Santa Monica Travel and Tourism: Expanding Workforce Perspectives and Expertise

Social Impact Framework: Workforce Development

What was the issue you were trying to address?

Santa Monica Travel and Tourism sought to hire a more diverse workforce to better reflect the world and our community. One of our core values is to be a diverse workplace, and we recognize the importance of attracting diverse expert talent, especially in our marketing department.  

Having varied diverse perspectives in our marketing efforts is priceless. Visitors come to us from all races, ages, genders, and sizes. It is vital to have these perspectives among our team in addition to the skillsets employees bring.

What were the stated objectives of this initiative?

Our goal was to increase diverse employee representation by an additional 5% at fiscal year-end 2022-2023. 

What were the specific metrics you used to measure the success of your efforts?

We examined the overall percentage increase, using new recruitment methods. These methods included reaching out to specific groups on LinkedIn, such as the African American PR group, and working with our recruiter.  

What were the specific outcomes and results of your efforts?

Santa Monica Travel and Tourism exceeded our goal by hiring 3 additional staff members who identify as either African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, or Native American.  

What other best practices or key lessons can you share?

As of mid 2023, Santa Monica Travel and Tourism is now a 49% diverse workforce! That's almost half of our entire team of brilliant, wonderful staff members.