HRE’s Number of the Day: rapid-response teams


50%: Percentage of organizations surveyed by i4cp in a live webinar that do not utilize a formal rapid-response team to address social and political issues

During a webinar on escalating racial tensions that featured remarks by top diversity and inclusion experts Tuesday, i4cp surveyed listeners about their use of rapid-response teams. Half of the respondents said their organization does not use a formal team to respond to social or political events. In particular, 30% said the company responds as needed but efforts are ad hoc, while 10% doesn’t currently but is interested in building such capacity and 10% said the company doesn’t get involved with events that don’t directly impact the bottom line or business continuity.

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Overall, one-third of respondents do utilize a rapid-response team for such efforts. Specifically, 20% deploy teams whose makeup varies, while 11% have inclusion and diversity representatives incorporated; 2% have guidelines for their rapid-response teams but a loose structure.

On this week’s webinar, Eric Davis, creative director and senior editor, said i4cp has conducted polling about rapid-response teams after many other high-profile social events, such as the violence in Charlottesville. In the past, the organization has seen more respondents answer that they don’t get involved in events that don’t impact the business.

“In a lot of cases, that was the wrong way to approach a situation with social unrest or things impacting the workforce,” Davis said. “So I’m glad to see that [number] is about as low as I’ve seen it.”

For those that have dedicated I&D representation, Davis said, that’s a good opportunity for those individuals to “use that loud voice to get a seat at the table.”

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Jen Colletta
Jen Colletta is managing editor at HRE. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in writing from La Salle University in Philadelphia and spent 10 years as a newspaper reporter and editor before joining HRE. She can be reached at [email protected].