Championing Diversity and Inclusion at Bank of America

Effective onboarding increases employee engagement by more than 20%, so we are reinvigorating the experience to make it easier and create a greater sense of community and belonging among new hires.

The HR Digest: Can you tell our readers about ERGs (employee resource groups) at BoA and how they promote change within the company in practical terms?

Sheri B. Bronstein: We have seen tremendous growth in our employee networks in recent years – in membership, engagement and tools. Today, we have 355 chapters and 230,000 memberships worldwide across 11 networks. Our membership is up 10% this year alone. We have listened to our employees’ feedback as we have formed these groups, and we see employees often involved in more than one group based on interest, background or support need. Our newest group, The Parent and Caregivers Network, reflects the growth in teammates with caregiving responsibilities and helps to provide support and resources. In 2012, we began to launch Diversity Leadership Councils, starting with our Black Executive Leadership Council (BELC). Today, we have seven councils led by senior executives in the company to support the inclusion, advancement and success of our workforce. These councils also play a role in helping to capture and elevate employee sentiment on key topics. For instance, BELC was a pivotal voice in shaping our response to the need to further lean in to our work around racial and economic opportunity.

What have you learned about what does and doesn’t resonate with employees about their benefits? What do employees really value? Has that changed over time?

Our approach is to invest in our employees, so they can build a career with us. When our employees have the tools and resources to manage their life and their career, they are able to better deliver for our clients. We use data and employee input to guide our decisions on the benefits we provide and we support our employees through a culture of caring. As we defined what it meant to be a great place to work, we made a shift in how we invested in our employees beyond just the traditional benefits and compensation. We increased our focus on overall wellness – supporting physical, emotional and financial well-being – by enhancing and expanding our benefits to include broader coverage for things like mental health care for employees and their family members, tuition reimbursement, back-up care for both children and adults, and even discounts for pet insurance. And one of the things I think really sets us apart is how we care for employees in the moments that really matter. Several years ago, we set up a Life Event Services team which is focused on providing one-to-one personal assistance to employees in those major life moments – such as maternity leave or experiencing a natural disaster. We have an experienced team of case managers that help connect employees to the right resources and benefits and make these transitions easier to manage.

What talent practices do you plan to keep the future of work in shape?

In today’s tight labor market, it is imperative for us to stay focused on effective onboarding, career mobility and supporting our managers. In 2021, we merged our Consumer Bank Academy with our Global Learning Organization to create The Academy at Bank of America, an onboarding, education and professional development organization dedicated to the growth and success of 200,000+ teammates from consistent onboarding through skill building. We know that effective onboarding increases employee engagement by more than 20%, so we are reinvigorating the experience to make it easier and create a greater sense of community and belonging among new-hires. This includes a move back to in-person onboarding events in many of our local markets. We also focus on internal mobility, ensuring we have the training and resources to help our employees build a career with us. We are enhancing our team of talent mobility specialists who serve as a resource to help employees identify new roles, update their resumes and prep for interviews. This team also works with recruiters to help source internal talent. As a result, more than half of our jobs are filled internally. Managers play a critical role for our employees – particularly in challenging times. In 2021 we developed a curriculum focused on driving manager capabilities, including topics like how to be an effective people manager and coach and how to champion diversity and inclusion. Nearly all of our managers have started and half have completed the eight-course curriculum.

Can you tell The HR Digest readers more about BoA’s strategies to raise the bar of diversity in the workplace?

A key to our company’s success is having a diverse workforce that mirrors the clients we serve, and the communities we work in. We have had a long-standing commitment that starts at the top with our CEO Brian Moynihan who chairs our Global Diversity and Inclusion Council. This is a group of senior leaders across all areas of the company who remain focused on how we are living up to this commitment and what more we can do. We have also put processes in place around our D&I efforts help promote transparency, accountability, and continued progress. In 2019, we published Bank of America’s inaugural Human Capital Management Report, now part of our Annual Report, setting an industry standard by providing a transparent, comprehensive view of the company’s workforce metrics. Providing this data holds us accountable to ensure progress continues. We were able to create this report because we were already doing the work – we had built robust analytics and put processes in place at all levels of the company to drive progress and accountability. In addition, we embed diverse representation into manager scorecards. To further these efforts, our approach to sourcing talent is intentionally broad, casting a wide net to attract and hire talent – through campus recruiting and experienced candidates. Over the past 5 years, we have consciously expanded this pipeline through our Pathways program, where we have made a commitment to hire 20,000 individuals from low-to-moderate income communities by 2025. We also in local and national partnerships, such as One Ten, an initiative to hire, promote and advance 1 million Black individuals who do not have four year college degrees into family-sustaining careers. And we have also expanded our recruiting from community colleges. These programs and partnerships help us build a strong diverse talent pipeline through hiring and recruiting and continue our ability to mirror the clients and communities we serve.

Sheri Bronstein,

Chief Human Resources Officer, Bank of America

Sheri Bronstein is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Bank of America and a member of the company’s executive management team. She leads a global team of HR professionals and is responsible for driving the company’s focus on employee recognition, growth, inclusivity, and wellness. Bronstein has held various roles at the company since joining in 2000, and previously worked at JP Morgan in HR. She is a leader in promoting mental health awareness and eliminating stigma, and is passionate about using data and analytics to drive HR and business advancements. Bronstein serves on various boards and committees, including the CHRO Global Leadership Board and the World Economic Forum’s Community of Chief Human Resources Officers. At Bank of America, she oversees the company’s employee resource groups, which promote diversity and inclusion and provide support and resources to employees.

Photo: Bank of America  

This profile was published in the January 2023 issue of The HR Digest.

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