Monumental Sports & Entertainment Cultural Immersion Experiences
The 6th Annual Awards
- Best Employee Engagement
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
Within the framework of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategic plan, we are dedicated to orchestrating employee engagement initiatives centered on cultural immersion, aimed at cultivating a profound comprehension and admiration for the rich tapestry of diverse cultures and heritages.
These meticulously designed Cultural Immersion Experiences serve as invaluable platforms, fostering an environment where individuals can delve into and embrace the nuances of different cultures, thus nurturing empathy and respect.
Moreover, they present a unique occasion to pay homage to and acknowledge the significance of national cultural celebrations and heritage months, serving as catalysts for raising awareness and amplifying the visibility of marginalized communities within our organization and beyond.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
Employee engagement is a top contributor to an employee’s experience and overall satisfaction in the workplace. Increasing employee engagement and being people-first, can help retain employees. Diversity, Equity, and inclusion is also a major priority for today’s workforce. A 2022 EY US Generation Survey found that 76% of millennials would leave an employer who did not offer DEI initiatives.
According to research done by QuestionPro and EQ Community, nearly 40% of employees said they would switch jobs to be part of a more inclusive culture.
By making employee engagement and DEI a business imperative, not only are we cultivating an environment that is safe and equitable for all our employees, but we are making sure that it is a fun and explorative place to work.
Objective
As part of our DEI strategic plan, our objective is to provide employee engagement experiences whereby cultural immersion takes place to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation for varying cultures and heritages. Cultural Immersion Experiences provided an opportunity to honor and recognize national cultural celebrations and heritage months that bring awareness and visibility to marginalized communities.
- To help validate and affirm identities - Participating in cultural/identity-based activities can further reinforce identities and our attitudes towards identities.
- Enhance cross-cultural understanding - When immersing oneself in different cultures it can result in a deeper appreciation and understanding of cultures outside of one’s own. It strengthens cross-cultural communication, expands worldviews, and helps embrace cultural differences.
- Preservation of heritage and culture - Investing in historical community resources such as museums/historical sites can assist in preserving our local and global culture through authentic storytelling and documentation. Visiting museums and historical sites further acknowledges and supports the need for this preservation.
- Identity/experiential sense-making - Exploring historical sites and museums can allow for sense-making – the process by which people give meaning to their collective experiences. Museums and historical sites can contextualize past experiences/events and how we interpret them.
Strategy & Execution
With racial tensions and global tragedies happening around the world, our goal is to utilize historical institutions that have shaped and cultivated not only Washington, DC, but the world. We first wanted to develop new partnerships with various museums and institutions in the area and strengthen previous ones to ensure we were in alignment with our goals and objectives.
After reviewing data from our staff, we found that our employees want to feel safe and affirmed within their identities in the workplace—where they can truly be their authentic selves. It was imperative that we scheduled museum visits that reflected the employee demographics that work at Monumental, but also communities that we could celebrate and learn more about.
Site visits take place during specific heritage months in the listed schedule below and are open to all MSE employees. All tours were either self-guided or guided by docents who provided thorough information as we navigated each site.
We visited the following sites:
- April: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (Leading up to Jewish American Heritage Month)
- July: National Deaf Life Museum (Disability Pride Month)
- September: Mexican Cultural Institute (Hispanic Heritage Month)
- February: National Museum of African American History and Culture (Black History Month)
Organizations
- Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Links
Credits
Kimberly Marcus
VP, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
