Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Rebecca Derdiger Of Grainger On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have a Disability
An Interview With Eric Pines
Not everything is a straight path. You may have an idea of where your career is headed and try to fit all of your career moves and development into that path. Be open to the left, right and zig-zag turns and consider how a completely different experience might enhance your career.
As we all know, over the past several years there has been a great deal of discussion about inclusion and diversity in the workplace. One aspect of inclusion that is not discussed enough, is how businesses can be inclusive of people with disabilities. We know that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. What exactly does this look like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experience about the “How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Are Disabled “.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Rebecca Derdiger.
Rebecca Derdiger was named Senior Director, Diversity and Corporate Responsibility in 2021. She is responsible for positioning Grainger as a leader in Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) practices, as well as strengthening the Company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts and community impact strategies.
Throughout her career, Rebecca has gained over 15 years of end-to-end Human Resources expertise, enabling her to successfully lead teams that build positive experiences with Grainger for team members and the surrounding communities.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you ended up where you are?
Thank you for the opportunity.
I have always been interested in science. I ended up majoring in psychology and had an internship during my senior year of college that gave me my first exposure to the business world through the lens of learning and development. I liked the idea of utilizing psychology in a business setting and started applying to human capital consulting firms.
I was hired at a boutique executive compensation consulting firm, which set me on my path for the next 12 years. I held successive executive and broad-based compensation roles both in consulting — at Korn Ferry and Deloitte — as well as in a corporate setting — at Penguin Random House and Grainger. In 2019, I had the opportunity to pivot into leading Grainger’s diversity, equity & inclusion efforts, then expanded the role in 2021 totake on leadership of Grainger’s environmental, social & governance efforts and our community impact work.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Servant leadership. I like to lead from the back and really let my team shine. If an analyst on my team led a project, I will be sure to call out and celebrate that team member for their work when the work is shared with senior leaders. A very important part of my role is to be transparent with my team, sharing information that will support and accelerate their work or understanding of our business.
One of my previous managers said he was always glad to “pick up a shovel” and I think of that often. I am here to support the team in getting done whatever needs to be done, be that double checking a critical ESG data submission or brainstorming in a strategy setting.
Psychological safety. Throughout the pandemic, team members have increasingly had to juggle work and life responsibilities in a very different way. I am a leader, but first and foremost, I am a wife and a mother. Whenever I am home with a sick kid or need to juggle work to put my family first, I make that clear to my team. Showing my team that I prioritize my family helps them feel comfortable to do the same.
I also make time to know what is going on with my team personally, to the extent they are comfortable sharing with me, which helps me get to know my team better and understand their whole self. I have started “Listening Sessions” with each team member, designed to ensure that I hear what is working or not working in their role, what barriers I can help remove and how I can support their development journey. These conversations have been a great way to continue getting to know my team and ensuring I am hearing what motivates and demotivates them in their work.
Sponsorship. I am grateful for the career that I have had thus far and acknowledge that I had many leaders who developed and challenged me with tough assignments. I take “paying it forward” seriously and always seek opportunities to speak up for people who can have a bigger impact on our organization. Given my role sits at the center of many other teams’ work, I often have the opportunity to meet folks that sit all across the organization. I do my best to consider how I can help folks advance, similar to the opportunities that I was given in my career along the way.
I was fortunate to be nominated by Grainger to participate in the Leading Women Executives program in the fall 2021. Our cohort of Grainger women who have participated in the program has put together a mentorship program to continue accelerating development for early career women at Grainger and providing them with opportunities to connect with other high-potential women in the organization including senior leaders.
Can you share a story about one of your greatest work-related struggles? Can you share what you did to overcome it?
I am an introvert and, as I have advanced in leadership roles, a big part of my work is public speaking, whether that is leading a panel of Business Resource Group leaders in an all-company town hall, answering questions on a monthly leader call, or presenting to Grainger’s board members. When I first was exposed to this part of my new role, to be honest it was scary! In my life, I had avoided the limelight and certainly wasn’t seeking out public speaking opportunities. My method of combatting that fear was to prepare … and prepare again. I would create talking points for myself. I created documentation on any potential questions so I was always ready with a response. Sometimes, I would rehearse my talking points out loud in advance of the presentation. The preparation — or perhaps over-preparation — helped me to feel confident to be ready for anything. Over time, my need to overprepare lessened, and I have started to get significantly more confident in speaking in broad audiences without all of my notes.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Right now, part of our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy focuses on data transparency. Over the last few years, we have worked to enhance our dataset and develop great reporting tools. We are now engaging leaders in reviewing and understanding the data and how to drive the DEI outcomes.
Our leadership team has engaged in many thoughtful conversations about data — what we should focus on, how the data should be structured, and what they want to approach together as a leadership team. It’s exciting to work through the structure and governance for how our leaders will have access to this data on a regular basis.
To ensure that our dataset is representative of our team member population, we continue to request team members self-identify their race/ethnicity, and veteran, disability and LGBTQ+ status. This year we are engaging in a focused campaigns to specifically connect with team members who have not yet identified on these dimensions and provide testimonials from our leaders on how self-identification supports our DEI efforts.
Fantastic. Let’s now shift to our discussion about inclusion. Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience working with initiatives to promote Diversity and Inclusion? Can you share a story with us?
We were fortunate that we’d begun to socialize the idea of brave conversations before the pandemic in January of 2020. Our BeBrave Conversations are intended to be a psychologically safe space where team members can discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion topics and current events. As most of our workforce shifted to working from home, it became incredibly important to have avenues for team members to engage on a more personal level.
Then, following the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing social justice movement, we were able to pivot from pandemic-related topics to the impact of current events on our team members.
We’ve learned through the hundreds of small BeBrave Conversations that have taken place over the last two years that people value the ability to learn about others in a way that their day-to-day interactions wouldn’t necessarily allow. We’ve seen relationships forged and strengthened, including a renewed interest in fostering these conversations across the enterprise. This in turn creates a more inclusive and welcoming environment where everyone feels more comfortable sharing their experiences and everyone practices how to assume positive intent.
This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have an inclusive work culture?
Last year, our product information team began working with AutonomyWorks, a company that employs adults with autism to do data-heavy work. Our team began working with their employees on a project focused on the quality assurance of the information we collect for Grainger’s product assortment. We are now working with a team of seven analysts at AutonomyWorks. These team members ask questions about the data, find potential issues and report on themes, which opens a back-and-forth dialogue with our team. This exchange of information has been invaluable to the success of our processes this year, having a direct impact on the team’s success.
At Grainger, we leverage expert partners to help us ensure we’re being inclusive and learn best practices. In the disability space, we partner closely with DisabilityIN and created content for Disability Inclusion training for team members. All team members now have access to a self-paced learning module that teaches them how they can build inclusion in the workplace for team members with disabilities. In July, we sent several representatives from both HR and our business functions to DisabilityIN’s annual conference to learn best practices and network with like-minded people from other companies.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what this looks like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Can you please share a few examples?
Reasonable accommodations simply mean that the employer makes a modification or adjustment to the work environment to allow a qualified person with a disability to perform the essential job functions. They’re generally small changes to how we normally do things that allow people with disabilities to be successful.
Grainger offers accommodations during the hiring process to provide equal opportunity to candidates with disabilities. This could be anything from providing a sign language interpreter to adding in breaks between back-to-back interviews for a candidate to eat. Team member accommodations span an extensive range, and we have a team dedicated to supporting reasonable requests. Depending on an individual’s need and the job they’re performing, we might provide anything from technology solutions, like screen reader software, to equipment, like a sit-to-stand desk, to schedule changes or shift adjustments.
Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? If you can, please share a few examples.
Create a disabilities-focused enterprise resource group (ERG) or business resource group (BRG). These groups provide resources for those with disabilities and those who are caretakers of others with disabilities. For example, our Disability BRG offers disability inclusion training to both leaders and team members, seeks out prospective candidates with disabilities by building relationships with local community partners, leverages flexible workplace policies, ensure physical and digital accessibility in the workplace and in communications, and offer mentorship and professional development opportunities for team members with disabilities. We seek to invest in ongoing education around disability inclusion, build subject matter expertise by attending conferences or summits focused on inclusion.
Can you share a few examples of ideas that were implemented at your workplace to help promote disability inclusion? Can you share with us how the work culture was impacted as a result?
Last year, our product information team began working with AutonomyWorks, a company that employs adults with autism to do data-heavy work. Our team began working with their employees on a project focused on the quality assurance of the information we collect for Grainger’s product assortment. We are now working with a team of seven analysts at AutonomyWorks. These team members ask questions about the data, find potential issues and report on themes, which opens a back-and-forth dialogue with our team. This exchange of information has been invaluable to the success of our processes this year, having a direct impact on the team’s success.
At Grainger, we leverage expert partners to help us ensure we’re being inclusive and learn best practices. In the disability space, we work with DisabilityIN and Inclusion Works. Earlier this year, we used their content to create Disability Inclusion training for team members. All team members now have access to a self-paced learning module that teaches them how they can build inclusion in the workplace for team members with disabilities.
We developed trainings for leaders who were welcoming new team members with especially complex disabilities to their teams. This allowed these leaders to learn and ask questions in a safe space and feel prepared to focus on providing a great team member experience for the new hires, rather than focusing on their disabilities.
This is our signature question that we ask in many of our interviews. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Career”?
Say yes! In the past few years, I’ve taken on work I never envisioned myself leading. By saying yes — even if I doubted myself and the potential for success — I’ve been able to lead complex and interesting work and accelerate my growth and development.
Not everything is a straight path. You may have an idea of where your career is headed and try to fit all of your career moves and development into that path. Be open to the left, right and zig-zag turns and consider how a completely different experience might enhance your career.
Take care of yourself. While my time spent in consulting certainly amplified and accelerated my learning, it was tough on me personally. The long nights (and weekends) and constant travel was challenging. I utilized my company’s mental health benefits which were very helpful to me at the time.
Recognize when you need a “time out,” even if it’s just taking a few hours off to meet a friend or read a book in the sunshine. If you’re like me, consider scheduling your “fun time” by blocking your calendar early and often with breaks throughout the day and breaks throughout the year to truly unplug.
Take the time to be curious and network across your organization. This can be with peers, leaders or folks more junior to you, but I try to never pass up an opportunity to meet new team members. You never know who you might meet, what you will learn from them, and how it might impact you. I have found that people are generally excited to talk about their work and share more about it with you so don’t hesitate to ask!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
Early on in the pandemic, I heard this quote:
I am only one, but still, I am one. I cannot do everything but still, I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
I have had that quote on a post-it on my computer monitor for at least 2 ½ years, and I think about it often. The volume of challenges in DEI work and the myriad of challenges we have all faced in the past few years can often feel overwhelming. When I feel myself getting anxious about the work — maybe progress isn’t advancing as fast as you’d like — I look at my post-it note, take a deep breath, remember to take it one day at a time and focus on what I can control and have an impact on.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would seek to inspire people to be open to new and different ways of thinking and be receptive to different viewpoints.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I encourage readers to review GraingerESG.com which houses all of Grainger’s environmental, social and governance strategy, programs, data and progress. Our diversity, equity and inclusion work is deeply embedded in our overall ESG work. You can find me on LinkedIn where I post on the fantastic work the Grainger diversity, equity and inclusion team does to enable team members to feel a sense of belonging at work. Grainger is also very active on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram under our Careers channels. Finally, check out jobs.grainger.com to join us!
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at eric@pinesfederal.com.
Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Rebecca Derdiger Of Grainger On How Businesses Make… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.