Diversity
How inclusivity can yield positive results
Nick Tiltman, credit services director at TD Synnex and a board member of the company’s SPECTRUM business resource group for LGBTQ+ co-workers, explains why committing to DE&I is the right thing to do – and makes business sense too.
I
n a recent graduation session for new starters who had come through the three-week Sales Academy course, one of the feedback points made was how
pleased the group was with the company’s approach to diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). What really impressed them was that, rather than just paying lip service to it, TD Synnex UK is actually practicing what it preaches. I could not help smiling when I heard this because,
as a board member of SPECTRUM, our business resource group (BRG) for LGBTQ+ co-workers, I am delighted that the message is getting through, and we are being genuinely inclusive. It shows that it can be done in our industry and that it can yield positive results.
True selves We believe that it’s really important that we every co-worker feels they can come to work and be entirely comfortable in their own skin. Tat they can be their true selves without worrying that it will count against them. Tat they can feel welcome and understood and know that, if they do have concerns, there is someone they can talk to. It’s impossible to understate how much of a difference it makes
to those of us who would, otherwise, feel completely isolated and unable to function properly. Tis certainly wasn’t always the case. I have spent 23 years of
my 40-year career to date at what is now TD Synnex. I leſt in 2009, partly because I was going through a period in which I had recognised my own sexuality and was trying to come to terms with what that meant, personally and professionally.
A whole new world It was a very different environment 14 years ago – right across the industry. I was at that point, credit and customer services director of Computer 2000 which was subsequently bought by Tech Data and later merged with Synnex to create TD Synnex. At that time, holding such a senior position, I felt unable to come out and be my true self.
22 | September/October 2023 Tankfully, over the next few years, things started to
change. I spent eight years in other businesses, coming to terms with my own reality in life and in the workplace. In the previous 18 years that I had spent with TD
Synnex (sic), I had made some good friends. Tey knew that I had now fully come out and reassured me that the attitude and approach in the business was much improved. Six years ago, I came back and found there was
indeed, a very different atmosphere – and it’s continued to improve. Around four years ago, the company launched its first BRG, Elevate, which is dedicated
to the empowerment of women; and in June 2021, I helped to get SPECTRUM launched in the UK.
No looking back We have not looked back since. SPECTRUM is helping us to get much greater awareness and understanding of LGBTQ+ issues within the business and beyond. We have regular drop-in sessions, which anyone can attend, every two months at least. A specific theme is usually chosen for discussion. Subjects to date have included openness in the workplace and supporting LGBTQ+ children. Most recently, we talked about PRIDE month and why it matters. We usually have 60 to 70 co-workers attending. Not everyone will be LGBTQ+ themselves – they may have family members who are part of the community, for example. We are making good progress and our activities have led to TD
Synnex subscribing to Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme. Tis will help us to make the business an even better place for LGBTQ+ people to work. Tis is why it makes good sense to take a positive approach to DE&I. By making TD Synnex an open, welcoming, and inclusive place to work, we are giving ourselves the best possible chance of hiring the best talent, and by doing that we can do a better job for our customers. But that’s not the only reason. We are committed to DE&I because
it is the right thing to do, and it’s aligned with our core values of Integrity and Inclusion. It just so happens that it also makes good business sense.
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