The Importance of Belonging in the Workplace With Travis Robinson, Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Spotify
In this episode:
The importance of belonging in the workplace with Travis Robinson, Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Spotify.
This week, Travis Robinson stops by to discuss how Spotify is creating an inclusive community within its product and within its organization. Travis shares how he developed and evolved his Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging strategy.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What is belonging — and what does it look like in the workplace?
- The power of storytelling and how you should be thinking about it
- The problem of emerging brands often turning to bigger organizations to replicate DE&I practices
- What organizations can be doing right now, in the near future, and long-term
Our guest:
Travis Robinson is a people and brand evangelist, specializing in curating connections and experiences for diversity, equity, and belonging. Travis currently serves as Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Spotify. He previously served as Vice President, Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Universal Music Group, the first for any major label music company. While at Universal Music Group, he also served as co-chair of the Internal/Institutional Change committee for the Task Force for Meaningful Change. Prior to joining Universal Music Group, Mr. Robinson was head of global Diversity Recruiting & Americas Campus Programs at Spotify. He has also served in similar roles in diversity & inclusion and human capital at other industry-leading, multinational brands such as: J.P. Morgan, Federal Reserve System, and W Hotels. In his community and economic impact work, he is involved in advocacy and change work for equity with underrepresented communities. He is an Advisory Board Member for Diversity and Inclusion We The Project, an accredited Investor with The Gaingels Network, and is Co-founder and CEO of Zeal Culture, The 12th Avenue Agency, and Belonging.
We are data-informed. We look at the data and slice it quite a bit. Representation for us, it's more than just getting folks in the door. It's looking at attrition and all of those pieces — the timing, the tenure and what are some predictive analytics that we can think through. If we're seeing black women leave after three years, why are they leaving, and at what level? It's really about shifting behaviors and making sure that leadership behaviors, mindsets, and the communities that we develop are inclusive in our approach.
