BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON / SPRING 2024 / UNSTOPPABLE TOGETHER MAGAZINE 15 SOCIAL CHANNELS AND “SIMPLE” CHANGES When a candidate starts researching a potential new position or employer, they typically go to the company website and social media first. Booz Allen has been leveraging all of these channels and more for maximum impact, according to Downs. We’ve been talking about different external benchmarking awards,” he said, citing 100% scores on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index and Disability:IN's Disability Equity Index as just a few of Booz Allen’s many recognitions. “We’ve also been creating a video series where employees share testimonials on what’s it like to be a veteran or a woman in tech at Booz Allen.” “Simple but impactful changes” like more inclusive language help broaden the universe of these employees at Booz Allen. Downs illustrated through an example: the phrase “subject matter expert.” “What does that mean?” he asked. “An applicant may not see themselves as that if they haven’t won awards in their field or been specifically called a subject matter expert,” Downs explained. “But when you change the phrase to ‘experienced professional,’ the light bulbs go off.” JuliAnn (Julie) Tuleya, a global candidate engagement and content manager whose team works closely with Downs’, agreed and provided a few more examples. “‘Innovate’ is a buzzword, particularly in our industry, but it turns out, that’s not a very inclusive word. The same is true for ‘lead,’” she said. “‘Create’ and ‘guide’ are examples of more inclusive words, which encourage a broader pool of candidates to apply for positions. Booz Allen has expanded adoption of TalVista since the 2022 Unstoppable Together Magazine article, Downs said, with account teams, teams in communications, and executive talent acquisition using it and with leaders at the firm putting it to work to review their newsletters and other leadership communications. Downs pointed out another meaningful metric that indicates progress. When application and employment forms ask voluntary questions about gender, race, and other categories, we're seeing an increase in applicants choosing to self-identify instead of opting to not self-identify (i.e., selecting "ethnicity not disclosed"). “This means that people have become more comfortable with the process and answering these questions,” he explained. SEEING YOURSELF AT EVERY STEP For the past four years, Tuleya’s team has developed video content that showcases the firm’s diversity. “It all started with a video called ‘Be the Future’, which covers what Booz Allen has to offer and why people should come work with us,” she explained. “It was the highest viewed video on our YouTube channel and the most shared piece of content, so we decided to make more videos to see if we could replicate its success.” The team created a video series that addresses the firm’s critical skills areas, including software engineering, data science, and systems engineering. “We started these videos during the pandemic, so our employees were at home, working virtually,” Tuleya said. “That empowered our people to show up authentically, comfortable in their home environment.” “It showed a diversity across the workforce that probably wouldn't have been as authentically portrayed had we created the videos in a more traditional studio setting.” Diversity recruiting includes “being consciously inclusive in how we’re showing up” in person as well, Downs said. “At job fairs and in interviews, candidates want to engage with someone who looks like them.” His recruiting team attends nine national diversity conferences each year, aligned to Booz Allen’s Employee Community (EC) populations: African & African Diaspora, Latin American, Native American, and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) employees; LGBTQIA+ employees; employees with disabilities or who are neurodivergent; women; and veterans. Representatives from various ECs join him and his team at recruitment events, “working shoulder to shoulder with us.” This means that event attendees meet not only Booz Allen leaders and HR representatives but Booz Allen employees with a shared journey and experience. “They’re able to provide that first-person testimonial, and it makes an impact.” Job fairs are just the beginning of Downs’ work. Other initiatives include making sure interview teams for jobs at the principal level and above include women and people of color, training recruiters on diverse sourcing practices, and more. “We want to make sure we’re doing our best, so people will see a difference with our workforce and their teammates,” Downs said. “ The phrase ‘subject matter expert’—what does that mean? An applicant may not see themselves as that if they haven’t won awards in their field or been specifically called a subject matter expert, but when you change the phrase to ‘experienced professional,’ the light bulbs go off.” Tom Downs Booz Allen Principal, Talent Acquisition Pipeline and Programs