Coming out can be a scary event in a person’s life.
Revealing your genuine self to a parent or a close group of friends isn’t always the glitter and rainbows that Love, Simon, Glee, RuPaul’s Drag Race or The Ellen DeGeneres Show make it out to be. While it’s rewarding or even comforting to see pop culture take so many major steps forward, the everyday person who identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community can feel like they have to take so many steps back when walking through the doors of the office.
Imagine grabbing a morning cup of coffee and someone asking about your wife when you’re a gay man; not being asked about your wife when you’re a proud lesbian at the company BBQ; being misgendered when simply walking into a restroom at work; being called “sir” or “ma’am” when you don’t identify as either assumed gender.
These are standard scenarios LGBTQIA+ people find themselves in regularly — even with a solid support system standing behind them — and it’s part of the reason that 46 percent of the community is still closeted at work. In addition, they have to come out over and over again in the workplace to their co-workers, bosses and clients.
But it doesn’t have to feel as scary as it seems when a company has a proper system in place.
At Imprivata, for example, Senior Business Development Manager Jeff Schmelzer said he feels safe to be himself because his company has an anonymous system to report issues or problems. Even more effective, however, is Imprivata’s investment in proper leadership training to communicate with diverse groups of people.
“Our goal is to better understand any barriers to an inclusive and diverse workplace and collaboratively come up with solutions,” Schmelzer said.
In honor of National Coming Out Day, Built In Austin sat down in conversation with Schmelzer to learn about all the ways Imprivata has made him feel supported to be his most authentic self at work — and the practices the company has put into place to back up their employees and lead the industry by example.
At enterprise security platform Imprivata, Schmelzer said all employees are invited to the company’s ALIGN committee in order to better understand and overcome any barriers leading to a more inclusive and diverse workplace.
Being open about one’s sexuality in the workplace is a deeply personal decision, one that’s often informed by the level of safety and trust a person feels at work. What are some concrete steps your company has taken to create a sense of trust and safety among your team?
As an out gay man, when I changed careers and began working in tech I was slightly nervous to be working in a field that is not known for being accepting of — let alone celebrating — queer people. At Imprivata, I quickly found that this was not the case. I was not only allowed but encouraged to be my authentic self.
Some of this is due to that elusive thing we talk about called “company culture” and some is due to policies our HR department has in place. Imprivata has a company culture including values and standards for how we create an environment that is set up for us to be successful as people, and as a team.
Part of this success comes from every single employee feeling safe to be his, her and/or themself. One of the things that we have that is fairly common is an anonymous way in which to report issues or problems. The policy that is more unique to Imprivata is our practice of investing in our teams and ensuring that all people managers have formal management training to ensure our management team has the skills to lead a diverse group of people in a safe and evidence-based manner.
How do you monitor and measure these types of sentiments among your team? And how does this data help inform your people strategies?
The best way we have found to monitor the “vibe” of the team is consistent check-ins with the entire team, breakout teams and individuals, where we are able to discuss any issues we have noticed as well as just connect and talk about whatever is on the team’s mind. Our company places a large emphasis on celebrating success, and one of the metrics as a manager I have come to look at as a barometer of team cohesion and mood is if individual and group successes are not being shouted from the remote rooftop.
I was not only allowed – but encouraged – to be my authentic self.”
What are some direct ways your company celebrates or supports the LGBTQIA+ community, either internally or externally?
One of the ways that Imprivata celebrates and supports diversity is through initiatives like our ALIGN committee, which the entire company was invited to join. Our goal is to better understand any barriers to an inclusive and diverse workplace and collaboratively come up with solutions. We have also participated with the Vista Equity Partners portfolio of companies to discuss the challenges and reality of working in tech as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community during June for Pride Month.
