{"id":2801,"date":"2021-01-20T16:00:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T21:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/?p=2801"},"modified":"2023-12-12T16:32:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T21:32:19","slug":"guest-blog-critical-importance-dei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/guest-blog-critical-importance-dei\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blog: The Critical Importance of DEI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><button id=\"listenButton1\" class=\"responsivevoice-button\" type=\"button\" value=\"Play\" title=\"ResponsiveVoice Tap to Start\/Stop Speech\"><span>&#128266; Listen to this article<\/span><\/button>\n        <script>\n            listenButton1.onclick = function(){\n                if(responsiveVoice.isPlaying()){\n                    responsiveVoice.cancel();\n                }else{\n                    responsiveVoice.speak(\"Not Just Implementation\u2026 Certification I have been in the Recruiting industry for over 16 years now, and have been working closely with Human Resource (HR) professionals for more than 22 years.\u00a0 Over that span of time, I have done far more than provide HR-related solutions as an external vendor.\u00a0 I have made a point of getting deeply engaged in the HR realm, including joining the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) over a decade ago, as well as becoming an active member of Raleigh Metro SHRM (RMSHRM), serving on the Board for several years and holding the honor of Chapter President in 2018.\u00a0 HR is not just an end-user buyer of my services \u2013 HR is a true business partner in my daily work life. During my days as VP of Programs for RMSHRM (2015-16), one of our most important meetings of the year was our annual Diversity Meeting each July.\u00a0 Like clockwork, RMSHRM made sure that its July monthly meeting always met the thematic expectation of diverse content, including a speaker and an associated presentation about the importance of diversity in the workplace.\u00a0 It was something RMSHRM knew that it needed to offer to its members and for the discipline of HR.\u00a0 It was not a requirement, but it was a key value-add, and it was something RMSHRM had done before my time at the Programs helm, and something that it continued beyond my term and into 2020. Ultimately, had RMSHRM not provided an annual diversity-focused meeting over the last several years, our Chapter would very likely have motored right along.\u00a0 Members would have continued renewing and monthly meetings would have cycled by, addressing other key HR topics.\u00a0 Not every SHRM Chapter in the United States provided diverse content at the time RMSHRM first implemented the annual July practice, and many did not have diversity as a regular, rotating part of the continuing education content made available to members.\u00a0 It was what one might call a \u201cnice-to-have,\u201d and something that separated RMSHRM from its peer Chapters as a forward-thinking organization. Well, the days of a Diversity Meeting being a \u201cnice-to-have\u201d are gone.\u00a0 RMSHRM might very well have been ahead of its time by committing to educating its members regularly about issues related to diversity, but the world has changed dramatically through the course of 2020.\u00a0 Providing a \u201cdiversity\u201d topic on the annual meeting slate is not going to get the job done \u2013 either in the world of HR or in business overall.\u00a0 Box-checking is simply no longer enough.\u00a0 HR professionals going to an annual meeting where diversity is discussed for an hour falls far short of where our mindset needs to be.\u00a0 Internal company meetings where leadership talks about the importance of implementing diversity practices \u201cat some point soon\u201d will no longer suffice.\u00a0 As a nation and as a global public, we have shifted very rapidly to a space where diversity is not a \u201cnice-to-have.\u201d\u00a0 Now we\u2019re not just talking about the smaller topic of \u201cdiversity,\u201d we\u2019re opening the conversation up to the much more important and sizable issue of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI), and DEI is neither nice nor cute nor something we\u2019ll get to soon.\u00a0 It is an immediate, critical business imperative. From my perspective as an external, third-party recruiter, DEI has absolutely exploded onto the HR scene.\u00a0 DEI transitioned from being something I encountered very occasionally in my work to something I address daily with both candidates and HR contacts.\u00a0 The velocity of this change has been incredible.\u00a0 When I\u2019ve reached out to people regarding career opportunities in the past, sharing a job description and details about compensation might have been enough to set the hook for a recruiting-related conversation.\u00a0 Now, I\u2019m having potentially-interested parties respond to me regarding the DEI policies of my clients.\u00a0 Many will state that they are not interested in moving forward with our communication prior to knowing more about where a company stands on the subject of DEI.\u00a0 Has my client implemented DEI practices?\u00a0 If not, when will they be doing so?\u00a0 And to what extent? When it comes to the client acquisition side of my business, with three of the more recent projects I have won, the decision-making process was anchored in DEI.\u00a0 As a part of the proposal process, I needed to document how my agency addresses DEI, and I needed to include language related to my commitment to the issue, as well as to provide examples of work with past clients where I had demonstrated DEI practices.\u00a0 Was I seeking a diverse candidate pool?\u00a0 Was I interviewing across the DEI spectrum?\u00a0 Was I submitting a diverse selection of talent for consideration?\u00a0 Now that I\u2019m working with these customers, HR executives and\/or company leadership are tracking my efforts to make sure that I\u2019m following through on DEI requirements.\u00a0 All candidate-related emails are tagged, and content is uploaded into an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software.\u00a0 Resumes and LinkedIn profiles receive the very same treatment.\u00a0 And the percentage of diverse talent produced by my firm is measured against a goal \u2013 and discussed on weekly team sync calls.\u00a0 This is a change of epic proportion, people.\u00a0 Across my career, I have never seen a subject matter of any sort vault this quickly or dramatically to the front of the line with regard to the way business is done.\u00a0 Ever.\u00a0 DEI is truly a \u201cmust-have.\u201d As a result of everything I\u2019ve experienced since mid-2020, I say to you again that implementation of DEI has become a business imperative.\u00a0 Talent clearly is going to make decisions about where it lands career-wise based more and more on how businesses encounter and address DEI.\u00a0 And it\u2019s more than recruiting and encouraging people to enter the front door of a new employer.\u00a0 It\u2019s about attrition and how rising turnover percentages could cripple organizations because they are behind the DEI curve \u2013 and as a result \u2013 are losing disenchanted employees at a rate far beyond the speed at which they can replace them.\u00a0 Companies are going to decide what vendor to work with based on whether or not a firm has DEI at the forefront of its operation.\u00a0 My company being woman-owned is a nice box-check, but the days of that being enough to clear the diversity hurdle in a bid process are rapidly passing.\u00a0 Implementing DEI and making it one of the foundational pillars of how your business operates must be a primary objective. How does all of this connect to the importance of Certification?\u00a0 Great question.\u00a0 Let\u2019s think about some other industries and professions for a moment\u2026\u00a0 If someone wants to become a financial advisor, or a real estate broker, or a general contractor, these individuals must go through a certification process.\u00a0 They must attend classes or trainings or at the minimum work through a defined course of independent study.\u00a0 Then they must take an exam and pass with a certain minimum score.\u00a0 Once this goal is achieved, these people are now certified and approved to call themselves Financial Advisors or Real Estate Brokers or General Contractors.\u00a0 Oftentimes, they receive a license along with this certification, and they can begin work in their chosen industries.\u00a0 Additionally, this newly-certified person will have continuing education responsibilities, and they will have to repeat the classes\/training\/study process on some regular basis in order to maintain certification and to continue operating in their chosen sectors.\u00a0 This certification process assures that these people are up to date on the latest information and practices associated with working at the top of their professions.\u00a0 Additionally, certification brings comfort to those individuals (clients, internal company peers\/stakeholders, etc.) working with these people, as there is documented evidence that they have achieved status as a certified professional, measured against a recognized and accepted standard. This is also the case in the realm of HR.\u00a0 People who practice HR as a career encounter certification requirements as well.\u00a0 In order to be recognized as a certified HR professional, these people must prepare for and pass exams to achieve certain industry recognitions, and they must maintain the continuing education process over time in order to remain certified.\u00a0 Many companies make hiring decisions for HR professional roles based on whether or not applicants have certification.\u00a0 The achievement of that status \u2013 and the letters that follow someone\u2019s name\/title as a result \u2013 exhibits that the person you are working with is making every effort to be amongst the most educated and strategically-prepared individuals in their professional arena. The realm of DEI is no different.\u00a0 As we accelerate forward in a world where this topic is now a concrete business imperative, DEI certification is a real and necessary requirement.\u00a0 If companies are going to identify an internal employee (most often an HR professional) as the subject-matter expert on DEI inside the organization, and if they are going to give them the associated title, that person should absolutely go through the process of earning a certification.\u00a0 That\u2019s the best way to make certain that this anointed individual is appropriately trained and will also be perceived internally as credible (without credibility, it will be quite hard to affect and drive change).\u00a0 Similarly, if a business is going to engage an external DEI consultant to assist them with implementation of DEI processes and procedures, it must be assured that the person selected for the project has the recognized and accredited expertise to do the job well and deliver on expectations. As of late, I\u2019ve been making a point of reaching out to HR friends and connections of mine who are now heading up DEI for their organizations.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been chatting with them about how they found themselves in their roles, and I\u2019ve been asking them how well-equipped they feel to deliver on what their organizations need from a DEI perspective, both presently and prospectively.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also been talking to HR professionals who have unfortunately found themselves in the unemployment pool due to COVID, and a good number of them have brought up the idea of starting their own independent DEI consulting practices.\u00a0 They have the interest and the desire to work in the space and to help companies and individuals evolve forward in the DEI sphere.\u00a0 The internal HR leaders I talked to feel exactly the same way.\u00a0 But none of them believe that they are 100% ready to deliver on the promises they want to make, and all of them have opined that they want and need a place and resource where DEI knowledge can be collected, distilled, and delivered in a professional and repeatable way.\u00a0 They\u2019re talking about certification, even though they haven\u2019t been calling it that yet.\u00a0 But they know they need it, and they are absolutely right. Implementation of DEI is critically important.\u00a0 It is the number one business imperative in 2021, in my opinion.\u00a0 And certification is available at our fingertips\u2026 thanks to The Diversity Movement. Learn more at https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/certified-diversity-executive\/. Will Barfield\u00a0is the\u00a0President & CEO\u00a0of\u00a0Barfield Revenue Consulting,\u00a0a sales- and marketing-focused recruiting and consulting firm that specializes in the software (SaaS), technology, digital agency, and staffing industry verticals. Barfield, a TDM partner, teaches best practices for recruiting, hiring, executive coaching, and successful selling.\", \"US English Male\");\n                }\n            };\n        <\/script>\n     <\/br><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not Just Implementation\u2026 Certification<\/span><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have been in the Recruiting industry for over 16 years now, and have been working closely with Human Resource (HR) professionals for more than 22 years.\u00a0 Over that span of time, I have done far more than provide HR-related solutions as an external vendor.\u00a0 I have made a point of getting deeply engaged in the HR realm, including joining the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) over a decade ago, as well as becoming an active member of Raleigh Metro SHRM (RMSHRM), serving on the Board for several years and holding the honor of Chapter President in 2018.\u00a0 HR is not just an end-user buyer of my services \u2013 HR is a true business partner in my daily work life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/library\/%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8878 size-large lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/NEW-TDM-Library-Display-Ad_Large-C-1024x341.png\" alt=\"TDM Library: your one-stop-shop for update, expert DEI Resources. Explore the platform with a free trial. Click here to learn more.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"341\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/NEW-TDM-Library-Display-Ad_Large-C-1024x341.png 1024w, https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/NEW-TDM-Library-Display-Ad_Large-C-600x200.png 600w, https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/NEW-TDM-Library-Display-Ad_Large-C-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/NEW-TDM-Library-Display-Ad_Large-C-768x256.png 768w, https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/NEW-TDM-Library-Display-Ad_Large-C.png 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/341;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During my days as VP of Programs for RMSHRM (2015-16), one of our most important meetings of the year was our annual Diversity Meeting each July.\u00a0 Like clockwork, RMSHRM made sure that its July monthly meeting always met the thematic expectation of diverse content, including a speaker and an associated presentation about the importance of diversity in the workplace.\u00a0 It was something RMSHRM knew that it needed to offer to its members and for the discipline of HR.\u00a0 It was not a requirement, but it was a key value-add, and it was something RMSHRM had done before my time at the Programs helm, and something that it continued beyond my term and into 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimately, had RMSHRM not provided an annual diversity-focused meeting over the last several years, our Chapter would very likely have motored right along.\u00a0 Members would have continued renewing and monthly meetings would have cycled by, addressing other key HR topics.\u00a0 Not every SHRM Chapter in the United States provided diverse content at the time RMSHRM first implemented the annual July practice, and many did not have diversity as a regular, rotating part of the continuing education content made available to members.\u00a0 It was what one might call a \u201cnice-to-have,\u201d and something that separated RMSHRM from its peer Chapters as a forward-thinking organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, the days of a Diversity Meeting being a \u201cnice-to-have\u201d are gone.\u00a0 RMSHRM might very well have been ahead of its time by committing to educating its members regularly about issues related to diversity, but the world has changed dramatically through the course of 2020.\u00a0 Providing a \u201cdiversity\u201d topic on the annual meeting slate is not going to get the job done \u2013 either in the world of HR or in business overall.\u00a0 Box-checking is simply no longer enough.\u00a0 HR professionals going to an annual meeting where diversity is discussed for an hour falls far short of where our mindset needs to be.\u00a0 Internal company meetings where leadership talks about the importance of implementing diversity practices \u201cat some point soon\u201d will no longer suffice.\u00a0 As a nation and as a global public, we have shifted very rapidly to a space where diversity is not a \u201cnice-to-have.\u201d\u00a0 Now we\u2019re not just talking about the smaller topic of \u201cdiversity,\u201d we\u2019re opening the conversation up to the much more important and sizable issue of Diversity, Equity, &amp; Inclusion (DEI), and DEI is neither nice nor cute nor something we\u2019ll get to soon.\u00a0 It is an immediate, critical business imperative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From my perspective as an external, third-party recruiter, DEI has absolutely exploded onto the HR scene.\u00a0 DEI transitioned from being something I encountered very occasionally in my work to something I address daily with both candidates and HR contacts.\u00a0 The velocity of this change has been incredible.\u00a0 When I\u2019ve reached out to people regarding career opportunities in the past, sharing a job description and details about compensation might have been enough to set the hook for a recruiting-related conversation.\u00a0 Now, I\u2019m having potentially-interested parties respond to me regarding the DEI policies of my clients.\u00a0 Many will state that they are not interested in moving forward with our communication prior to knowing more about where a company stands on the subject of DEI.\u00a0 Has my client implemented DEI practices?\u00a0 If not, when will they be doing so?\u00a0 And to what extent?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to the client acquisition side of my business, with three of the more recent projects I have won, the decision-making process was anchored in DEI.\u00a0 As a part of the proposal process, I needed to document how my agency addresses DEI, and I needed to include language related to my commitment to the issue, as well as to provide examples of work with past clients where I had demonstrated DEI practices.\u00a0 Was I seeking a diverse candidate pool?\u00a0 Was I interviewing across the DEI spectrum?\u00a0 Was I submitting a diverse selection of talent for consideration?\u00a0 Now that I\u2019m working with these customers, HR executives and\/or company leadership are tracking my efforts to make sure that I\u2019m following through on DEI requirements.\u00a0 All candidate-related emails are tagged, and content is uploaded into an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software.\u00a0 Resumes and LinkedIn profiles receive the very same treatment.\u00a0 And the percentage of diverse talent produced by my firm is measured against a goal \u2013 and discussed on weekly team sync calls.\u00a0 This is a change of epic proportion, people.\u00a0 Across my career, I have never seen a subject matter of any sort vault this quickly or dramatically to the front of the line with regard to the way business is done.\u00a0 Ever.\u00a0 DEI is truly a \u201cmust-have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result of everything I\u2019ve experienced since mid-2020, I say to you again that implementation of DEI has become a business imperative.\u00a0 Talent clearly is going to make decisions about where it lands career-wise based more and more on how businesses encounter and address DEI.\u00a0 And it\u2019s more than recruiting and encouraging people to enter the front door of a new employer.\u00a0 It\u2019s about attrition and how rising turnover percentages could cripple organizations because they are behind the DEI curve \u2013 and as a result \u2013 are losing disenchanted employees at a rate far beyond the speed at which they can replace them.\u00a0 Companies are going to decide what vendor to work with based on whether or not a firm has DEI at the forefront of its operation.\u00a0 My company being woman-owned is a nice box-check, but the days of that being enough to clear the diversity hurdle in a bid process are rapidly passing.\u00a0 Implementing DEI and making it one of the foundational pillars of how your business operates must be a primary objective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does all of this connect to the importance of Certification?\u00a0 Great question.\u00a0 Let\u2019s think about some other industries and professions for a moment\u2026\u00a0 If someone wants to become a financial advisor, or a real estate broker, or a general contractor, these individuals must go through a certification process.\u00a0 They must attend classes or trainings or at the minimum work through a defined course of independent study.\u00a0 Then they must take an exam and pass with a certain minimum score.\u00a0 Once this goal is achieved, these people are now certified and approved to call themselves Financial Advisors or Real Estate Brokers or General Contractors.\u00a0 Oftentimes, they receive a license along with this certification, and they can begin work in their chosen industries.\u00a0 Additionally, this newly-certified person will have continuing education responsibilities, and they will have to repeat the classes\/training\/study process on some regular basis in order to maintain certification and to continue operating in their chosen sectors.\u00a0 This certification process assures that these people are up to date on the latest information and practices associated with working at the top of their professions.\u00a0 Additionally, certification brings comfort to those individuals (clients, internal company peers\/stakeholders, etc.) working with these people, as there is documented evidence that they have achieved status as a certified professional, measured against a recognized and accepted standard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is also the case in the realm of HR.\u00a0 People who practice HR as a career encounter certification requirements as well.\u00a0 In order to be recognized as a certified HR professional, these people must prepare for and pass exams to achieve certain industry recognitions, and they must maintain the continuing education process over time in order to remain certified.\u00a0 Many companies make hiring decisions for HR professional roles based on whether or not applicants have certification.\u00a0 The achievement of that status \u2013 and the letters that follow someone\u2019s name\/title as a result \u2013 exhibits that the person you are working with is making every effort to be amongst the most educated and strategically-prepared individuals in their professional arena.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The realm of DEI is no different.\u00a0 As we accelerate forward in a world where this topic is now a concrete business imperative, DEI certification is a real and necessary requirement.\u00a0 If companies are going to identify an internal employee (most often an HR professional) as the subject-matter expert on DEI inside the organization, and if they are going to give them the associated title, that person should absolutely go through the process of earning a certification.\u00a0 That\u2019s the best way to make certain that this anointed individual is appropriately trained and will also be perceived internally as credible (without credibility, it will be quite hard to affect and drive change).\u00a0 Similarly, if a business is going to engage an external DEI consultant to assist them with implementation of DEI processes and procedures, it must be assured that the person selected for the project has the recognized and accredited expertise to do the job well and deliver on expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of late, I\u2019ve been making a point of reaching out to HR friends and connections of mine who are now heading up DEI for their organizations.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been chatting with them about how they found themselves in their roles, and I\u2019ve been asking them how well-equipped they feel to deliver on what their organizations need from a DEI perspective, both presently and prospectively.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also been talking to HR professionals who have unfortunately found themselves in the unemployment pool due to COVID, and a good number of them have brought up the idea of starting their own independent DEI consulting practices.\u00a0 They have the interest and the desire to work in the space and to help companies and individuals evolve forward in the DEI sphere.\u00a0 The internal HR leaders I talked to feel exactly the same way.\u00a0 But none of them believe that they are 100% ready to deliver on the promises they want to make, and all of them have opined that they want and need a place and resource where DEI knowledge can be collected, distilled, and delivered in a professional and repeatable way.\u00a0 They\u2019re talking about certification, even though they haven\u2019t been calling it that yet.\u00a0 But they know they need it, and they are absolutely right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Implementation of DEI is critically important.\u00a0 It is the number one business imperative in 2021, in my opinion.\u00a0 And certification is available at our fingertips\u2026 thanks to The Diversity Movement. Learn more at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/certified-diversity-executive\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/certified-diversity-executive\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/library\/%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-8045 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/TDM-Library-Footer-Ad-C-1024x85.png\" alt=\"Display ad for TDM Library. Text says &quot;Find more content like this in TDM Library. Start my free trial&quot;\" width=\"1024\" height=\"85\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/TDM-Library-Footer-Ad-C-1024x85.png 1024w, https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/TDM-Library-Footer-Ad-C-600x50.png 600w, https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/TDM-Library-Footer-Ad-C-300x25.png 300w, https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/TDM-Library-Footer-Ad-C-768x64.png 768w, https:\/\/thediversitymovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/TDM-Library-Footer-Ad-C.png 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/85;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/willbarfield\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Will Barfield<\/a>\u00a0is the\u00a0<i>President &amp; CEO<\/i>\u00a0of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/barfieldrevenue.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Barfield Revenue Consulting<\/a>,\u00a0<i>a sales- and marketing-focused recruiting and consulting firm that specializes in the software (SaaS), technology, digital agency, and staffing industry verticals. Barfield, a TDM partner, teaches best practices for recruiting, hiring, executive coaching, and successful selling.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not Just Implementation\u2026 Certification I have been in the Recruiting industry for over 16 years now, and have been working closely with Human Resource (HR) professionals for more than 2215<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,58,5],"tags":[87],"tdm_type":[92],"class_list":["post-2801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-navigating-dei-resistance","category-trends-industry-insights","category-blogs","tag-business-case-for-diversity","tdm_type-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - 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