We celebrate and encourage authenticity at nVent. We strive to create and sustain an inclusive and diverse work environment that drives innovation, connection and growth for our employees and everyone we work with.
Inclusion and diversity are issues of importance not just to nVent, but to the electrical industry at large. This year, three nVent distribution partners—Rexel, Van Meter and CX Connexion—kicked off the formation of a new organization: iBelongHere. iBelongHere exists to create, foster and lead a diverse, equal and inclusive community by sharing best practices and resources and developing thought leadership for I&D across peer companies in the electrical industry. nVent VP of Inclusion and Diversity Laura Brock is the chair of the Advisory Board for iBelongHere and nVent is a sponsoring member.
“To see leaders in our industry come together for a common cause – to share great ideas and excitement about how to be more inclusive in all we do, is a significant indicator that there is appetite to change the status quo.” said Brock. “I look forward to continuing to build the partnership between nVent and iBelongHere as we continue to foster an environment where everyone’s voice is represented, heard and respected.”
CEO of Rexel USA Jeff Baker recently joined the “DistributED With tED Magazine” podcast to discuss the new iBelongHere initiative.
“It really began with [myself and the CEOs of Van Meter and CX Connexion] sharing ideas—what could we do within our businesses to make a difference? It didn’t take long for us to say, ‘we’re on this journey, how do we invite the rest of our industry in?’” said Baker.
“No matter how well we think we are doing, we commit ourselves to doing better,” Baker continued. “We extended an invitation to the industry to begin to join us, and it’s just been extraordinary the response that we’ve had.”
IBelongHere officially kicked off on November 16 with an event featuring Dr. Steve Robbins, whose academic background in communication science, social psychology and cognitive neuroscience help him approach issues of inclusion and diversity from the lens of science and human behavior.
More than 275 people attended the kickoff event, listening to Dr. Robbins as he discussed the importance of an inclusive environment in creating a high-performing organization and the human brain’s predispositions to gravitate towards people who are a part of the same groups. Dr. Robbins stressed the importance of open-mindedness and mindful engagement in creating inclusive work environments, emphasizing that an environment of inclusion is critical over simply bringing in a more diverse workforce.
The next steps for iBelongHere include continuing to share resources and working together to expand I&D programs, recruiting additional members for the organization and developing a strategic plan to guide the work going forward.