An Important Email Message from Norwest on Positive, Respectful, Inclusive Cultures

Here is a recent email sent by Norwest Venture Partners:

To our Portfolio Company CEOs, Founders, and Heads of People:

Something that has been top of mind for our portfolio company executives, particularly given all of the news this past year, is how to ensure a positive, respectful, and inclusive culture.

We’re extremely focused on this at Norwest, and we believe in fostering a culture in which our employees, portfolio companies, and greater network are empowered to develop, contribute, and succeed.  As a firm, we do not tolerate harassment and discrimination in any form. Creating an inclusive environment where employees and collaborators feel comfortable, welcome, and free from inappropriate and disrespectful conduct reflects the values that are at the core of Norwest.  We believe this is a value we share with the companies in our portfolio.

We’ve worked with several organizations and stakeholders to determine the best way to prepare our portfolio companies and provide them with the latest best practices in this area. Based on this research, we believe there are four key pillars that organizations should have in place in order foster a culture of inclusion:

1.       Policy – a Formal Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy
   •       A clearly-stated zero-tolerance policy for harassment or inappropriate behavior.
   •       Applies to all persons involved in the operations of the organization including founders, staff members, board members, clients, and vendors.
   •       Should be reviewed and acknowledged by all employees annually.
   •      Sample attached.
2.       Leadership
   •       Leaders at the organization must set the tone and example in order to create a culture which will not tolerate harassment, no double –standards (actual or perceived).
   •       Build a diverse workforce.
3.       Anti-Harassment Training
   •       Should be upon hire and at least bi-annual for everyone at the organization
   •       Managers and supervisors in California at companies with more than 50 employees have a specific legal requirement for 2 hours of interactive training every 2 years.  This is a good practice no matter your company size or location, and we recommend training non-supervisory staff as well.
   •       Consider supplementing with Unconscious Bias and Inclusion training.
   •      Recommendations attached.
4.       Accountability
   •       Reporting Process & Non-Retaliation – create a safe channel for harassment reporting and clear steps for investigating and protecting complainants.
   •       Respond to all complaints. Investigations should be swift, fair, documented, thorough, and as confidential as possible.
   •       Policies, reported issues (maintaining confidentiality), and training compliance should be a board agenda item at least annually.

Our partners will be actively working with their respective portfolio companies to ensure that our companies have positive, respectful, and inclusive cultures.  You are also welcome to reach out to Laurie Tennant, our VP of People Advisory with any questions.  Together, we hope to make a difference.

Promod Haque, Jeff Crowe, and Jon Kossow

Norwest believes that proactive initiatives that focus on action are necessary to help address sexual harassment in and around our industry. Decency is a non-negotiable core value in all business interactions including those between employees, investors, and entrepreneurs, and we want to do our part as investors to encourage this behavior at our firm and at our portfolio companies.

As Laurie mentioned in her email, something that has been top of mind for our portfolio company executives, particularly given all of the news this past year, is how to ensure a positive, respectful, and inclusive culture. We believe we can play an important role by keeping this dialogue top of mind at board meetings and by providing our portfolio companies with the latest resources and knowledge to help them implement these best practices.