How OKC's first diversity officer is working to make city the 'most inclusive employer'

Oklahoma City's government is among many across the nation responding to requests for improved diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

The city's first Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Shalynne Jackson, came on board last February. Sixteen months later, Jackson said she has spent a lot of time listening to department needs and is looking forward to the city's new equity council, an employee survey and is working with some departments on assessing inter-cultural competence.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt has said creating Jackson's position was something he asked City Manager Craig Freeman to do when he was hired in 2019.

The fire department, inspired by Jackson's efforts, has also created its own 11-member Inclusion and Diversity Committee.

"One thing that I will say that I love about the leadership team here," Jackson said, "is that they're clear, when it comes to inclusion, 'We don't know what we don't know, but we know that we want to figure it out.'"

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What inclusion and diversity efforts are happening for Oklahoma City?

An equity council, for now made up of department heads, has formed to ensure departments execute inclusion strategies in all decision making, Jackson said.

Jackson said the council is still figuring out its exact goals, and that an upcoming employee engagement survey by Gallup will help provide insight.

Some city employees have begun an assessment called the Intercultural Development Inventory, which "measures an individual’s or group’s mindset for dealing with cultural differences," according to the website.

Employees complete a 50-item questionnaire and will meet with Jackson individually to go over their results. The assessment includes a plan to improve intercultural competence, wherever one starts on the spectrum, Jackson said.

"This isn't a matter of saying you're a good or bad person," Jackson said. "It's a matter of … are people perceiving you the way that you believe you're being perceived and want to be perceived?"

In addition to these internal efforts, Jackson is emphasizing community outreach. In April, the Oklahoma City Police Department and the Municipal Courts met with criminal justice students from Langston University, a historically black college 40 miles from downtown Oklahoma City.

The event was the first time the city had partnered with Langston to make students aware of career opportunities with the city.

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Oklahoma City's approach to inclusion and diversity

Jackson's office, like its name, has a two-fold approach.

Originally, she was hired as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion officer. When talking with departments about their needs and how they could improve, Jackson said she heard from many that wanted to focus on inclusion.

She decided to switch the name around to make a statement, that an inclusive environment is required before diverse employees can thrive, Jackson said.

"Your organization will be a revolving door if you only focus on diversity, (on) how many diverse hires can we make," Jackson said. "We're creating a culture where diverse hires want to stay."

Jackson said her goal is to make the city of Oklahoma City the "most inclusive employer and community of choice for all."

To achieve that, Jackson said she envisions her office continuing to grow. The city added a part-time employee in January and is requesting a second ful- time position in the fiscal year 2023 budget.

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What is the Fire Department's new Inclusion and Diversity Committee?

Fire Chief Richard Kelley said his goal is to be intentional in how his department addresses inclusion and diversity needs.

It's easy to assign training sessions and call it good, but he said past experience has taught him that's not the right approach.

In founding the new Inclusion and Diversity Committee, Kelley and committee co-chair Battalion Chief Derrick Kiel said there is no pre-conceived agenda. Committee members will look at the employee survey to see where they need to start.

"We can all learn something, and that's my first and only priority right now," Kiel said.

The first meeting was held April 15 and the committee will likely meet quarterly once the results of the employee survey are in, Kelley said.

Jana Hayes covers city government for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jana? She can be reached at jhayes@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @janarhayes. Support Jana's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma City is making strides towards inclusion and diversity