Ricoh's Initiatives Key members of Global DEI Council bring their own backgrounds to bear

Darren Menabney knows what it feels like to be a stranger in a foreign land, to stand out for appearing, acting and thinking differently. Growing up in Toronto but originally from Northern Ireland, he earned an MBA in Tokyo before joining Ricoh Co., Ltd. 11 years ago. Now, Menabney’s experiences bring added depth and breadth to his role as lead of global employee engagement.

And it is a position that he is passionate about.

"Toronto is probably one of the most diverse cities in the world and over 50% of the population was born outside Canada," he said in an interview at Ricoh’s Ohta Ward headquarters. "Growing up there it was just normal that all my friends, my relatives through marriage, my co-workers all came from everywhere around the world. That just seemed normal to me."

"So when I came to Japan, where it is a little less heterogeneous, it made me feel that I wanted to share the benefits I have seen and experienced from living in a multicultural society and the benefits of diversity," he said.

Within Ricoh, the task of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion falls primarily to the Global DEI Council, which was formally set up in March 2023 after four months of planning and is made up of 12 members, including Global CEO Akira Oyama, Global Chief Human Resources Officer Ryoko Nagahisa, and Lorna Hernandez, Vice President of Human Resources for Ricoh Latin America, complemented by regional council members and other individuals as required to work on individual projects.

Menabney also serves on the Council and points out that while DEI has long been a core tenet of Ricoh as a company, it was decided that a global panel was required to most effectively meet the needs of 80,000 employees around the world.

"The main thing the council does is to set overall priorities and strategy around DEI, our core orientation globally as well as regional priorities," Menabney said. One of the Council’s first decisions, he points out, was to change the name from the previous Global Diversity and Inclusion Council to incorporate Equity into the new title.

In tandem with that, the council purposely brings together people from all levels of Ricoh, from the CEO down, but also brings in employees from areas of the organization that are not human resources-focused, such as marketing or sales, to ensure it is functionally diverse.

The third priority is to create global working groups that are tasked with operating independently but reporting back to the council on the progress that has been achieved. Most recently, one working group wrapped up a year-long project on promoting equity and another is just getting under way in preparation for International Women’s Day in March next year.

"We’re seeing a lot of enthusiasm for these working groups and when we get feedback from the people who have been taking part in them, the most common positive comment that we get is that people feel listened to, they feel included, and that is so important," Menabney said.

And that has positive knock-on consequences, believes Michael Jones, Vice President for Human Resources in the US, who is based in Atlanta and has worked for the company for 27 years.

"When employees feel organizations are supportive and caring, then they are more inclined to deliver results that are above and beyond and they are more likely to expend greater discretionary effort in what they are willing to do on the company’s behalf," he said. "This shows up most prominently through internal and external customer service and engagement interactions."

Ricoh’s commitment to inclusion has given Jones — also a member of the Global DEI Council — a sense of pride as well as confidence.

"Our team members, who reflect a rich diversity in many ways, are energized and empowered to share innovation and provide constructive feedback on areas of opportunity," he said. "The benefit to the company is a strong culture of excellence, enhanced morale, and of course, a great place to thrive. This is most evident when I receive unsolicited compliments about the actions, achievements, and outcomes that Ricoh and its team members have garnered in realizing our founding principles — Love for our neighbors, country, and work. Not surprising employees frequently express a strong sense of pride in Ricoh’s DEI initiatives."

A sense of pride in Ricoh’s DEI initiatives is frequently cited by employees.

"I feel proud to work for a company that is committed to DEI and also has visibly improved representation and sponsorship at a senior level in terms of developing and promoting female leaders," said Sophie Cox, chair of the Europe DEI Council and EMEA Director for Enterprise, SMB & International Accounts.

"There are also continually new programs being started as interests are becoming broader, such as affinity groups for LBGTQ+, neurodiversity and menopause support groups," she said. "It is also useful as it presents, in my view, a better 'brand image' to our external stakeholders — our customers, partners and suppliers."

"It is important that we play a positive part in the wider society and contribute to driving for change together," she added.

Cox recalls being impressed during her second interview for Ricoh by the presence of now-CEO Nicola Downing.

"It was inspiring to meet a C-level leader who was female as this is not usual," she said. "I left the meeting feeling very impressed about Ricoh as a company and also positive about my career and development path if I joined the company as she had succeeded and was a good role model."

And she sees that replicated in other staff across the organization.

"Employees can feel when there is a genuine focus on employee care and wellbeing versus playing lip service," she said. "This helps to create motivation, commitment and loyalty to the company. People will feel happier, more engaged with our direction and goals, and will perform at their best. It is a win-win situation in terms of individual and company performance."

Cox is presently overseeing the production of webinars, materials and events to mark International Women’s Day, Pride, Black History Month, and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. She is also busy writing blogs, assisting with communications, videos and discussions with customers and partners, and providing input into new HR policy documents. She is also a mentor as part of a cross-company global mentoring programme called Mission Include.

"There has been an incredible amount of positive feedback from both the contributions of the DEI Council and also from people who have participated in related programmes and projects," she added. "It is rewarding when people share their experiences and when even just one person stops me in the office corridor to tell me they are feeling more comfortable in themselves at work, that they feel accepted and supported and happier in their role, then to me that is a big step in the right direction."

Menabney agrees that feedback — often through the company-wide annual Global Employee Survey — is critical to the direction of the Council.

"We have added specific questions around DEI — things like 'I feel that in my workplace I have equal opportunities' or 'I feel that I can be my true self' — and what was interesting was that when I went through and did a deep dive into that survey data as part of my tasks for the council, the comments were overwhelmingly positive in terms of how employees saw DEI, with 95% positive."

Even the majority of the outstanding 5% were not opposed to the firm’s DEI efforts — they simply requested that even more be done.

Menabney intends to bring his own experiences to bear to make Ricoh’s DEI offerings meet the needs of its diverse staff.

"I think that living for the first time in my life as not a member of the majority has given me more empathy for folks, I see the need to help others to understand," he said. "Here in Japan, for example, that might be how to be more inclusive of people who are from different backgrounds. I’ve seen the benefit of that and I’d like to bring that here more, in Japan, but also to help the global Ricoh have more effective teams around the world as well."