George Floyd’s death was the main catalyst for Amelia Hardy making a career move into the diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) profession, from a business and marketing leadership role. She became Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity Strategic Initiatives at Best Buy last year.
Fair Play Talks to Best Buy’s diversity champion, who was also honoured as one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers recently, about the motives behind her career transition into her current DE&I leadership role; and how she is overcoming some of the challenges in this space amid the pandemic.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: Can you briefly tell us about your career journey to date?
Amelia Hardy: My background is business and marketing. I started at Best Buy in category marketing, supporting our core business of TVs and stereos, audio visual, and then moved to brand marketing, and I led the holiday enterprise holiday campaign for a few years. Then I moved into the Strategic Growth Office, which became part of the founding team of the Health Office at Best Buy and led strategic commercial health business partnerships for a while. I had not been in a formal DE&I work before August 2020 when I was hired as Vice President of Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) Strategic Initiatives; responsible for integrating all our I&D initiatives into the business. It seemed natural from a passion, profession and an experience standpoint to move into inclusion and diversity when the opportunity arrived, as I have been involved in the community and employee resource groups for a long time.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: Why did you specialise in the DE&I profession?
Amelia Hardy: I decided to get involved in I&D after the murder of George Floyd because I saw a movement like I’ve never seen before – at least in my lifetime – to really have companies become involved and make an impact in this type of work; meaning equity work and community work. I had experienced some improvement prior to that day, but for the first time, in a long time, it felt like there was an increased focus on inclusion and diversity; not only from Best Buy, but other companies and from the community.
The community is more accepting of corporations being in this type of work and purpose driven. I was energised and inspired by people from multiple backgrounds, communities and companies getting involved. That made me optimistic about being able to come into the role to drive change, building upon all the good work the I&D team had started.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: What are your aspirations in this role?
Amelia Hardy: In April of this year, building on what I learned in my I&D leadership role, I was named Vice President of Strategic Community Engagement. My team builds connections with the external community to bring change in our community and country. We also take outside learnings and bring them into the company, to facilitate that work. We work across Best Buy to help connect workstreams in support of the social, DE&I and ESG work being done.
As far as inclusion and diversity, down the road, it will become a part of what we do. It will feel more natural. We’ll always have a focus on and must be intentional about it; but it will be more integrated into the way we do business, who we are, and what we do.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: What’s the most rewarding part of your role?
Amelia Hardy: I enjoy working with people to make a change. A change that not only positively impacts the business, but also the lives of our employees and customers. My passion, purpose and profession are aligned.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: What is the most challenging part of your role?
Amelia Hardy: The truth of the matter is we are living in a world where inequities and injustices exist; they keep showing up and events keep happening that show us how far we need to go in our pursuit of equity. As the needs of our nation have changed, the needs of our employees have changed and quite frankly, the expectations of our employees and customers have changed. This work is ever evolving, and I will continue to support Best Buy along this journey.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: How has Covid-19 impacted your company’s DE&I/wellbeing strategy?
Amelia Hardy: Best Buy quickly transformed its business to meet the Covid-19 transitioning needs of customers and employees. At the same time, we increased our commitment to $44 million plus for diversity, inclusion and community efforts; and made bold commitments on hiring and retention. Best Buy offered furloughs and flexible work arrangements for employees in the midst of Covid. The company also supported sick employees and provided the time necessary for them to recover. We leaned into mental health resources for our employees. There has always been an enhanced and sustained focus on safety; and the wellbeing of our employees and customers in our stores.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: Which diversity spectrums/aspects of DE&I are you focusing on the most in your current role and why?
Amelia Hardy: We know from watching best practices, looking at the data and all the articles that are coming out now, that companies that are more diverse tend to do better from a business growth standpoint. When you have multiple people in a room that have diverse perspectives, diverse lived experiences and backgrounds, it tends to create a growth environment; a psychologically safe place where you can bring your full authentic self to work, and therefore you get your job done – you achieve your objectives.
I have an interest in how we create a high performing diverse workforce so that we can continue to grow and do all the things that Best Buy wants to; said we are going to do; and be reflective of our customers that we serve, our community and our employee base.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: In your opinion, can organisations promote equality and fairness; and enhance belonging and inclusion that will resonate with all/majority of diverse groups?
Amelia Hardy: I do, and it will have to be strategic and intentional. I always say, DE&I work is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and sometimes you must pass the baton. Our job in I&D is to pass the baton to the businesses and to others that are accountable for integrating the inclusion and diversity initiatives into their day-to-day work. What I’ve seen change, is that it has become a business imperative; and many of the inclusion diversity initiatives have now been rolled into the business.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: What learning have you personally gained through implementing DE&I/wellbeing policies in your company?
Amelia Hardy: For me bringing my authentic self to work means that I can truly be me when I come to work, offer my strengths, but also be vulnerable in showing where I might need help or where I think I need to develop; in a way that I feel psychologically safe. That even if I make missteps or mistakes, that people are going to show me grace and rally around me, support me and coach me to better success.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: Apart from being recognised as a Top 100 Diversity Officer, what’s been your biggest achievement to date in this role/profession?
Amelia Hardy: Each individual that I can help feel a sense of psychological safety, greater sense of belonging and purpose at our company and in our community, makes me feel that I am contributing to something much greater than my own success. I am also proud of the work that our Enterprise Task Force has done to create an inclusive immersive experience for leaders.
FAIR PLAY TALKS: Finally, what are the top three must-have attributes to be a successful diversity champion?
Amelia Hardy: To do this work well requires the following: passion, patience and persistence.
AMELIA HARDY’S BIOGRAPHY
Amelia Hardy is now Vice President of Strategic Community Engagement at Best Buy. In this role, she engages teams across the company to support work aimed at connecting with the community and bringing about social change and corporate responsibility. Hardy serves as an ambassador for Best Buy and her responsibilities include leading the enterprise Task Force for Racial Equity, driving change with external strategic partners and increasing employee engagement and volunteerism opportunities in the community.
She also oversees reputation management, including efforts related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. Prior to this role, Hardy served as Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity. She led efforts to increase the engagement, representation, and retention of diverse employees at all levels of the company. She also oversaw initiatives aimed at increasing the presence of products and services acquired from minority-owned businesses and partnered with other organizations to eradicate racial and social disparities in underrepresented communities.
Hardy has more than 20 years of experience in transformational leadership at Fortune 100 companies, primarily within marketing and business management. She has also played a key role in Best Buy’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, serving as an active leader for Best Buy’s Black Employee Resource Group. Prior to her current role, she served as a senior director for Best Buy Health, where she helped initiate, grow and maintain strategic partnerships. Before joining Best Buy in 2014, she spent 14 years at 3M Co. Hardy has a bachelor’s degree from Xavier University and an MBA from Tulane University. She serves on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities and is co-chair of the advisory committee for Foresight, a health initiative led by The Rippel Foundation in partnership with the Blue Shield of California Foundation.
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