BOKA Restaurant Group

Michelle Herndon

Michelle Herndon is the director of Diversity and Inclusion at BOKA Restaurant Group (BRG). She joined BRG in 2011 as Director of Events for Balena and has since navigated the events world as part of the opening team for Dutch & Doc’s and the Hoxton, part of BRG. Before joining BRG, Michelle had an illustrious career and time spent in HR staffing and diversity and inclusion training for Limited Brands. Outside of BRG, Michelle spends time as a professional lifestyle coach. 

Through this article, Michelle shares insights on the challenges in implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and the initiatives taken to resolve the challenges.  

What are the challenges in implementing DEI initiatives in the path of inclusivity?

The restaurant industry confronts the challenge of effectively training and educating its workforce on the principles of DEI initiatives. The success of these initiatives significantly relies on the proactive interest and commitment of individuals to engage in learning. Driven by the principles, the company is responsible for crafting the initial steps of the training process. The extent to which the company assumes the responsibility of educating individuals and fostering employees' comprehension of DEI holds profound importance for the organization. It is incumbent upon individuals to identify and consciously unlearn any unconscious biases they may possess.

Communication is the other challenge any big company faces in the diversity and inclusion space. Managing the dissemination of information to a vast number of individuals proves to be intricate. To address this, we have implemented a newsletter featuring a committee known as community liaisons. These liaisons, appointed from each location, serve as managers responsible for sharing comprehensive information about the company's activities.

Could you talk about some of the new projects taking place in your organizations?

We have a newsletter that talks about the togetherness of the company and ensures that people know about things happening in the different restaurants and the initiatives taken by the employees. 

Using various weekly and daily meetings, our teams discuss initiatives and volunteer programs available to them. We firmly believe that fostering a sense of community within our organization extends beyond our company boundaries. Therefore, we actively collaborate with external communities, providing opportunities for our teams to connect and create meaningful experiences outside the workplace. This approach contributes to cultivating a more positive working environment. The absence of community liaisons and a dedicated newsletter for communicating the company's achievements was previously a significant pain point.

“As an individual, it’s essential to learn. One should continue to develop and continue the journey of wanting to know and educating oneself.”

We just finished our first iteration of hourly training with three restaurants. We trained and educated roughly 300 people in Spanish and English. We created the training modules and incorporated HR incidents from the company as examples. 

Can you talk about any new practices that have caught your attention? 

The turning point for us was identifying the need for leadership training and constant career development for leaders and managers in our company, as well as bringing awareness around micro aggression and unconscious bias. They were trained to effectively address individual needs and be approachable for people to discuss the steps to develop their career paths. 

Great leaders end up creating a great culture. If we have a better culture in the restaurant or the company, it is less likely to have any issues. People will feel like they’re not being othered or not included in things, making work more effective. 

What would be your price of advice for aspiring professionals to navigate the challenges?

As an individual, it's essential to learn. One should continue to develop and continue the journey of wanting to know and educating oneself. I took a DEI course at Cornell, which was insightful. One should get a deeper understanding of microaggression, unconscious bias and anything that has to do with the LGBTQ plus community pronoun usage and transgender information as it broadens the horizon of inclusivity. 

Companies should gather a career development library for managers and create an intranet with endless access to resources that will continue to update employees with all kinds of materials from leadership to DE&I. Any company that invests in its employees is profitable because people will enjoy working when they are psychologically and physically safe.