I recently finished the beta session of No Stairway Denied: Creating Inclusive Workplaces in Music Retail for Managers, a 5-week course for managers in music retail.
A major concern, which comes up in almost every interaction I have with companies in hiring discussions: tokenism.
The good news is that these companies mean well, they are aware of tokenism, and they want to avoid it. But, especially when you have a homogenous staff of mostly cis white men, many folks are so nervous about it, that it can become somewhat paralyzing and they don’t know what to do.
So, what can you do when hiring “the first” or first few folks of new identity for your company (much of this would also be applicable for booking shows or festivals, adding new folks to your artist roster, and more)?
Here are 10 steps to take:
1. Train Your Current Staff
Training your current staff can help them understand the dynamics of racism, sexism, or other experiences of oppression so that when the person comes onboard, they will hopefully be more sensitive and empathetic. If staff believe that diversifying your hiring is important, the new employee is less likely to be tokenized.
2. Hire for More Than Identity
Yes, you’ve heard me say time and time again how important it is to diversify your hiring. And someone’s experience and perspective as a member of an oppressed group is valuable and can’t be trained. But that doesn’t mean that you hire some random person *just because* they are a person of color or a woman. The person who is hired needs to have the skills or personality traits to do the job or be able to be trained into the job.
3. Be Clear With Them Why They Are Being Hired
Letting an employee know that they have something important that they are providing to the company, above and beyond their identity can help them feel like they are truly valued and not being used for who they are.
4. Be Clear With Other Employees Why They Are Being Hired
This is perhaps, the most important point. Other employees need to know that this person was being hired for their skills or abilities beyond their identity. If you do this, they will be less likely to treat the employee with jealousy, distrust, or hostility.
5. Be Intentional in Onboarding
If you do a good job creating trust and community between employees and making the employee feel welcomed and like they belong, you are less likely to have issues with the employee feeling tokenized or other employees treating them as such.
6. Train and Support Your New Employee
Providing proper training will help get the new employee up and running and able to fulfill the role quickly, leading fewer people to treat them as though they are a “token” and they’ll feel more confident in their own abilities, as well. Setting up regular check-ins with them will help you understand where they’re at and what they need to succeed.
7. Address Any Negative Comments Immediately
If you overhear negative comments from staff, customers, or elsewhere indicating this person was hired for their identity, or such comments are reported to you, make a point to stop them immediately, reaffirming why this person was hired. This includes any scenarios where those with marginalized identities are pitted against each other.
8. Don’t Make Them Represent
This should be obvious, but don’t make the person speak for everyone of their identity (asking specific questions like, “How do trans people feel about that?”, looking at them when their identity comes up, etc.). If they want to provide their personal experience or opinion about something they can and that is valuable— and they very likely have helpful insights. But don’t assume that everyone of their identity feels the same way.
9. Have High Expectations
Understanding the challenges that someone who is “the first” is important, including any external challenges they may experience due to their identity(ies). But it is also potentially offensive and demeaning not to hold them to the same standards that you would hold other employees, and that can lead to feelings of frustration from other employees, as well.
10. Be Intentional in Offboarding
If this person is leaving the company, have an exit interview to find out why. Ask them specifically what their experience was like— with coworkers, with management, and with customers. If they had negative experiences, were any of those tied to their identity? What could the company have done better? All of this is extremely important to know so that they don’t get repeated again in the future and the next “only one” has a better experience and “only one” becomes more!
Overall, trust-building, honestly, and clear communication can go a long way in improving the experience of any new employee, but for employees with identities outside of those of their coworkers, it is means even more. They will know they are a valued part of the team and that will create a better experience for everyone involved.