Becoming a diversity ambassador at Taxfix
Jorge Matos, senior talent acquisition manager, walks us through his path to becoming a champion of diversity and inclusion at Taxfix.
Learning the value of diversity
My previous struggles as a gay man working in an ultra-conservative environment were my first lessons in exclusion. Having started my career in a not so diverse environment — and by this, I mean working in an entirely Portuguese office — I never experienced cultures other than my own. Some of the hardships that I went through in my past showed me precisely what a workplace should not be. These tough situations taught me a lot about the importance of diversity and inclusion (D&I). However, I only had my own experiences. I had no idea how limiting this perception was.
When I moved to Amsterdam to work for a big multinational corporation, I was suddenly overwhelmed by different cultures, ideas, and religions. I was surrounded by people that were very different from me and thought very differently from me. It wasn’t a smooth transition by any means; it took about two years to feel fully adjusted. Over time, however, I started to see the benefits of working in such a diverse environment, not just for me but for my colleagues and the business as well.
By my second year, I had 92 counterparts worldwide. On a daily basis, I collaborated with people from the Americas all the way to Asia and Africa. Having the opportunity to understand how people think and work differently across cultures changed me. I started to appreciate how these different perspectives made our company more adaptable and innovative. Looking back, I think that I would have grown very little if I hadn’t had exposure to all these different types of people.
Coming to Taxfix
I joined Taxfix in September 2018 as the first internal member of the Talent Acquisition Team. I remember the first time I spoke with Mathis, our CEO, about how I would love to drive inclusivity topics within the organization. Knowing that we were only 35 people at the time, I was prepared to have to convince him that D&I was important even at this early stage. Much to my surprise, there was no need to win him over. Mathis already understood how diversity could bring a lot of value to our team and our customers. He knew that it was a challenging topic that needed a guiding hand. We were in agreement — the earlier we start talking about D&I, the bigger the benefits for the employees and the business.
It was a whirlwind first few months, as our recruiting needs were taking off. About five months into my journey with the company, I gave my first unconscious and conscious bias workshop. We were around 70 employees at the time, and it was a very raw version of what this training would eventually become. It may not have completely hit the mark, as I was quite new to the topic, but it did raise awareness around the issue.
This program is much more comprehensive now. Every quarter I work with hiring managers to address biases not only in the hiring process but also in their daily work life. We spend time acknowledging that biases are a human condition and that we all have them. What counts is recognizing these within ourselves and not letting them dictate our decisions, especially when hiring. We discuss actionable steps for minimizing these biases, such as preparing a script of interview questions in advance and having a scale to rate answers. The program is still a work-in-progress, as this field is always evolving, but that’s what makes it so rewarding.
By August 2019, the Diversity Guild formed and we started a more structured discussion about inclusivity in the workplace. The people that helped get the Guild off the ground were a tremendous inspiration — we wouldn’t be where we are today without that collaboration. We began by coming up with our motto: We promote a better Taxfix community through empathy and inclusivity. As a next step, we started to brainstorm best practices on how to be more inclusive in the workplace. This work eventually led to our internal Inclusivity Guide.
Together with Marie, our Head of People, we have since expanded on this guide. This document aims to articulate how we put our values into practice and how we are accountable to one another in the domain of diversity and inclusion. For example, Trust and Understand are two essential values here. We live our Trust value by respecting one another and we live our Understand value by having empathy for our teammates. Our values are an excellent driver for inclusion and were the first stones that paved the way for the community we have today. The Inclusivity Guide was probably one of the Diversity Guild’s biggest achievements to date, as we got to build it with the support of the entire management team.
Keeping the conversation going
The Diversity Guild’s mission is to provide a platform for people to speak about topics that are dear to them and to ensure that every employee feels included in the Taxfix community. One small way we do this is by offering events that appeal to a variety of interests within the team. Our Mario Kart tournament, for example, was a great way to bring our more introverted gamer community together with our not so experienced — albeit enthusiastic — gamers. As a larger initiative, I give an introductory D&I presentation as part of our onboarding program. This session teaches all new employees why D&I matters to us and how they can do their part in upholding these values.
With COVID-19, we’ve had to rethink how we bring people together while physically staying apart. This has forced us to look at inclusivity differently, particularly how we support mental health while working from home. We’re currently offering free professional therapy sessions for employees struggling with remote work. The Diversity Guild has also planned a few virtual activities, like game nights, a cat-enthusiast Slack channel, and virtual cooking classes. There are still many areas where we would like to do more for our team, such as increasing our trainings on unconscious bias and providing resources for our present and future women leaders. The interesting challenge we are facing is how to facilitate this in a meaningful way, remotely.
At the end of Q1 this year, the business awarded me the “We Are a Team” award for my efforts to connect people in the company. It’s been an incredible journey for me. From starting my career in an ethnocentric company in Portugal to driving D&I in a Berlin startup with over 40 different nationalities and counting. I feel incredibly proud to belong to an organization such as Taxfix, who, from an early stage, believed in finding ways to make their employees feel like they belong.
We still have a lot of work to do, for sure. The goal for us is to continue enabling a dialogue and to find proactive ways to support our team. I am so excited about what’s to come, and I’m looking forward to learning even more about diversity and inclusion and how this will strengthen the Taxfix community.
Interested in joining our team and helping build the Diversity Guild further? Check out our open positions.
