During this episode, we sat down with Guadalupe Garcia, Head of Inclusion and Talent for ADP's international business, and James McPhail, Business Excellence Manager and the President of ADP's UK Pride Business Resource Group Chapter. Hear their personal experiences about bringing your whole self to work and the significance of global diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at ADP.
Kate: [00:00:07] Ingrid, here we are. Life at ADP, the podcast, still here in season three. And I have to tell you; this season has just been so great, being able to sit down with, you know, associates who we've had the pleasure to meet in person or virtually. And today is absolutely no different. We have two of our associates. Uh, one joining us from Barcelona, Spain, and the other from Staines, UK. Would you like to introduce our guest today?
Ingrid: [00:00:38] You know, every time I get to sit down with you and with more of our associates, I get super excited. And it is definitely one of my favorite things to do. And yeah, let's, let's bring them here and have them introduce themselves. So let's start with Guadalupe.
Guada: [00:00:56] Thanks, Ingrid. Hi, Kate. I am Guadalupe, but I go by Guada, so that will make our lives easier today in the podcast, and hopefully, it's shorter. I am the Head of Inclusion and Talent for the international business in ADP, meaning, you know, mainly EMEA and LATAM regions. And I'm super excited to be here today with you.
James: [00:01:20] Hello everyone. So yeah, my name is James. I look after business process improvement, so effectively, I look for opportunities to help make our clients, and our associates' lives easier by enabling them to effectively do more, but by doing less, if that makes sense. And I'm just as excited as everyone else to be here today. It's a real privilege. So really looking forward to kind of talking about this topic.
Kate: [00:01:44] Great. It is so excellent having you both joining us today. And as we've mentioned before, I'm in Georgia, Ingrid's in California. So we are really spanning the globe during this call, which really speaks to ADP being a global company. Um, so we wanted to have you both sit down with, with Ingrid and I to talk about global diversity, equity and inclusion, and belonging at ADP. Um, you know, one of the things that we've, we've talked about on the side prior to this podcast that really kind of infused this discussion is the whole concept of bringing your whole self to work. What does that actually mean from both of your perspectives and Guada, if you don't mind, we started with you in the intro. James, can we start with you and then we'll pass it over to Guada?
James: [00:02:40] Yeah, absolutely. I think when you have been in situations where you know you haven't brought your whole self to work, I think when you get opportunities like this, it makes you reflect on, well, how am I bringing myself to work? How am I bringing my whole self and am I actually bringing my whole self? And one of the things that I realized being quite reflective just before doing this podcast was I actually think I do bring my whole self to work. And I think through being able to feel comfortable to do that, it's actually given me a wider berth of opportunities and a and a wider network of people across the whole of the ADP kind of family, the ADP globe, to have opportunities where I can be passionate about things that I want to talk about, whether it's things around Pride, which I'm a member of. I'm a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, but that doesn't define who I am. So for me, when I think about how do I bring my whole self to work, it's because I know that I, I come to work, and I'm recognized for the value that I bring to my role and to ADP. I wholeheartedly feel part of the conversation. I again feel like I've got a platform to talk about the stuff that I'm passionate about. But I think most importantly, when I come to work, I feel 100% James and I'm not embarrassed about that or ashamed about that, and I'm not scared about that as well. So I know that I feel that I have a seat at the table effectively.
Guada: [00:04:16] Thanks, James, for that, because I totally relate to what you're saying. And I would I would, you know, mention two things. One was personal and one that I just experienced actually this morning of what bringing your whole self means to work. In my case, I'm from Argentina. I came 11 years ago. I was looking for, you know, an international experience in Barcelona. And I found it in a company that, you know, in one office, just in one office had more than 30 nationalities. And I felt that that was that that was important back then. And and it's so important today as well. But also, as you know, as I progress through my career in ADP, I also felt like different stages of my life where I was so happy to be in a company where know I didn't need to hide anything or, you know, kind of not just hide, but maybe, you know, even second thoughts of whether I wanted to share a situation or not. For example, when I when I became pregnant for the first time, and I wanted to continue pursuing another step in my career and being 39 weeks pregnant, I actually applied to a job. And, you know, just having that opportunity of, you know, being able to be open about what I want and not feeling restricted at any at any sort of dimension of my personality really made me a more engaged associate and a more engaged leader and also helping the team that I need and other people that I that I mentor to feel the same.
Guada: [00:06:01] So I think, you know, it's that my personal experience is really that journey of really don't even have to second guess what you need to say, how you need, how you need to act. And and also from a leader perspective, this morning I was just sitting in an event that was organized by the Pride Business Resource Group, and I was just so thrilled to see our associates and leaders talk so openly in the middle of the day, write about their experience as parents of someone trans, as a parent, of someone gay, and just, you know, having in the audience a lot of allies and people that really want to lean in and they're really willing to do everything that they can to make everyone feel that they can bring their whole self, not just you, Right. But how you connect with others. So I just, you know, for me, bringing your whole self to work is actually what actually makes me go back at night and feel not just engaged to come back the next day to work, but also kind of inspiring and actually willing to continue working with this environment.
Kate: [00:07:16] Guada and James, thank you for sharing that, and one of our teammates actually, Guada, has a very similar story to yours. She had applied for her role on our team when she was pretty far along in her pregnancy, but no one had known. And she was worried about, you know, will this affect my chance for, you know, growth within my role, and how will the perception of me be and all of this. And, you know, many years later, she's doing just fine. So I think that that's probably a very common story that we don't often hear about. Um, so thank you for sharing. And James, I'd love to give you the opportunity, you know, do you have any sort of experiences where you weren't able to bring your whole self to work? And if so, do you mind? Are you comfortable to share that with with the group?
James: [00:08:10] Yeah, absolutely. And I think I think one of the key ones in my in my life and my journey with work that really sticks out was I remember working for a company where I, um, had been in a relationship for a long time, for eight years. And we got to a point in this relationship where we decided that we just wanted different things out of life. To this day, we're the best of friends still. But it was a really kind of traumatic event that happened in our lives. And I remember having to go to work the next day and I'd worked for this company for a good two years, and what I'd realized is that I'd never felt comfortable to come out at work. So I remember going to work the next day feeling absolutely heartbroken. My heart was in bits, and I had to take my manager into the room to just effectively explain why I was just constantly crying and upset. But remember the fear that I had of having to first come out to my manager and I felt like I'd been lying to the whole of of work. And what I'd really started to notice was that I was never fully really engaged with conversations, so I'd shy away from conversations around what I did at the weekend or what I was watching on television or where I was going on holiday.
James: [00:09:24] Just these kind of innocuous, inane type of conversations that everyone was having. Because to me, to have those conversations, I had to expose that I was gay and I was in a relationship. But on retrospect, when I became more comfortable with with with leading a single life, one thing that I really learned from that moment was that I was effectively ashamed of my life. That's what I felt like. I was ashamed of this person who was really important in my life and who was, you know, so instrumental to the decisions and the happiness and the joy that I was experiencing in life. And I kind of vowed at that point to to really, ensure that was never in that situation again, that I had people in my life, whether that was friends or whether it was places that I went to, that kind of gave me the inclination that, you know, I was part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I would be proud of that, and I would use it as a platform to engage in conversations. And I, I just suddenly started to feel myself being, nrealizeot included as such, but wanted to be included and wanted to join in conversations.
James: [00:10:41] And I wanted to be part of the banter at work because I felt I wasn't hiding anything anymore. And I soon became to realize that actually, people weren't going to define me as, you know, James, who is gay, you know, people were just defining me as James, who was a manager and who led this particular team in this service center and who did value to work. Pretty much like I said before, And I think sometimes we can be our own, we can be our own worst enemy because I think we go through life growing up feeling ashamed or feeling, you know, that there's going to be repercussions of exposing of who we are due to, you know, experiences that we've, we've had in the past that sometimes we stop ourselves from really opening up and exposing who we are and actually realizing, like I have at ADP, that I can actually use this to an advantage for so many people and start creating the ripples across the pond of building a community of other people who need support, who may not be as far along in my in their journey as I am, you know, and really kind of use that platform to an advantage rather than feeling like I've got to hide that away.
Kate: [00:11:55] Thank you, first of all, for sharing your story with us and all of our listeners. Um, super inspiring. And you know, we're really glad that you were able to have that moment, although coming from sadness and deep reflection to say, you know, never again will I hide this part of who I am and, you know, part of what you were sharing and part of what you were sharing is the act of masking. And, you know, that's something that creates just, um, a snowball effect of many different consequences, I guess, for, for lack of a better word, you know, when you're masking part of who you are out of self-protection and preservation, you know, that leads to greater burnout, that leads to constant fatigue, brain fog, all of these things, including not allowing access to who you really are at the core. So I'm so happy to hear that both of you, um, have have come to a place where, regardless of what it is that makes you unique, you know, that you're comfortable with who the heck you are. Um, and we're happy to have you. And we're happy to know you for who you are.
Ingrid: [00:13:20] James Thank you so much for for sharing your experience, your perspective, and how you were able to, you know, make something positive out of something, maybe not so positive. And, you know, it's always good to hear those perspectives. So I want to ask Guada, and then we'll go to you, James. But let's talk more about what are those initiatives or those projects that may be outside of the US ADP is doing in order to continue making our culture inclusive and safe for all of our associates?
Guada: [00:13:58] Yes, happy to provide some input. Well, you know, connect's starting with our vision in ADP, we want our associate population to reflect all the global communities where we operate and the clients that we serve. And if you think about that, you mentioned Ingrid and inclusive culture. And just one example to bring this to life, this vision to life is what we've done with our inclusive language guides. You could you know, you could think that you are inclusive because you build a guide. But when you're truly inclusive and you're bringing the global perspective, do we really have one language? Do we really have one culture? Or even if you think of the English-speaking countries, is English the same in every single English-speaking, speaking countries, it's not right. So if you're truly meaning that, then it means, okay, I'm going to have a guide where I start with and then each of the locations actually took that guide and made made that their own right. Like they said, Oh, you know, in this particular location and this particular language, this is what inclusion means. So you can give guidance and you can give, you know, pillars of what everyone needs to follow. And it's it's global in that sense because you do a global project or initiative. But it's local because at the same day, at the same time, you're actually saying, well, in inclusion, the local aspect matters. And and we need you in that office to tell us what is it that you want to include in your inclusive guide, even if it's the same global language like English, because obviously when you have different languages, Spanish, Portuguese, then that's obvious, right? But, you know, you could easily assume or let's just have all the English-speaking countries with the same guide, and that's not the approach we took, right? So that's just one example.
Guada: [00:16:04] But also when you think of the other aspects of the clients that we serve, we are a human capital management company. Our products need to be for all types of human beings, right? And you might have someone with a disability, right? Someone with a hearing impediment or with, a visual impairment, or a neurodiverse condition. Right. And. In order for us to really serve those clients, we also need to include all our people with those dimensions in the design of our products and our processes. So, you know, internally we we do have our Business Resource Groups, but we also have specific teams and roles and responsibilities that are really looking into this product client-facing practices along with what we do around our talent practices as well. So, you know, if you if you digest what that vision means into smaller parts, I would say that we are really constantly just collecting the data using a scientific approach. But at the same time, we're iterating all the time because we know that, you know, making that commitment to an inclusive culture is is an always-evolving business, right? We're not going to have all the answers right from the from the beginning, but we are in the business of making it right for our people and for our clients. So, you know, situations where, you know, Business Resource Groups are getting engaged and the different people and the roles that we have are all leaning in to to make the inclusive culture of ADP is exactly what we're aiming for.
Kate: [00:17:55] So Guada, incredible insight. Thank you so much. And one of the things that you had mentioned is our BRGs known to us inside ADP as Business Resource Groups. And since you're both coming to us from different regions, do you mind leaning in and sharing with us what the BRGs mean in each of your regions and how they support the business? So Guada will start with you and then we'll we'll flip it over to James.
Guada: [00:18:25] Yes, absolutely. At ADP, we we are really tapping on that uniqueness of our associates and the backgrounds and the perspectives that I think that we can all bring. So there are some Business Resource Groups or you can call it employee resource groups in other companies that are, I think, global in nature, like for example, Pride, and iWIN, which is for the women's network, Pride is for the LGBTQ community and allies, Thrive is for disability, and there are some others that are related to a certain race or ethnicity that could be, you know, more prominent in one country or another one depending on the composition of of your associate population, right. So the beauty of the Business Resource Groups infrastructure, I would say, is that we might have a global strategy of what we want to accomplish with having these groups. But at the same time, that local aspect of, okay, what, what, what is it that in this particular country is meaningful to accomplish the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals? And how can the Business Resource Group support that? So there is that level of flexibility. So, you know, in here, as an example, here in Spain, we have iWIN, which I mentioned, it's for women's network and allies. We also have Pride, we have Thrive and we we're actually going to start having Thrive for disability. And we also decided that Green is something that actually connects us in the international space. So there's even, you know, chapters with multiple countries representation. So, you know, it's a very it's a very engaging, um, I would say, audience and also people, you know, leaning to get stretch assignments. But also it really helps with understanding what are the business opportunities that we can help with from that represented group and just making sure that you have your tribe in in the company. We just spend too many hours here together. So why not having and many of us actually have, you know, many Business Resource Groups membership. So I don't know, James, what is your experience? But certainly, that has been a tremendous joy for me.
James: [00:20:58] Uh, absolutely. Like I previously said before, I think the exposure to opportunities as a result of being part of not just leading lead the Pride chapter for the UK, Ireland, and South Africa, and not just from leading that, but from being part of the other Business Resource Groups that we have here in the UK, Ireland, and South Africa. We have Thrive as well. We have iWIN, we have Green, we have military. Um, I'm probably missing some, but we have a real good mixture of Business Resource Groups. And what I love about our leaders of those Business Resource Groups is that we all come together as well to look at where the commonalities are within our Business Resource Groups and look at ways in which we can be inclusive of absolutely everybody. Whether you are identify as part of that BRG or whether you're an ally, or whether you're just curious and want to know more. You know, everyone is welcome, and we work together to build events and to create, um, you know, spaces for people to kind of build these communities together and really share their stories and really share their passions so that people, one, are educated, and they learn, and they become more compassionate. But also as well, just knowing that there are spaces if they ever need them in their life. I'll give you an example. We did an event a couple of months ago in here at ADP, and when we were doing that event, uh, the store that I was, my Pride store, was next to the Thrive store.
James: [00:22:36] And we got talking and previous about a week previous to the event, my brother had just been diagnosed with clinical ADHD. And I just couldn't make the connection with him. I just didn't really understand it. But as I was chatting with someone from Thrive, they were able to tell me their own experience because they too had been diagnosed about six months prior with clinical ADHD. And we had this amazing conversation. And then when I went to see my brother at Christmas, I was just really able to connect with him on the level that he needed me at that point in time to connect with. And what I really understood as well was that even though my brother was going through this, he didn't have that community where he worked. He didn't have that space where he could get people to understand who he was or what he was going through. And I just thought, what a privilege to be able to have associates and friends and ADP family that can support me through that process. So then I can support someone who's very, very close to me. So I love BRG groups. I think they're the best thing ever.
Guada: [00:23:49] And if I may add to what James is saying, I have witnessed such a tremendous executive sponsorship, and it's so inspiring. Like it doesn't really matter if you are an individual contributor, just starting your first, you know, part of of your of your work life or if you are a very seasoned leader, everyone has, you know, situations like this, experiences like this. And the more open you are. I was sitting on a panel and I happened to have a husband with, you know, my husband has ADHD. And and obviously I got his permission to share this. And I was I was being interviewed and I said this and I said, you know, also, you know what the journey has been as a spouse, a spouse and and somebody in the audience then came, you know, after the event and said, oh, my God, I just got diagnosed. I'm going through this. And, you know, it doesn't matter what level of the organization you are. And, you know, sitting right next to me was one of our presidents. And he was so open about his situation. And, you know, what was he was going through as a parent as well. And at the at the end of the day, we are all human beings and we are spending a lot of time together. You know, why wouldn't we be connected with the whole bringing your whole self that we talked about earlier, right? Having that tribe and the forums and the events that the Business Resource Groups organize and understanding also, you know, how can we impact the business with because some of them, some of the members know a potential prospect that, you know, connects with the representation of that Business Resource Group. So it's just, you know, it kind of goes hand in hand with having a business goal and an employee experience and engagement, and it works. Well. It works out right?
James: [00:25:55] I agree. Totally agree.
Kate: [00:25:58] I love that. Thank you for for sharing. Are there any key points that you'd want to mention that you think candidates and our listeners would want to know about?
James: [00:26:06] I think for anyone who's looking for a career in, you know, the space of of human capital management or even if you, you know, you're just looking for a company where you feel that you can start your career or re-energize your career, you know, and you are you're either scared to do that or you feel like you are some sort of imposter and you don't belong because of who you are. You know, just try ADP, ADP, you know, really wants you to bring value. They want you to do the best for you, your team, for the whole of ADP. As long as you're a good person at heart, they don't care how you identify whether it's sexual orientation, gender identification, religion, the color of your skin, your any disabilities. We recognize that, you know, the wonderful colors that we have and this palette and this world, you know, are going to make us stronger and better together. And we recognize that we need diversity, and we want those diverse groups to feel included. So then that we succeed more as a business because we need different minds, we need different stories, we need different journeys to push us along and to help us be as successful as we possibly can.
Guada: [00:27:30] And I would echo what James is saying. And my only add to that is. It doesn't really matter. Like I said before, if you're an individual contributor. All those things are exceptional benefits that you get when I join ADP. I wasn't a leader, and I came for the international experience and I and I stayed. I always say I stay for the inclusion experience. I did not know that I would feel this way. Right. It wasn't what I joined the company for, but it's what the company gave me throughout the years, through the different stages of my life and my career. Now I'm a leader. And as so my my additional points to Jame's comments on on the leader part is. It is maybe a little bit more demanding from you to make sure that you're being open, that you are not just well-intended, because typically when you say something out of place or make someone feel uncomfortable due to a diversity dimension, it's it's typically not because you want it to hurt someone. Right? It really is. It was you know, you were well-intended, but then something didn't go. I can't not tell you enough how great it is to have resources, to have training, to have the tribes we mentioned before, like our BRGs, to support you in that journey because I just don't know what I don't know. Today I'm hopefully learning, and I'm trying to get better at being more inclusive, but it's just mesmerizing to me to just realize how, you know, just sitting on the back of an eveny this morning, I was like, Oh my God, I'm responsible for inclusive, for inclusion.
Guada: [00:29:22] I'm supposed to be someone educated. I am educated on it. And yet I'm learning so much out of these 30 minutes. So, you know, just having those possibilities to learn as a leader and making sure that you're not just tolerating, but you're actually being inclusive and being inclusive is questioning yourself. And at the same time, you know, often times we we just need to make a decision. So you can't just walk around and test your ideas with everyone you can because you have to make a decision with certain time. But having that opportunity to have all those resources to make more inclusive decisions is really so, so helpful as a leader. So, you know, I'm always just completely inspired. But, but what I get to learn as a leader and trying to make sure that the teams that we lead and the people that are looking into us as you know what to expect from a leader, they're really seeing that not just intention, but action. Right? I really hope that everyone feels and sees what an inclusive culture we have in ADP.
James: [00:30:38] Yeah, great.
Kate: [00:30:40] All of the information that you both have shared with Ingrid and I and our listeners has been, you know, to Guada's point, just very insightful and eye-opening. And, you know, we've learned so much in this time. And one of my key takeaways that both of you alluded to is that you can join ADP at any stage in your life, and we never know what the future holds. But what we do know is that we will go through many different seasons of our life and during that period of time, our career, ADP and throughout that time, ADP will also be going through different seasons and we'll be growing together and reaching out with different resources like our Business Resource Groups and like-minded and not like-minded peers, you know, so we can always evolve, whether it's for ourselves or for loved ones, teammates, direct reports, managers and of the like. So this was awesome. Ingrid, what are what are you thinking? I'm sure you're on the other end too, Like just nodding your head.
Ingrid: [00:31:56] Yes. Yeah. Listen, I'm always, you know, super, super passionate about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion subjects. And, you know, this was one of those conversations that is like, Yes, yes. Like, I'm happy to know that we are doing really good things outside of, you know, the US and as a global company that we are. I'm also definitely super inspired with this conversation. And you know, I want to take this time to thank Guada and James for their contributions to the business. It's super impactful and and inspiring, and I am super happy that we had the time to talk and to learn a little bit more about those initiatives around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. So thank you both.
Kate: [00:32:41] All right. So Guada, James, thank you so much for joining us today. Ingrid and I have loved this discussion. You know, have some light bulb moments along the way, and I'm sure our listeners have. So thank you so very much for joining us.
James: [00:32:56] It's an absolute pleasure. It really was.
Guada: [00:32:59] My pleasure Kate and Ingrid And if you don't mind, I might just say same or something similar in my own language in Spanish. Muchisimas Gracias, Kate e Ingrid , estamos muy muy contenta de estar con vosotros aqui. Hasta luego.