Supporting DE&I during eras of organizational change

November 18, 2021 | AUVSI News

AUVSI’s member organizations – from industry giants to newer startups – are increasingly seeking to ensure they are inclusive to all, recognizing that doing so improves decision-making, innovation, and engagement. As AUVSI President and CEO Brian Wynne recently said, “The only way to maximize the potential of this great industry is with everyone contributing their unique perspectives and backgrounds heard and valued.”

November is National Veterans and Military Families Month, and veterans are a diverse group that includes Americans of all backgrounds. AUVSI connected with Laila Salguero, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Officer at Peraton, to hear her insights on how Peraton supports diverse veterans, and to learn more about how Peraton’s approach to DE&I has evolved as the company has exponentially expanded its footprint in recent months. 

Combining organizational growth with inclusivity creates more opportunities

“Deliberate.” When describing how Peraton grew from 3,200 employees to 18,000 over five months, Salguero reflected on how the company recognized that it needed to be deliberate in their approach to DE&I efforts during this change. With more employees and expanded business priorities, Peraton has been able to identify and partner with more organizations that are aligned with their  diversity and inclusiveness objectives.

“We always knew that effectively harnessing the power of a diverse employee base was important, but a bigger organization called for more formalized programming,” she explained. “Even for organizations that have focused on DE&I for decades, the landscape is constantly changing – which requires us to be deliberate in our work and ensure we are strategic and targeted in our efforts.”Salguero shared that Peraton places a lot of value on the diverse representation and backgrounds of its employees, and that the company understands that achieving its business goals requires investment in a strong talent pipeline, staff development resources, and career progression opportunities.

“Diversity and inclusion aren’t just buzzwords for Peraton,” Salguero said. “DE&I is an expectation within our value system and culture.” 

Supporting a diverse veteran workforce

Hiring and retention of veterans has long been, and remains, a major focus at Peraton. The company has been named a veteran-friendly employer by organizations including the Military Times, the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Veterans Magazine, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Virginia Values Veterans, and the National Veteran Small Business Coalition.

 “Veterans strengthen our workforce and make us a better company, which is why we are committed to hiring, training and retaining them so that their experience at Peraton is personally and professionally rewarding,” said Salguero.

The company places an emphasis on both recruiting and retaining talent by offering a welcoming and equitable workplace – from recruiting and onboarding new employees to offering career development opportunities for longtime staff. Peraton is a DoD SkillBridge employer, connecting transitioning service members to internships within Peraton to aid in a successful career transition.

“Joining the private sector is a big transition––it’s very different,” Salguero said. “We want to support veterans – and their spouses – when they adjust to the corporate world, and we want them to bring the ideas. and skills they learned during their service. Especially in the unmanned space, we need their flexibility, creative thinking, and innovation.”

Peraton has four standing employee resource groups, which are aimed at supporting and engaging veteran, women, multicultural, and LGBTQ+ staff. The group led by veterans, the VALOR employee resource group (ERG), benefits from participants’ enthusiasm.Salguero shared that when veteran employees understand that they have a voice, they are eager to contribute and share ideas about veterans’ support programs they can partner with. “The value of the ERGs is that they are employee-led. Individuals want to be active and help align strategic initiatives at the corporate level with employee input,” she said. 

Advice for other organizations

Salguero emphasized that initiatives are successful when team members at all levels have the chance to lead. “The key is going out and meeting with colleagues… it makes a huge difference,” Salguero said. “We hosted a number of virtual events and meetings across the company and we spent a lot of time listening to our employees and learning about their experiences.

For organizations undergoing changes, she recommended a listening tour to ensure stakeholders in all parts of the business are aligned. Thanks to the insights her team uncovered during a listening tour, they were able to position DE&I objectives with business goals and present deliberate, grounded findings and recommendations to the leadership team.

Finally, she recommended forming or expanding meaningful partnerships with external groups that share the company’s values and commitment to DE&I. “One of the first things we considered was which organizations we already partner with, like AUVSI, who are doing work on DE&I. We saw that we already had a number of partnerships set up – so we started with where we were already and considered how we can evolve some of those further,” said Salguero. “We want to be respectful of our employees’ time and partners’ time to ensure there is mutual value there; we want to have a real sense of connection and partnership for the long-term and not just a one-time event.”