ThreeSixtyEight’s Response to Hate

Over the last few days, TSE employees have shared their thoughts on the injustices experienced by the Black community via social media and open conversation within our agency. As a brand, we’ve chosen to stay silent until we can join the conversation with action and authenticity. At a time when it feels like words are not enough, we sought intention over attention. Ultimately, we are taking this moment to commit publicly to actions that make our workplace a fair and just place for all.

To be clear, our stance is simple – racism has no place in our world, and we won’t tolerate it. ThreeSixtyEight stands with the Black community.

The lack of respect for human rights violates all of our core values, particularly our “Together” value, thus we must do more than speak out at this moment. We will hold ourselves accountable to not only be an ally of human rights – but to also serve as a platform for enhancing shared understanding of issues around diversity and inclusion. As a result, we aspire to build a future where hate can’t win.

For us, Togetherness means caring for one another, operating with humility and empathy, and listening first. In the past, we’ve worked hard to give our team a voice with the founding of an employee resource group (ERG) focused on building an inclusive workplace via access, advocacy, and action. In addition, our leadership team has committed to upholding a Diversity & Inclusion Pledge drafted by the ERG, and we implemented a new paid holiday – the MLK Day of Service – to dedicate time to give back to our community. We fund an employee assistance program to provide mental health support to all of our employees and their families in their unique challenges.

That’s some of what we’ve done in the past, but it’s not enough. Today’s movement against racism, hate, and violence emphasizes the need for us to relentlessly push forward on our journey. As we listen and learn, we’re committed to taking an active stance to change our future. This is a fight without an end date, and we are committed indefinitely to be a part of progress.

Moving forward, here is how TSE will begin holding itself accountable on joining the fight against hate:

1. We will use proceeds from our events platform Assembly Required in 2021 to fund a local nonprofit that supports positive race relations and education in our community.
2. When searching for vendors of ThreeSixtyEight, we will commit to doing our due diligence in finding a minority-owned business to bid.
3. We will be holding an after-hours session on Race Rights next Monday with our team + their spouses. We will not run away from tough conversations and will continue to have these convos as needed.
4. We will commit to unconscious bias training in the next month. We refuse to let any sort of bias impact how we treat people. We will commit to hosting free webinars for the public on training in diversity and inclusion topics as well.
5. Our leadership will work with our ERG to produce resources that educate the team on racial injustice, listings of local Black businesses as an option to support for team events, and hold leaders accountable for diversity and inclusion efforts in reference to our pledge.
6. As a leadership team, we will heavily encourage our people to vote – use their voices to elect leaders for the common good.
7. Absolutely no toleration of hate speech and we will embrace radical candor swiftly to address any language or actions that marginalize others (whether intentional or not).
8. Content will be created with intention, not for attention. This means we only contribute to a conversation if  1) we can show a clear stance on the matter and 2) can apply our values in action.
9. We will give our team members space to breathe when our team members are impacted by racial injustice.
10. We are committed to providing equitable employment opportunities by recruiting from and hosting outreach events targeted to nontraditional candidates, especially in the Black community. We will train hiring managers to protect against bias and include interview questions to ensure the candidates selected are aligned with our values. Our interview and selection committees will be racially diverse.
11. Although the exact method is undetermined, the ERG will help TSE find a way to honor Freedom Day on June 19th.

There is much work to be done, and we are ready to join the fight. If you have any questions or concerns about the position and policies expressed in this message, or if you have ideas to contribute to our list of actions, please contact our CEO Kenny Nguyen at kenny.n@tsedevelopment.wpengine.com. We’re listening.

Cheers to building a more accepting world.

-ThreeSixtyEight