Signer Spotlight Series - reacHIRE
Tell us about your organization.
reacHIRE's mission is to help companies accelerate their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals and create long-lasting impact for organizations. It was founded on the core belief that “a career break shouldn’t be a career breaker™”, and that each individual has so much potential. Access to a job opportunity, the right training and coaching support, and an empathetic community of like-minded colleagues can drive a stronger sense of belonging, retention, and career advancement. We rarely see a career path represented by a straight line. What we do see, however, are systemic barriers that stifle individual growth and potential - particularly for women and underrepresented groups.
Celebrating its tenth year, reacHIRE is helping to change the trajectory for women in the workforce by partnering with forward-thinking companies to create opportunities where women can thrive, advance, lead, and stay. We achieve this by building comprehensive on-ramps for women re-entering the workforce and via unique development programs that support and nurture the individual leader in all of us…
Our Return-to-Work programs offer a valuable talent pipeline of experienced, diverse professionals, which internal Talent Acquisition teams often overlook. We then layer on specialized training and coaching in conjunction with a paid six-month assignment so that Returners are well equipped to successfully contribute to an organization long term. The company’s specialized team of HR, development, and career coaching experts provide customized levels of support throughout the process, including one-on-one mentorship, monthly upskilling workshops, strategies for how best to navigate organizations, and meaningful manager check-ins – all designed to unlock new depths of potential in seasoned professionals who have taken a break in their careers.
reacHIRE’s women's leadership development program Aurora is equipped to help companies grow their diversity pipeline from within – delivering learning, growth, and development in a high-touch, tech-enabled format. The fully virtual program offers early and mid-career women the time and space to build community, leverage world-class curriculum, and get easy access to seasoned executives (Aurora Guides) whom they can learn from in real-time. Guides serve as coaches and mentors, are trained and certified by reacHIRE, and deliver curriculum, in -the-moment advice, and mentorship which supports a broader talent management lifecycle strategy.
Our programs offer participants meaningful experiences which meet participants at different stages of their careers. A digital platform acts as a hub for delivering a range of online resources and tools as well as proprietary curriculum modules to build skills, learn from short-form videos, and access activities that foster community to discuss shared experiences.
Why did you join the talent compact?
There's a lot of synergy between the BWWC and reacHIRE. For both organizations, it is all about partnering with employers to create solutions to fight against workplace inequities.
We know closing the gender wage gap means having more diverse talent at all levels of the pipeline – including mid-level management and senior leadership levels. Employers often overlook high-potential, diverse talent, particularly those who have needed to take an extended career break. Similarly, women within organizations are often amply qualified and yet overlooked for stretch assignments and promotions. Every day we work diligently to change this dynamic.
What are some of the common barriers you see for women re-entering the workforce?
Women disproportionately need to step out of the workforce, translating into pay inequity when returning, and then compounded over the years because they can never catch up. The negative stigma of a career break, especially several years long, can lead to unconscious biases and unrealistic job requirements by those doing the hiring. Individuals are sidelined from their careers for various reasons, including caregiving responsibilities and health-related issues. They should not be penalized for not either being able to rebuild their careers or being paid equitably. Hiring managers and the systems in place tend to sideline candidates with career breaks, overlooking candidates' qualifications and perpetuating inequities in the workforce.
We advise employers to consider flexible schedules, childcare benefits, and other accommodations to better support team members’ varying life needs. Creating a work culture that considers the individual holistically is mutually beneficial for both the employer and the employee. We see that when employees feel supported, they stay for longer and grow in their positions.
Creating an inclusive community is key to a smooth transition for returners and better establish a well-rounded work culture. Employers that offer mentorship programs, coaching, team events, and other opportunities for staff to engage find that it strengthens office relationships, allowing for great work to be produced naturally.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your organization as it relates to gender and racial wage equality? How do you address those challenges?
As an organization, reacHIRE is regularly reviewing our salary bands and assigning competitive compensation based on market research to ensure that we have fair pay across the organization. We are a small company, composed of approximately 85% women. Just as we are working to do in the external workforce, we strive to ensure that everyone on the team has ample and equitable opportunity for growth - from a responsibility perspective, a wage perspective, as well as an advancement perspective.
Our mission and programs to support and empower women and underrepresented groups are ingrained in our internal practices and policies at every turn. Through the partnerships that we form with organizations as well as independent groups, we are continuously seeking to learn more about the impact that we can make through our work. We are passionately motivated to serve as an advocate for the greater good by fostering discussions relating to diverse hiring, wage assignment, and career development and advancement opportunities.