Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Broadening Our Horizons
Research shows that diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizations outperform other companies. Novanta has firsthand experience with this. We were resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic because our culture is built on cohesive, diverse teams that value collaboration and trust.
The Board of Directors and the Novanta Leadership Team have aligned on Novanta’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategic framework and embedded it into our The Novanta Way performance culture. We are developing a corporate culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion are embedded into our ways of working and our leaders lead by example. We strictly oppose any form of discrimination and maintain compliance with the relevant laws and standards including human rights, child labor, and labor rights.
In 2021, we hired a Vice President of Leadership Development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This decision was made under the direction of the Board of Directors and the Novanta Leadership Team, recognizing the business value that a diversity of ideas, backgrounds, and skills brings.
Early in our journey, we codified a DEI True North framework, which articulates our long-term DEI aspiration for Novanta. Our True North framework consists of four aspirations that will guide our journey and actions for the next several years. They are:
We are Diverse
We are Equitable
We are Inclusive
We are Lifelong Learners
These aspirations will guide how we act with each other, our suppliers, and customers, and in the communities where we work and live. They serve as a reminder that our success is interdependent on the world and people around us.
Our DEI goals are to:
- Cultivate a welcoming, diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture where all employees experience a sense of belonging and are lifelong learners
- Increase the representation of women and people from underrepresented1 groups at all levels of the organization so our workforce reflects the demographics of the local communities where we are based
- Actively engage with and support community organizations and business enterprises owned by people from underrepresented groups
1 An underrepresented group in the U.S. is anyone who self-identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, Native American or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or two or more races or ethnicities, as defined by Nasdaq.
DEI Targets
In 2021, we created DEI internal targets to:
- Advance our maturity level on the Global Diversity Equity Inclusion Benchmark maturity model
- Increase Inclusion and Belonging scores
- Increase the number of women in leadership positions
- Increase hiring, retention, and promotion of employees from underrepresented groups
- Increase the number of employees utilizing PTO to volunteer and provide community service
Culture Council
As part of our benchmarking process, we developed a Culture Council, which is chaired by our VP of Leadership Development, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and two co-chairs. The Culture Council comprises employees with diverse identities, backgrounds, and job positions from various business units.
The Culture Council provides governance on DEI, advises the Novanta Leadership Team, and executes DEI initiatives. In 2021, the Culture Council launched two Employee Resource Groups and two Working Teams to effectively implement our DEI goals and initiatives.
- The Localization and Deployment Working Team works with our employees at our regional sites so that all initiatives and interventions are relevant to the local site.
- The Learning and Development Working Team supports cross-competency education by sponsoring localized learning events so that employees are able to understand and apply the key concepts in their daily tasks and interactions.
Diverse Talent Engagement
We are actively taking steps to improve the diversity of our workforce, beginning at the recruitment stage. In 2021, we launched a new six-step diverse recruitment strategy to widen our pool of potential applicants. This strategy includes creating gender-neutral job postings by removing gender-coded words, using recruiting platforms that include more diverse candidates, employing AI tools to remove identifying information from resumes to reduce opportunities for bias, and partnering with academic programs to build a diverse recruiting pipeline.
Employee Resource Groups
In 2021, we launched two Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to provide support and help in personal or career development and to create a safe space where employees can bring their whole selves to the table.
The purpose of the Novanta Women’s ERG is divided into five main goals: advocacy, development, community, allyship, and communication.
The Multicultural/International ERG was created to affirm our cultural differences and to sponsor cultural events around the globe that both celebrate and educate our employees on the varying customs and cultures of our multinational colleagues.
Employee Engagement
We believe that our employees should have a meaningful role in helping us to develop our culture. We utilize survey feedback mechanisms for employee engagement and organizational health to measure our current situation and gain insight into areas where we can improve. We have conducted surveys of our entire employee population in the last four years, and we compare our employee engagement and organizational health scores against benchmark populations with our survey vendors. Following each survey cycle, we review the results with our teams and develop specific action plans across the Company to take action as a direct result of the feedback we receive from the survey. We are executing on our action plans with the expectation to improve our overall organizational health and employee engagement.
Benefits
We strive to recruit and retain the best talent by creating a welcoming working environment and attractive benefits package commensurate with the local employment market. For example, full-time employees in the U.S. are offered:
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and qualified dependents
- Health Savings Account with an annual employer contribution and Flexible Spending Account(s)
- 24-hour telemedicine services for all employees and their dependents
- Access to an on-site health clinic at our Bedford, Massachusetts and Mukilteo, Washington sites and virtual health coaches
- Employee Assistance Program
- Company-provided life, accidental death, or dismemberment insurance
- Up to 16 weeks of paid parental or family leave
- Up to 20 weeks of paid medical leave
- Optional voluntary and supplemental insurance plans
- 401(k) retirement savings plan with a competitive matching program
- Competitive paid time-off program for non-exempt employees
- Unlimited paid time-off program for exempt employees
- Flexible and remote working arrangements
- Tuition reimbursement for job related studies
For our employees in countries with government-provided health care coverage, we offer on-site healthcare, free checkups, fitness programs, and more.