At Alley, we strive to create an environment where our diversity is respected, valued, and embraced — and where our team members feel a true sense of belonging. We want to ensure that Alley is a place where historically underrepresented and marginalized groups, including women, BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, and people with disabilities feel engaged, motivated, and fulfilled as they advance their careers.

What does retention have to do with DEIA?

Retention is one of five key areas where we focus our diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts. While retention is a worthy business goal at large, in the DEIA space, it takes on a whole new dimension. Retention is both an indication that we’ve cultivated a healthy environment, but more importantly, a high retention rate means those who’ve built and cultivated a sense of belonging and community at Alley have also built and cultivated a fulfilling career.

Taking actionable steps

Setting goals and taking clear, actionable steps helps us uphold our values of quality, transparency, and accountability in everything we do — including in the DEIA space. To that end, we’ve outlined our specific goals around retention and the steps we’ve taken in launching company-wide DEIA initiatives with both short-term and long-term impact.

Our Goals

Reach and maintain 90% company-wide retention
Increase our Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) score

Steps we’ve taken

Adopted Small Improvements, a tool that makes praise and recognition more accessible for team members and more visible to leadership. (Q1 2021)
Implemented Alley Supports to minimize preventable and avoidable turnover by developing a strategic support structure designed for early and effective responses to technical and adaptive challenges, matched to each individual’s needs. (Q2 2021)
Internally published company-wide salary bands across all departments and roles for ongoing transparency. (Q2 2021)
Published steps for career advancement to increase transparency and consistency across departments. (Q3 2021)
Replaced Alley’s Coaching Program with a Mentorship Program to foster more equitable access to leadership and direct technical support for all team members. (Q4 2022)

What the future holds

Retention, like any long-term initiative, is an evolving force. Employee needs, preferences, and expectations will continue to shift and grow, challenging us to rise to the occasion in meeting them in a productive and meaningful way. As we move forward, we will continue to use a research-based approach to identify new areas of improvement that foster career progression, professional development, psychological safety, and community.