This past week, Marketsmith was awarded once again by its employees as one of the Best Places to Work in NJ. There is nothing that makes the leadership here at Marketsmith prouder then to receive this type of feedback from our team members. The physical and mental well-being of our staff is paramount to our success. Our team must have the tools they need to operate in this virtual workplace as well as get management guidance and support throughout their workday. Those are key initiatives for the Marketsmith leadership team, and we take them extremely seriously.
Well before the pandemic was even on the horizon, Marketsmith established two committees for our employees that I sponsor and support, the Employee Action Group (EAC) and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Initiative (DEII). The EAC has been active for over 7 years and is made up of volunteer employees who are the conscience and voice for all Marketsmith employees. Their top priority is full transparency between the company and our employees. Where they deliver and receive employee perspective in newsletters, a month Town Hall that they develop and present and weekly meetings. This allows everyone at Marketsmith to be up to date on human resources initiatives, our state of the business update as well as highlight presentations on new marketing opportunities or client developments. This keeps everyone informed. But the EAC goes beyond that, they organize in-person events and happy-hours as well virtual events like trivia, quest speakers, online games, and health seminars. All geared for the betterment of our Marketsmith family.
Several years ago, we also established a dedicated Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Initiative (DEII) committee that is led by one individual, Ed Clarke. Ed has organized a group of employees who join our bi-weekly meetings to discuss regional, national, and global issues that may affect our staff and their families. The team works in an open environment where nothing is said personal to another individual, but your voice and opinion is heard. Team members weigh in with support based on the topic and in many cases add to the initial conversation to bring additional perspective. One recent meeting brought a very emotional and spirited conversation around the reversal of Roe v Wade. I left that meeting inspired by the way everyone spoke their minds, let off some steam on how they felt and also was comfortable about discussing a very controversial topic. The meeting was exactly why we established the DEII years ago, so our employees can share their voice and opinion, not be alone, especially as we work virtually, and know they have a company that stands by them and supports them.
Today we are going through so many different external headwinds like the pandemic, recession, supply-chain issue, and global unrest. This puts enormous amounts of anxiety on individuals that is added to the day-to-day stress we all have to manage. The leadership at Marketsmith will continue to have committees like the EAC and DEII so we can support our team members and give them the backing they so desperately need.
