expectations and outcomes helps us stay grounded in this work.”
Externally, Vasser says the work is action-oriented, such as making donations, posting on social media, or attending a D&I training. “External actions have the tendency to be transactional, and more harm than good can come from them if they’re viewed as checking things off a list versus engaging in tough conversations,” she cautions. “Internal and external work need to happen simultaneously to ensure there’s meaning behind the action.”
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