• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 10, 2022

Publicis Groupe digital agency Razorfish is working with a company called Reframe to help it build a more inclusive workplace.

Reframe is a consultant that helps companies manage change within their corporate cultures with a focus on DEI.  It utilizes a training program and tech platform with a proprietary algorithm that it says can shift attitudes and behaviors at scale to make corporations more inclusive and “culturally mature.”

Adland has been grappling with DEI issues for decades. The murder of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis two years ago was a defining moment that highlighted continuing racial and social injustices in the U.S. and abroad, and which prompted protests across the globe.

It was a moment that also sparked new and ambitious commitments from the ad industry to improve levels of diversity, equity and inclusion within its workplaces.

Most in the industry agree much remains to be done to improve its DEI picture. Reframe points to a recent WFA global survey that found that one in seven employees would leave their company and the advertising industry due to a lack of diversity and inclusion.

Reframe is helping to improve Razorfish's employee experience by first reviewing qualitative and quantitative data, gathered from talent interviews across identities, career stages, and capabilities. These insights will help leadership uncover institutional DE&I gaps and develop a change management plan. That plan will be implemented, leveraging Reframe’s tech platform to scale and sustain a more culturally inclusive workplace.

Jeffrey L. Bowman, Reframe founder and CEO said that "The old approaches of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) as a way of integrating the marketing and communications industry fall short of the mark. It may address the symptom but not the underlying cultural underpinnings and structural shifts that are essential to affecting meaningful and sustainable change."

Josh Campo, president of Razorfish, added, "This partnership is a continuation of our ongoing DE&I efforts that will enable us to drive meaningful, sustained change for our talent and culture, leveraging the expertise of Reframe's scalable inclusive experience solutions."