Continuous change and improvement are the norm at BlackRock, and COVID-19 has amplified our culture of innovation tenfold. It has forced us to rethink how we engage with our candidates and with each other. But we haven’t stopped there. Below are insights from six women who are rethinking the future of work at our organization and beyond.
—
In the future, we will lead with empathy
The shift to remote work has come with a blending of our professional and personal lives. It has forced us to bring a greater spectrum of ourselves to work and to let our colleagues into areas of our lives that we historically may not have. In a recent town hall meeting with the entire company, Rachel Lord, Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa at BlackRock, talked about her challenges parenting two teenage daughters, managing chores around the house, taking care of her dogs and navigating her job. This is just one example of how our leaders have role modeled what it means to be open and vulnerable as this merging of work and life reaches new levels.
Photo credit: Toretha McGuire (Managing Director, Talent Acquisition, New York)
While sharing more about our lives outside of work was driven out of necessity, it is having a profound effect. We have been getting to know our colleagues and our candidates on a more personal level which has helped many of us develop greater compassion for each other. “This situation has actually helped humanize us and relate to each other better,” shared Kelsey Rogut, Associate, Talent Management in BlackRock’s Atlanta office. She added, “while the pandemic has been completely devastating, I think all of us will have been forever changed in some way. Personally, I now feel more connected to the people I work with even though we haven’t been physically located in the same place for months. My hope is that we all continue leading with empathy and kindness.”
By establishing these more intimate connections the prioritization of home life has become less taboo. And ultimately, it has put a spotlight on some important leadership qualities that are not always highlighted in the business world by illustrating that empathy, transparency and compassion are qualities that not only generate trust but also drive performance.
“Up until now, we always thought we were not prepared to work in a fully virtual environment. We thought working remotely would have an impact on connectivity or productivity but look how well we’re doing,” said Neerja Nath, Vice President, Lateral Recruiting in our Gurgaon office. Of course, technology and infrastructure play a role, but a big piece of what’s worked well is the way our leaders have reached out to employees and candidates to keep communication going. She added, “there has been a lot of trust in how our leaders are managing the firm during this unprecedented time.”
As we continue to connect with candidates, we are doing so with empathy. Rachael Galaszewski, Vice President, Talent Acquisition Operations in BlackRock’s Wilmington office, described that, “this new virtual environment has led to more authenticity in our conversations with candidates. The first thing people do when they connect is ask ‘How are you? Are you safe? How’s your family?’ I know my team has appreciated this more human element. It’s uplifting, especially for those who have been self-isolating during this time.” By asking how candidates and colleagues are feeling, we’ve been able to demonstrate aspects of BlackRock’s culture like compassion and curiosity even though in-person touchpoints have come to a pause.
Photo credit: Brooke Coby (Director, Talent Acquisition, New York City)
As a firm, we’ve had a real re-focus on making the experience feel more human and personalized for our candidates. The recruiting function, not just at BlackRock but everywhere, has become more operationally focused. Brooke Coby, Director, Talent Acquisition in BlackRock’s New York City office shared, “the advances in artificial intelligence and other tech solutions are incredibly exciting for those of us doing the hiring but we know that what candidates want, is to hear from the actual people at the companies they’re interested in working for…and, at BlackRock, we often say that ‘without our people, technology is irrelevant.’”
This belief applies to all our business areas. Good recruiters impact candidates’ experiences, the process affects their perceptions of the firm and how they’re treated matters.
We will put people first
Concerns for the health and safety of our employees and candidates are leading us to make decisions that put people’s well-being first. This has become a filter for all our processes, programs and decisions during the coronavirus pandemic. It started by enabling more than 95% of our workforce to work from home and shifting interviews from in-person to virtual. It led us to decide not to make any COVID-19 related layoffs this year and to honor our commitment to summer interns and full-time graduate analysts to whom we had extended offers. It spurred us to re-think the onboarding experience for employees who are joining the firm in an entirely remote setting. And it pushed us to survey our colleagues more frequently so we can learn how they’re doing, what they need, and then act on their feedback.
This behavior of putting people first is not shortsighted, it’s being absorbed into the culture of our organization. For example, Kelsey, who creates professional development content for BlackRock noted, “I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how understanding and engaged managers have been with their teams during this time. Many leaders have come to our team for help because they’re worried that they won’t do right by their employees.” Specifically, we’ve noticed an increase in requests for learning & development content from managers so they can make sure the people on their teams are supported in the ways they need most, and we’ve observed hiring managers get more involved in the onboarding process since they haven’t been able to greet their new hires and welcome them in person.
We’ve seen that technology can enable flexible work environments and help people feel supported in a remote workplace. One way this has presented itself is in the amount of control we have over our day, whether that means taking a call while walking outside, prioritizing childcare at a certain time of the day or making time to buy groceries for ourselves or our neighbors, we have more freedom to manage our time. Brooke confirmed this in her own experience sharing, “I have felt that people are more understanding. Do what you need to do for yourself. Manage your own calendar. Tell people what’s going on. Don’t hide your personal life.”
As leaders, managers and organizations, we will need to continue to demonstrate the ability to prioritize both personal and professional lives. And it gives all of us a moment to reflect on the role we want work to play in our lives, to be clear about our needs and to ask our employer (or future employer) to support us.
We will seek out more voices and minds
As a global company, we’ve always collaborated across teams and time zones by building virtual relationships with colleagues in different offices but when conversations with our local colleagues became remote, it meant there was less of a distinction between relationships with colleagues we typically see in person and colleagues in other geographies. “Last year, I spent 3 months on the road and I truly believe the in-person presence is something that can’t be replaced. But what I’ve learned, is that by keeping a steady connection point with the people I work with across the world, I’m able to achieve just as strong of a partnership,” shared Noreen McEnaney, Director, Talent Acquisition in BlackRock’s New York City office.
Photo credit: Victoria Didilica (Associate, Campus Recruiting, London)
New challenges are amplifying our natural inclination to collaborate across teams, to crowdsource ideas and to share tips. “With the need to shift our campus recruiting events and programs to be delivered virtually, we were suddenly in a situation where there were a lot of new activities going on,” noted Victoria Didilica, Associate, Campus Recruiting in our London office. “But we weren’t afraid to ask for help—help from lateral recruiting, from the wider HR team, from the tech team and others. And at BlackRock, everyone is always willing to help,” she said. As we grow as a firm, we will continue to build input sessions into our projects and processes so we can benefit from the collective brainpower of our peers.
With more of our interactions moving into virtual formats we will also find new opportunities to engage potential employees with varying perspectives spanning academic majors, socio-economic backgrounds, gender, ethnicity, ability, veteran status, and other seen and unseen diversities. Candidates can also take advantage of this inclusive mindset by reaching out to people at organizations they’re interested in and having conversations with companies they might not have considered in the past.
Conclusion
The future of work will be one where leaders drive performance through empathy, where people stay at the forefront of our minds and where collaboration across diverse teams is key to our work.
For people looking for a new opportunity, this presents a chance to think about potential employers through a wider lens. Do your research on how committed each company’s leadership is to flexibility, benefits and learning & development. Dig into each company’s culture, learn how they’ve reacted to challenges in the past and ensure their values align with your own. And explore the long-term sustainability of the organizations you’re considering to ensure they are set up for future success.
More stories you might like
How BlackRock used a hackathon to deepen its connection to its client-first culture of innovation.
The annual hackathon at BlackRock, better known as “HACK:BLK”, is a global, firm-wide innovation challenge focused on developing new ideas to solve some of the world’s most complex financial challenges with the smartest technology. It’s a favorite event for engineers, their non-coding colleagues and business partners from around the firm. The Hackathon increases team cohesion by fostering collaboration. It’s also a great way for employees to focus on their passions and furthers BlackRock’s goal of using innovation to better serve clients by generating some truly remarkable ideas.
In other words, we hacked our own Hackathon and strengthened our purpose as a result.
Aladdin Wealth is one such concept that came out of a previous Hackathon and is now a fully operational solution for wealth managers. And while we’ve had great success with our previous Hackathons, we’re always looking for ways to innovate. So, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced us to go remote, we saw the disruption as an opportunity to rethink our approach altogether. This year, we made our core values a guiding framework for the event. In doing so, we achieved greater cohesion across teams and created innovative work on sustainability and alternatives — work which will ultimately benefit clients. In other words, we hacked our own Hackathon and strengthened our purpose as a result.
This year, I was one of the Hackathon leads helping direct the planning, strategy and execution of the firm-wide event. In my main role at BlackRock, I manage the Data Strategy & Solutions Team within the Portfolio Management Group which is a centralized function for data strategy, data discovery and bespoke research solutions. It’s a one-stop shop for discovering differentiated data sources and integrating innovative solutions into the investment process via vendor data acquisition, web-scraping and data analysis.
Over my ten-year career at BlackRock, I’ve also worked in roles across Technology, Operations, Aladdin and Investments, and it was great to leverage my network and knowledge to help connect Hackathon ideas across different teams and also set up speakers and programming for the 2020 event.
This year, for the first time, we had two winners! The judging took place in two ways: A Global Operating Committee made up of senior leaders voted and the whole firm voted as well. The two winners were clearly connected to our future technology goals:
- Themantic: The winner of the firm-wide vote, harnessed state-of-the-art artificial intelligence to process corporate disclosures, enabling BlackRock to create thematic portfolios aligned with investors’ values and beliefs, in a systematic and scalable way. Themes included sustainability, growth, robotics, education and more.
- Aladdin Eye: The Global Operating Committee favorite was a flexible, scalable platform for performing search tasks and visualizing results in a way that is intuitive and relevant for financial analysts. It can also be applied to the wealth of documents in the Private Markets space to extract insights that were never before available for investing and due diligence.
Having two winners was not the only first for this year’s Hackathon. We also encouraged employees to keep our purpose — to help more and more people experience financial well-being — top of mind. To achieve that purpose, we constantly look for opportunities for BlackRock employees to work together across teams, regions and businesses. This comes to life every day here through our principle of “One BlackRock” which quickly became a prominent feature of this year’s Hackathon as well.
In years past, teams were primarily made up of people who worked on the same teams or out of the same office locations. But this year, shared interests were the main draw and proximity took a back seat. 85% of teams had members from outside of their direct team, 50% included members from multiple offices and 30% of the teams spanned their geographic regions. Not only that, but because judging couldn’t take place in conference rooms at the office, hackers connected over WebEx with senior leaders who were brought in early on in the process to view presentations. With remote work and democratized virtual judging sessions, senior leadership was more involved, shepherding local winners through the final round of competition and providing mentorship along the way. This shift helped give team members who were earlier in their careers more exposure to leadership and gave management a closer look at up-and-coming talent.
Our firm-wide vision for technology, known internally as “tech2025” was another area emphasized in this year’s Hackathon. The tech2025 goals include using data and technology to make it easier for all types of clients to build better investment portfolios, unlocking scale in Aladdin and opening up our Aladdin platform. Another key theme at BlackRock is the conviction that climate risk is investment risk, and that sustainability is important to investing. As we planned our Hackathon to be remote, we asked everyone involved to keep these focus areas in mind as they approached new solutions.
The results of better, broader collaboration and a closer integration of purpose produced some of the strongest ideas we’ve seen at a Hackathon yet! Out of 1,200 registered participants, 500 ideas were submitted and 192 of the ideas came from teams that spanned regions — another first.
Throughout our history and my time at BlackRock, one thing that has differentiated our culture, is that we challenge ourselves to see every problem as an opportunity to perform better for our clients.
Throughout our history and my time at BlackRock, one thing that has differentiated our culture, is that we challenge ourselves to see every challenge as an opportunity to perform better for our clients. It’s our commitment as a fiduciary, but it’s also at the core of who we are. By turning the disruption brought on by Covid-19 into a chance to rethink our Hackathon, we gave a broader platform to talent across the globe, connected more deeply with our purpose as a firm and continued to innovate on solutions that could benefit clients — with better insights into sustainable strategies and alternatives.
A version of this article was originally published on the BlackRock Engineering Blog on August 5, 2020. You can learn more about BlackRock’s work and career opportunities in Technology on our careers website.
More stories you might like
BlackRock employees volunteered virtually through our annual Global Mapathon project to help healthcare professionals deliver critical care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, BlackRock colleagues from around the globe joined together to volunteer virtually in this year’s Global Mapathon project in partnership with Missing Maps and Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Together, they identified homes, villages and roads in the Central African Republic using satellite images which helps Doctors without Borders and other NGOs better prepare for and respond to natural disasters and pandemics in some of the most vulnerable parts of the world. Efforts from this year’s event will give humanitarian and healthcare workers on the ground a better chance to respond to affected individuals in the region of Mbomou where critical roads and infrastructure are not fully documented. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Mapathon took place virtually and participants were asked to dedicate at least 2 hours towards volunteering from home on this project. In total over 55,000 buildings and 320 miles of roads were identified as part of this year’s Mapathon effort. In addition, the event engaged 425 BlackRock employees across 30 offices around the world – including our colleagues from the BlackRock Belgrade office who participated for the first time and identified over 7,600 buildings, the single biggest office contribution! One of those volunteers was Alex Jahier, an Analyst on the Social Impact team in our New York City office who studied environmental science in college and is passionate about sustainability. This was his first time getting involved in the Mapathon project since he joined BlackRock in the fall of 2019. Alex’s personal mission is to leave the planet in a better place than when we found it so even though he spends his day job working on employee engagement and community giving programs, he’s always looking for ways to personally get involved in the work his team is leading at the firm. Alex believes giving back to our community is an important part of our culture at BlackRock, and said, “we’re always being encouraged to get outside of our comfort zones – and the ‘office’ (even now in this virtual setting) – to work together with other colleagues to make a difference.” In looking at the ‘before and after’ photos below, the need and impact of volunteer efforts like the Global Mapathon are apparently clear. “Right now, due to the pandemic, it isn’t safe for a lot of us to volunteer in person, but we can still make a significant impact from our homes,” said Alex. But Alex did more than volunteer, he was actually responsible for organizing this year’s Global Mapathon! As the project lead, he managed the relationships with our nonprofit partners, Doctors Without Borders and Missing Maps, recruited over 25 “Office Champions” to help drive participation in our offices around the globe, and partnered with teams across BlackRock like our Corporate Communications team, to spread the word leading up to the event through our internal communications channels. Anna Verhaegen was one of those Office Champions Alex recruited this year, and after volunteering for last year’s Mapathon, she jumped at the chance to help encourage colleagues in her office to join this time around. Anna is based out of our Princeton office and joined BlackRock in 2017 through the Analyst Program. Anna is currently an Investment Management Associate in US Wealth Advisory (USWA) where she’s responsible for driving sales and client service for BlackRock mutual funds, iShares ETFs and separately managed accounts for retail clients on the East Coast. Anna shared, “I’ve always enjoyed getting involved in philanthropic efforts and wanted to find more ways to give back, but I didn’t really know how to get started until I began working at BlackRock. Here it’s not only apparent how integral volunteering is to our company culture but it’s amazing how everyone is encouraged to take time away from their desk or normal duties to volunteer towards causes they care about. I’m proud that at BlackRock we are a group of people who want to do good for our communities and for the world. Volunteer events like this, give employees a chance to take on local leadership roles and give back all while showing them just how easy and fun volunteering can be!” Participants were encouraged to take selfies of their Mapathon efforts, below are some of our amazing employee volunteers from around the globe.
Photo credit: Alex Jaheir (Analyst, Social Impact, New York City)
Source: Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, 2020.
Photo credit: Anna Verhaegen (Associate, US Wealth Advisory, Princeton)
Photo credit: Michael Karcz (Director, Aladdin Product Group, New York City)
Photo credit: Monica Bueno (Vice President, Latin America ETF Sales, Mexico City)
Photo credit: Deia Housen (Analyst, Strategic Partner Program, London)
The timing of these efforts could not have been more critical. The Central African Republic’s health system is not fully equipped to handle the sizeable outbreak of COVID-19 that has appeared and the country is lacking testing kits, ventilators and treatment centers while still fighting existing diseases like TB and malaria. 70% of the country depends on humanitarian support from organizations like MSF for health services and lacks access to running water which is necessary for proper sanitary practices.
This impact of this project will hopefully go beyond COVID-19 relief as well. The buildings and roads identified by BlackRock employees as part of this year’s project will provide crucial data for humanitarian workers as they continue to respond to health emergencies in the country.
Thank you to all our employees around the globe who participated in this timely volunteer effort. Since everyone joined from home this year, some employees were even able to involve their families in the project but hopefully next year, we’ll be able to safely map together in person again.
More stories you might like
Feeling rudderless these days? You’re not alone. As we adjust to this prolonged period of uncertainty, many of us are feeling stuck – but want to get to a place where we feel like we’re thriving, not simply surviving. Here are some steps you can take today to build resilience while working from home.
I’m not normally one to take life advice that sounds like it should be crocheted on a pillow. But these are far from normal times. And, perhaps for that reason, when this quote popped up in my LinkedIn feed, it gave me pause:
“There are three things you cannot recover in life: the moment after it’s missed, the word after it’s said and the time after it’s wasted.”
Even under the best of circumstances – even if we are privileged enough to remain physically healthy, financially solvent and unencumbered by the daily trauma of systemic racism – when it comes to our careers, we still worry that we’re not “doing it right” or “doing enough.” That we’re not adequately “carpe-ing the diem.”
This gnawing anxiety has prompted lots of talk about resilience in the workplace – how to build it, how to sustain it and how to support others as we all grow and advance in our careers.
Ironically, many of these conversations gloss over the part about what resilience actually means. Just as we might incorrectly associate courage with the absence of fear, it’s tempting to equate resilience with the absence of vulnerability. But resilience is not an exercise in rigidity or perfection; it’s the art of flexibility and forgiveness. It is a measure of our capacity to recover quickly, to learn from missteps or moments of crisis.
Luckily, resilience is not an exclusively innate quality. It’s a skill that can be developed over time. So, in the spirit of resume-boosting self-improvement, here are some actions you can take to build greater resilience today that will pay dividends in the future.
- Keep your friends closeRelationships are often cited as a key predictor of how someone will cope with adversity. In a professional setting, we also know that engaging our network – especially sponsors – is critical to success. But with social distancing at play, how should we adapt?The good news is, “coffee chat” culture isn’t dead – it’s just gone virtual. We’re all craving greater variety in our days, so a 30-minute catch-up can be a welcome reprieve. That said, one-on-one video calls bring added pressure (we all cringe at awkward pauses), so you might consider teaming up with a peer who can add to conversation.Think of them as a “visibility buddy.” Over time, you can tap into each other’s networks, make new connections and even reconnect with former contacts. Just remember that, while visibility is important, relevance is too. If someone is giving you their time, you should have an objective for the conversation in mind, do your homework and always follow-up afterwards, even if it’s just a quick thank you.
- Make time to daydreamIt’s easy to feel stuck right now. This prolonged period of uncertainty feels like an interminable present, making the future difficult to imagine. But a little more imagination may be exactly what’s needed.Neuroscience has long held that the wandering mind (and body) can be beneficial for creative problem-solving and goal-formation. In fact, studies suggest that envisioning yourself in a future state makes you more likely to achieve it.But daydreaming is also a useful means of escapism. Reminiscing on happier times has been linked to improved mental well-being. And there’s no denying that there’s a certain comfort to be had by giving in to nostalgia.
So, if your quarantine routine too closely resembles Groundhog Day, your surest way out may be to look inward. Journaling, meditation and yoga are a few other ways you might start to build a habitual practice for introspection.
- LOL (but actually)Classically called “the best medicine,” laughter has been linked to tremendous psychological and physical benefits. Consider the mechanics: We take in a sudden burst of oxygen-rich air, which releases endorphins, boosts circulation and prompts muscle relaxation. The result? A feel-good moment that melts away stress.In groups, laughter has a multiplying effect. Incorporating humor into meetings is known to inspire engagement, creativity and collaboration. In fact, one study found that watching a comedy clip before getting to work boosted employees’ productivity by 10%.Alongside empathy, authenticity and respect, we should add having a sense of humor to the list of prerequisites for good corporate citizenship. Now more than ever, we could all use some comic relief. So the next time someone cracks a good-natured joke, join in the laughter – it’s good for your health!
Resilience may be a buzzword of the moment, but it will always be part of the human experience. The question is not if we will encounter adversity, but rather how we will respond. In short, can we derive meaning from hardship?
I’m reminded of Viktor Frankl’s invocation of Nietzsche: “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.” If our aim is not only to survive but, rather, to thrive, then perhaps the best thing we can do is to focus our energy on the aspects of work and life that we find meaningful – practicing self-compassion and empathy for others along the way.
More stories you might like
BlackRock is committed to doing its part, consistent with our purpose, to help build a better, fairer society. This commitment to make change is core to who BlackRock is and the difference we can make in the world. Below is a memo to BlackRock employees with an update on our plans to promote racial equity and inclusion.
Dear Colleagues,
We wrote to you three weeks ago about the need to take meaningful action to accelerate BlackRock’s commitment to racial equity. Since then, colleagues across the firm have been engaging in a powerful dialogue about what we can and should be doing as individuals, a firm and an industry to help drive real change. This commitment to make change is core to our purpose, to who BlackRock is and the difference we can make in the world. It is also something our clients are looking for us to do. BlackRock should reflect the rich diversity of our clients. So, change must start here at BlackRock, and we know we have a great deal of work to do. Progress will require a long-term effort with sustained focus and persistence. We don’t have all the answers today, but we are moving forward with a strong sense of purpose and resolve, and we will continue to learn and adapt.
Today, we want to provide an update on the firm’s action plan in three key areas:
- BlackRock Talent and Culture
- Our Role as a Fiduciary on Behalf of our Clients
- Policy and Social Impact in the Communities Where We Operate
Our commitment to racial equity and inclusion extends to every market in which we operate. Diversity manifests itself differently in different parts of the world, but we will pursue it across the globe. For example, in the UK today, we announced that we were signing the “Race at Work Charter” led by The Prince’s Responsible Business Network, committing to measure, disclose and advance ethnic and racial diversity and equality in our UK workforce. So while some of the immediate actions outlined in this memo are focused on the US, we plan to execute against each of our three major pillars globally.
1. BlackRock Talent and Culture
Although our planned incoming summer and graduate analyst classes are the most diverse in BlackRock’s history (with 38% of summer analysts and 30% of our program analysts in the US identifying as Black and Latinx), we are not where we want to be. We need to continue to enhance all aspects of diversity at BlackRock. Many of the actions here are specifically focused on Black professionals, but they will promote improved recruiting and management of all diverse talent and enhance the inclusivity of our culture so that everyone has the chance to fulfill their potential.
By 2024, our goal is to double representation of our Black senior leaders and increase overall representation by 30%. Today, only 3% of our senior leaders (directors and above) and 5% of our workforce in the US are black. We need to do better, and we will achieve an increase through five key actions:
- Actively guiding and developing the careers of our Black Professionals through senior leadership’s commitment to grow our emerging Black leaders; tailored leadership development and sponsorship programs, including a new Black Leadership Forum; targeted rotational programs for early-career Black professionals; and deliberate consideration of senior Black leaders in succession planning.
- Focusing on people manager development and rewarding proactive inclusion and improved diversity outcomes that increase Black Professional career progression and retention rates, and that increase the proportion of managers who identify as Black.
- Increasing our commitment to recruiting and onboarding Black Professionals by requiring racially and ethnically diverse candidate slates for open roles at BlackRock, applying sourcing and selection strategies used in campus recruiting to all analyst and associate hiring, appointing a Diversity Sourcing Lead for experienced hires, and designing a more structured onboarding process across all experience levels.
- Raising awareness of racial equity issues and resetting behavioral expectations by extending our new speaker series on racial inclusion and equity and requiring a new mandatory “racial equity” course for all BlackRock employees via the BlackRock Academies.
- Embedding accountability and improving tracking and measurement of diversity metrics and holding leaders and managers accountable for continued progress, including in the Quarterly Business Reviews and year-end processes.
To ensure we all stay focused on these goals over time, we have appointed a subset of the Global Executive Committee to oversee progress.
2. Our Role as a Fiduciary on Behalf of our Clients
We have long believed that in serving our clients we can have a positive impact on society. That is fundamental to BlackRock’s purpose. Research shows that companies with strong sustainability ratings, which includes diverse workforces, deliver better returns, and we are seeing more and more clients focused on these social issues in their investments. In addition, we believe that diversifying the companies we partner with to serve our clients helps us to deliver better outcomes. Through our emerging brokers program, for example, last year we traded $110 billion through Black and Latinx owned firms and helped to enhance market liquidity.
To better serve our clients, we will focus on racial equity and social justice in our investment and stewardship activities. While we are still refining our efforts and goals, our focus is on three key areas:
- Increasing our partnerships with minority business enterprises that support our client investment activities, including minority brokers for trading, external managers in our solutions and fund of funds businesses, and third-party vendors across the rest of the firm.
- Developing and launching products focused on racial equity and social justice across our active platform, private markets and iShares and index businesses.
- Promoting workforce and leadership diversity by engaging with and seeking reporting by the companies in which we invest. In January, we asked companies to publish disclosure aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), which includes disclosing the racial and ethnic characteristics of their US workforce. This fall, as we assess the impact of companies’ response to COVID-19 and associated issues of racial equality, our stewardship team will be refreshing our expectations for human capital management and how companies pursue sustainable social practices more broadly. We also will continue to emphasize the importance of diversity in the board room, considering personal characteristics like gender, as well as race and ethnicity, in addition to professional experience.
3. Policy and Social Impact in the Communities Where We Operate
Public Policy – Thanks to the leadership of Claude Wade, Head of our new Atlanta office, we were proud to be one of the first companies to endorse the Georgia Hate Crimes Legislation earlier this month, which more than 300 companies have now signed on to support. We will strive to continue using our voice to advocate for public policy changes that promote social justice by:
- Continuing to drive and contribute to public policy and legislative outcomes, joining with other organizations that share our values to promote public policy that can make positive change.
- Continuing to lead the industry with transparency on diversity disclosures. Disclosure on the diversity of BlackRock’s workforce can be found here and on our Board here. Our SASB disclosure can be found here.
Social Impact – In February, we established the BlackRock Foundation to augment our efforts to promote a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Through our focus on financial security for vulnerable communities, we aim to bring visibility and increased resources to support the upward mobility of Black and Latinx communities. Our $10 million action plan includes:
- Deploying $5 million to organizations supporting racial equity. In the coming weeks, we will announce contributions of $2 million to national organizations focused on securing equal justice for Black and Latinx communities; and $3 million to local grassroots organizations in major US cities where we operate including New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco, selected in partnership with employee-led task forces in those cities.
- Launching a $5 million fund to help elevate Black and Latinx social entrepreneurs to advance economic mobility in communities where we operate. In parallel, we will increase the transparency and reporting of our grant funding along with the criteria used to evaluate our potential partners.
- Doubling support for employee giving. The firm and our people donated $1.9 million over the past three weeks through our 2:1 employee match program to organizations fighting racial inequality. To extend the impact of our people’s giving, earlier this month we doubled the annual cap on the amount the firm matches in philanthropic giving per employee from $5,000 to $10,000.
The process of building a more just and equitable society will not be easy or quick. Driving real change requires long-term commitment and that all of us push beyond comfortable boundaries. We must begin the journey examining our own culture and talent practices, but we cannot be content to stop there. We must use our voice and work with others to advocate for change within our industry and across society more broadly.
BlackRock is committed to doing its part, consistent with our purpose, to help build that better, fairer society. We want to thank you all for the resolve and willingness you have demonstrated over the past few weeks to be part of that change. It is up to us to hold ourselves accountable to ensure we continue to make measurable progress. We ask that all of you commit to continue pushing forward with us in that effort.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn on June 22, 2020. You can learn more about BlackRock’s commitment to Inclusion and Diversity on our careers website.
More stories you might like
I am appalled – as is anyone who cares about diversity, fairness and justice – by the events of the last few weeks involving racial injustice in the U.S. Below is an email I shared earlier today with my colleagues at BlackRock.
Dear Colleagues,
The past few weeks have been deeply painful for the black community. I am appalled – as is anyone who cares about diversity, fairness and justice – by the events of the last few weeks involving racial injustice in the U.S. The murders of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, and the incident in Central Park, show how much work we have to do to build a stronger, more equal, and safer society.
Many of us are struggling with these events. For our employees suffering pain from these tragedies, I want you to know that that the firm’s leadership stands with you, and we are listening. We will do everything we can to support you and give you the space to express your feelings and concerns.
In recent days, BlackRock’s Black Professionals Network has led a series of powerful sharing sessions where employees have discussed these incidents. Now we must broaden the discussion. I ask that all of us across the firm reflect on and engage in dialogue on these issues.
We have watched for months as the tragedy of COVID-19 has disproportionately hurt communities of color, as they have suffered more COVID cases and endured a greater share of the economic hardship than the rest of the population. Now, that pain has been compounded by these new incidents of racial injustice.
No organization is immune from the challenges posed by racial bias. As a firm committed to racial equality, we must also consider where racial disparity exists in our own organizations and not tolerate our shortcomings. We can only heal these wounds – building a more diverse and inclusive firm and contributing to a more just society – if we talk to each other and cultivate honest, open relationships and friendships. Going forward, we will continue to develop resources to help you engage in productive conversation and to take meaningful action, and you’ll be hearing more this coming week. I recognize this process isn’t easy – I know it’s not easy for me. But it’s essential.
Importantly, we have to make this a sustained effort. I am writing to you today because recent events have forced us to reflect on the severity of these issues, but these events are symptoms of a deep and longstanding problem in our society and must be addressed on both a personal and systemic level. This situation also underscores the critical importance of diversity and inclusion within BlackRock and society at large. We will continue to push forward in our efforts as a leadership team to build a more inclusive and diverse firm.
I often talk about taking emotional ownership – taking responsibility for the success of BlackRock and its clients. It also means that we are responsible for each other. Now is the time to embrace that responsibility. Please take an active role in that effort. We all must work together to build a more fair and just society – that is part of BlackRock’s purpose.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn on May 30, 2020. You can learn more about BlackRock’s commitment to Inclusion and Diversity on our careers website.
More stories you might like
As the coronavirus continues to harm economic well-being around the world, particularly for the owners and employees of small or informal businesses, it’s important for corporations to continue to serve their full set of stakeholders – including their employees and the communities where they operate.
I want to say how proud I am of what BlackRock’s employees have accomplished over the past four weeks. While helping our clients – from pension funds and governments to insurance companies and individuals saving for retirement – navigate some of the most volatile markets in our lifetime, our people have also rebuilt BlackRock beyond the walls of BlackRock. Today, more than 90% of our employees are working remotely and they are staying as connected to one another and to our clients as they ever have.
We are committed to making sure our people have the support they need during this time. All our employees have the flexibility to take off as much time as they need to care for themselves, their family or a loved one. We’ve also told our people that we aren’t going to make any layoffs this year as a result of COVID-19. Moreover, the BlackRock community includes the individuals who play essential roles supporting our facilities, like cafeteria workers and maintenance staff. We’ve told them that even if they can’t come to work, we will continue to support them with full-time pay during this time. Lastly, we look forward to welcoming to BlackRock the summer interns and full-time graduate analysts to whom we’ve already extended offers. We will continue to manage our business and shift resources around to best serve our clients as we always do, but no one at BlackRock should be worrying right now about losing their job as a result of COVID-19.
In addition to our employees and our clients, we want to make sure we are doing what we can to support the communities where we operate. We have committed $50 million in charitable funds to the immediate relief of those who are most affected right now. We are directing this to front-line healthcare workers – the true heroes of today – and also to help address the financial hardship and social dislocation that this pandemic brings in its wake, as families grapple with job disruptions, school closures, unexpected childcare and medical costs. In addition to the $18 million we announced last month, we have since contributed an additional $6 million for food banks and community organizations in America, Europe and Asia.
Many of our own people are also stepping up to support emergency relief in their own communities. To amplify these important efforts, we have doubled BlackRock’s match for employee contributions to their local organizations addressing the crisis in their communities.
The virus is a global threat that requires a response from every segment of society. We’re committed to doing everything we can to serve all our stakeholders in the face of this unprecedented challenge. It has become clear over the last few weeks that no one will be safe from the effects of this illness, until everyone is safe from it.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn on April 8, 2020. To learn more about our response to COVID-19, please visit BlackRock’s corporate website.
More stories you might like
In my 44 years in finance, I have never experienced anything like what we’re seeing today. When I originally sat down to write my annual letter to BlackRock’s shareholders, I was in my office, thinking about how to describe the events of 2019 and what BlackRock achieved last year. Today that seems a distant reality. BlackRock’s offices globally are nearly empty and instead, I write to you in isolation from home, like millions of other people. Since January, the coronavirus has overtaken our lives and transformed our world, presenting an unprecedented medical, economic, and human challenge. The implications of the coronavirus outbreak for every nation and for our clients, employees and shareholders are profound, and they will reverberate for years to come.
The virus has taken a severe toll. It has killed or sickened hundreds of thousands, and even for the healthy, it has dramatically altered daily life and threatened financial security. For governments, it has presented the astounding challenges of implementing quarantines on a scale never before seen and of responding to the economic and financial fallout from them. For the private sector, it has upended how companies operate and the demand for their products and services, with small businesses and their employees invariably shouldering the greatest burden. And medical professionals, in almost all cases operating with insufficient supplies and a lack of hospital capacity, are faced with wrenching decisions about how to keep the most people alive. These medical professionals, on the front line in this crisis, are today’s heroes.
The outbreak has impacted financial markets with a swiftness and ferocity normally seen only in a classic financial crisis. But it has not simply pressured financial markets and near-term growth: it has sparked a reevaluation of many assumptions about the global economy, such as our infatuation with just-in-time supply chains and our reliance on international air travel. Even more profoundly, people worldwide are fundamentally rethinking the way we work, shop, travel, and gather.
Although 90 percent of our employees are now working from home, we are working hard to remain connected to the communities that we serve. BlackRock is contributing $50 million to the immediate relief of those who are most affected right now, and to help address the financial hardship caused by this pandemic. We are also committed to assisting governments around the world as they navigate the financial stresses of this crisis and to support their economies. Work like this – focusing our expertise and capabilities on major public challenges – is core to our purpose. BlackRock’s biggest responsibility – now more than ever – is to help our clients navigate this market environment.
As dramatic as this has been, I do believe that the economy will recover steadily, in part because this situation lacks some of the obstacles to recovery of a typical financial crisis. Central banks are moving quickly to address problems in credit markets, and governments are now acting aggressively to enact fiscal stimulus. The speed and the shape of these policies are deeply influenced by the world’s experience during the global financial crisis in 2008. I also believe their actions are likely to be more effective and work more quickly since they are not fighting against the same structural challenges as they were a decade ago.
That is not to say the world is without risk, nor to suggest that the market has reached its bottom. It is impossible to know. There are also significant challenges ahead for heavily indebted businesses, and if governments are not careful in the design of their stimulus programs, the economic pain from the outbreak will fall disproportionately on the shoulders of the most economically vulnerable individuals.
At BlackRock, we are working to keep a long-term perspective on this crisis – as we always do – while helping our clients, our communities, and the countries where we work and live navigate this extraordinary and difficult environment.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn and is a condensed excerpt from Larry Fink’s annual Chairman’s Letter to Shareholders, published on March 30, 2020. For the full letter, please visit BlackRock’s corporate website.
More stories you might like
Trisha King an Associate on the Employer Brand team in New York City who’s focused on strategy, recruitment marketing and content production at BlackRock, spoke to The Muse about using content to support the candidate journey, building a more diverse and inclusive culture across teams and geographies, and more.
Tell us a little bit about your career journey. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always gone after opportunities connected to my skills, passions and purpose, but also roles that gave me a chance to learn and grow while making a meaningful impact in the world. I began my career in education and international development, then moved into the non-profit sector for about five years before transitioning into the for-profit world of financial services—which is where I am today at BlackRock.
Having studied anthropology, political science and African studies in college, I’m definitely not your “typical” employer brand professional. However, a humanities education did help me develop a global mindset and hone my talent for writing, problem-solving and critical thinking. Early in my career, I also worked internationally in Jordan for two years. Working abroad was honestly one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life to date. It gave me a deep appreciation and understanding of another way of life, and helped me become a more empathetic and culturally competent person. It also solidified my love for storytelling and gave me a chance to dip my toes into recruitment marketing and social media professionally.
Fast forward to 2018 when I joined BlackRock as part of the Global Talent Management team. I was focused on initiatives related to our firm-wide strategy for culture, recognition and employee engagement, which helped me quickly grasp BlackRock’s history, culture and values. I was about two months into the role when my boss at the time approached me about doing a parental leave cover for the then Global Head of Employer Brand.
I jumped at the chance since the work of the Employer Brand team closely aligned with my background in communications and marketing. While on the team in an interim capacity, I helped develop and launch BlackRock’s brand in Atlanta (a new hiring market for the firm) and led the complete redesign of our careers website. I realized through this experience that the Employer Brand team was really where I belonged, where I could work at the intersection of my strengths, passions and purpose while making a valuable impact at the firm.
After sharing this realization with the Global Head of Talent Acquisition, we were able to work together to craft a role that filled an existing gap on the team while leaning into my skills, experiences and career ambitions. I’m grateful to have had that kind of support. But I’m not the only one who’s moved around inside BlackRock! Identifying internal career growth opportunities for people is part of our learning and development philosophy and we encourage people to move around the company (to a different function, business or location) as a way to advance their careers.
What is one tool or piece of advice you wish you’d known about when you first started working in the employer branding space?
In terms of tools, our recruiting teams are starting to leverage an augmented writing platform, to better understand how the language in our job descriptions can better support our commitment to inclusion, diversity and belonging. I love this tool because it allows us to assess our requisitions in real time using a data-backed solution and enhance everything from formatting to verbiage. Over time, we aim to compile best practices that will ultimately help mitigate unconscious bias that’s baked into the words we use to describe our roles.
Stakeholder management and collaboration are huge when it comes to developing an effective employer brand on a global scale. This is especially true at BlackRock where one of our four guiding principles is “We are One BlackRock”—the belief that the best solutions result from the ideas and contributions of a diverse team of partners.
You’re building an employer brand on a global scale at BlackRock. How do you communicate your values and impact in a way that resonates with your worldwide audience of candidates and employees alike?
Stakeholder management and collaboration are huge when it comes to developing an effective employer brand on a global scale. This is especially true at BlackRock where one of our four guiding principles is “We are One BlackRock”—the belief that the best solutions result from the ideas and contributions of a diverse team of partners. We often work jointly with members of our recruiting, talent management, marketing, communications, inclusion & diversity and social impact teams (to name a few) to ensure the strategies, initiatives and messaging we develop remains authentic to our brand and culture while resonating in the local market.
This year, we’re also focused on developing and activating our Employer Value Proposition which will help us more clearly articulate the reasons why someone should choose to work at BlackRock. To deliver on the promise we make to candidates, this messaging will be underpinned by the tenets of our corporate brand as well as our culture, values and purpose.
What goals are top of mind for your team when you’re creating marketing campaigns and content to help activate your culture and bring your brand strategy to life?
One of the main goals we have when creating content and campaigns is to be human and tailored in our approach so we’re communicating in the most authentic and accessible way for a specific audience. Whether a UX designer, software engineer or someone who’s interested in joining our investment team as a portfolio manager, we want to speak to candidates in a way that’s relatable and helps them understand what life is like on a given team or in one of our offices around the globe.
We also know that the reason why a student chooses to work somewhere is likely different from that of a senior-level leader or subject-matter expert with 15+ years of experience, so we try to tailor our content strategy to make sure it speaks to each of the unique talent segments we’re looking to attract across different levels of experience.
To continually evaluate our messaging so it remains accurate based on the lived experience of our people, we utilize insights from our annual Employee Opinion Survey which help us understand the experience of our employees by title, tenure, location and business as well as demographics.
By weaving in content at specific entry points or moments in the applicant journey, we help candidates better understand our culture and the specific team they’re looking to join.
How does the brand content and messaging you create get incorporated into the candidate experience and recruiting process?
The content and messaging we create come to life in numerous ways throughout the candidate journey—often before someone ever submits an application. We leverage social media platforms, strategic partnerships with community organizations like /dev/color, 100 Women in Finance and ALPFA, as well as large-scale conferences and events such as Grace Hopper and the OUT & Equal Workplace Summit, to help build brand awareness among our potential recruits.
Once someone enters the domain of our careers site, we serve up relevant content like employee videos and testimonials, company news and information about our benefits, social impact work, and learning and development opportunities. By weaving in content at specific entry points or moments in the applicant journey, we help candidates better understand our culture and the specific team they’re looking to join.
This is actually one of the focus areas for our team to dig into deeper this year. Through partnership with our recruiting teams around the globe, we aim to leverage data and analytics to better understand the overall candidate journey. This effort will help us better identify drop-off points and uncover areas of confusion where new or existing content could be infused to enhance the overall candidate experience.
We also plan to leverage these learnings to create a more seamless transition from candidate to employee, so we’re not just thinking about candidate communications, we’re thinking about how those messages can enhance the onboarding and employee experience as well.
Our company believes in the power of diversity and collaboration, and thankfully, the business case has already been written, bought, and sold internally. But culture isn’t stagnant. It must evolve and adapt with the changing needs and expectations of our employees and the world.
BlackRock has roughly 15,000 employees spanning 30 different countries. Thinking about your company culture, philosophy and values—how do you create a sense of connection and belonging among employees working in different parts of the world?
Our culture at BlackRock is underpinned by our mission and principles as well as our purpose which is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. Our company believes in the power of diversity and collaboration, and thankfully, the business case has already been written, bought and sold internally. But culture isn’t stagnant. It must evolve and adapt with the changing needs and expectations of our employees and the world. Admittedly, like most organizations out there, we’re still on a journey to create a more inclusive culture where people from all backgrounds can succeed. As part of that journey, last year, we redesigned our employee networks with a specific focus on the role of allies.
Inclusion and Diversity at BlackRock
The great thing about this new model is that it opens up the possibility for everyone to think about their own privileges and intersectionalities and become an ally for someone else. Allyship helps address things like representation more head on by creating the space for necessary (and oftentimes uncomfortable) conversations to take place between dominant and non-dominant groups. Through advocacy, dialogue and action, my hope is that our organization can collectively move to a place of greater cultural understanding while ensuring underrepresented and/or marginalized communities have the support we need to be successful.
It’s important to note that these networks are run for employees, by employees and, in my opinion, one of the most effective mechanisms we have for creating a sense of belonging across teams and geographies. I serve as co-chair for the New York Leadership Team for Arena, the network for Associates at BlackRock, and am an active member and ally of our networks for Black professionals, Women, Latinx employees and colleagues who identify as LGBTQ+. But there are many other affinity groups. A few weeks ago, we officially launched a Green Team Network to further encourage employee participation in sustainability efforts both inside and outside of our walls.
I care about working for a company who does the right thing and puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to supporting important global causes and communities in need.
Can you share an example of a practice or initiative you have in place at BlackRock that you’re especially proud of and excited to share with potential candidates?
We have a few different social impact initiatives designed to encourage employees to give back to communities and causes they care about but I’m particularly proud of the fact that BlackRock matches personal charitable donations, dollar for dollar. When the news broke about the devastating wildfires in Australia, BlackRock responded quickly by launching a 2:1 matching campaign so every employee contribution to this cause could be doubled. I care about working for a company who does the right thing and puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to supporting important global causes and communities in need.
What are the most rewarding parts of your job?
As part of the Employer Brand team within Talent Acquisition, I’m excited to be able to do work each day that’s related to my passions and purpose—leveraging storytelling to help organizations and individuals communicate their values and impact. Whether that’s sharing compelling employee stories through video, creating content and campaigns for social media or managing our careers website, I get to help candidates understand who we are as a company, what we stand for and why they should consider joining us. The work we do ultimately helps thousands of people around the world each year choose BlackRock as the place to further their careers.
These are the most rewarding parts of my job; getting to work with employees across the firm and around the world to help them share their stories in creative and compelling ways. Storytelling is personal and when done well, evokes emotion and action. It means so much when someone trusts you with bringing their truth, experiences and opinions to life. Looking back, no matter the role or the organization, this love for creative storytelling has been the through-line in my career.
What’s something you do outside of work that makes you a better employee?
Outside of work, I’m a friend, sister, daughter and an aunt. These relationships help me stay grounded and encourage and inspire me to be my best, authentic self. I’m also a self-proclaimed foodie, fashion blogger (@froladyfashion), and facilitate a peer coaching and mentorship group through an alumni organization that I’m a part of called AIESEC.
Health and wellness are also important to me, so I practice yoga two to three times a week—a mix of church, fitness and therapy—which helps me calm my anxieties, stay balanced and recharge. These creative outlets and commitments to self, family and community keep my life priorities and long-term goals in check and help me be my best self at home and at work.
This article was originally published on The Muse on February 24, 2020 as part of the Employer Spotlight Series which features helpful advice, insights and best practices from companies on employer branding.
More stories you might like
As a global investment manager and fiduciary to our clients, our purpose at BlackRock is to help everyone experience financial well-being. Since 1999, we've been a leading provider of financial technology, and our clients turn to us for the solutions they need when planning for their most important goals.
