April 14, 2022
Crystal Frey’s Article Discusses CRC’s Journey Is Just Beginning
Our Journey Is Just Beginning by Crystal Frey, Senior Vice President of Human Resources & Shared Services
Diversity, Inclusion, Equity
In 2021, I wrote an article highlighting the efforts of our organization and our D & I Committee titled Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity. Our areas of focus included recruitment, hiring and development as well as D & I managerial training. As a follow-up to that edition of Digital Connections, I wanted to update you on the D & I Committee’s continued work.
We are thrilled that we have successfully established meaningful relationships with numerous Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in our various markets throughout the year. We have made significant strides in expanding our pool of qualified candidates while promoting our D & I goals.
In fact, we are proud to announce that Continental Realty Corporation is now a founding sponsor and board member of the brand-new real estate program at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina.
This is the first real estate program at any of the 101 HBCUs in the United States. The program is designed to correct historic underrepresentation of Black professionals in the real estate investment industry. The curriculum will include real estate courses in asset management, prop tech, and property fundamentals. We are looking forward to being an active member of the board and potentially assisting in content development and/or delivery. This will also open up new opportunities to work with the university on internships and recruitment as a whole. We feel like this is such an ideal initiative for Continental to improve equity in our industry, as it dovetails well with our focus since the inception of Continental Realty University (CRU) in 2013 on education, training, and workforce development.
In order to begin managerial training, the D & I Committee selected and worked closely with our consultant, Career Image Solutions (CIS), to develop in-depth and interactive leadership training. The first module included an understanding of historical events and laws that have impacted and shaped diversity, inclusion, and equity in the United States with a particular focus on the housing industry. We then explored how stereotypes and unconscious biases can impact the workplace. Finally, those of us who attended the leadership training were equipped with real-world strategies for having courageous conversations. During the second and third quarters of 2021, the professional DEI consulting team at CIS successfully delivered interactive D & I workshops to approximately 90 team members at Continental Realty Corporation, including leaders and managers from the multifamily and corporate divisions as well as executive team members. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with the program receiving a survey rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars and many positive comments. The team at CIS will continue its work with our D & I Committee to provide relevant, interactive trainings relating to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Our next initiative includes revising our on-boarding and orientation materials to include D & I training.
“Thanks for including me in theD&I Training. I thought it was a super eye-opening, important, and well-organized experience from start to finish. A very worth while session.”–Blake Dickinson, Director of Commercial Leasing
“The sessions were extremely interactive. I think the (CIS) team did a good job condensing so much information into several sessions. The time just flew by.”
-Alex Barrett, Senior Property Manager, Commercial Division
As we look forward to 2022, our committee expects to deliver numerous, tangible programs and results through engagement, and D & I survey assessments to help us establish a baseline for organizational culture. We will also continue to evaluate and revise our hiring and training practices and procedures. Our committee is energized and ready to tackle the next set of initiatives for 2022! However, as many of our D & I committee members are learning, workplace diversity, inclusion and equity is a journey. As our CEO, J.M. Schapiro, alluded to in his presentation at our recent virtual holiday event on December 10, 2021, our journey is just beginning.
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