Table XI Blog

We had a lot of beliefs about who worked at Table XI, but not a lot of data. We had never done a diversity survey to see how people identified, in part because we weren’t a large organization and in part because we felt like we already knew the answer. Which is proof we fall into the same trap we’re constantly helping our partners avoid.

Forget what you think you know and ask questions of the people you’re trying to understand.

See the results in our first annual diversity report

To pull together the right survey questions, we had to think about what we were trying to learn, where it would ultimately be shared and most importantly, how we could make everyone feel comfortable sharing information about how they identify. It took us about half a year to figure out, but what we have now is a repeatable and representative process we can use to put real goals behind our diversity efforts going forward.

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We had remote employees and remote project managers well before COVID-19, but the pandemic made remote facilitation part of everyone’s reality. It also made us realize we weren’t as optimized for remote work as we thought. 

In the past, if a technical issue came up during a meeting, we’d try to resolve it, but it would usually fall on the remote person to figure out what worked best for them. COVID-19 changed this: We had to get more deliberate, and our facilitations are better for it. 

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Anything we’ve wanted to improve on at Table XI has come with a plan. A couple of years ago it became clear we could be doing better with hiring and working with diverse groups of people so we started to discuss plans for it. We had guidelines for what this would look like and had a few programs running in the background of our day to day operations. 

Since the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent widespread civil unrest, it’s become clear to us that diversity equity and inclusion cannot be sidework to our overall product. It cannot be seen as a program of work or an initiative — but rather a core part of our company strategy. It has to be with all of us in everything we do.

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Building an inclusive culture is a point of pride at Table XI. But when we look around the room at our leadership meetings, it’s clear we haven’t done near enough to make our team truly representative of our society.

Women and people of color leave tech at a higher rate, often citing uncomfortable work cultures and lack of opportunities for growth. We can’t be a part of that problem. For BIPOC, Black and Indigenous People of Color, to feel truly a part of Table XI and see a path to leadership, we have to make space for them. Anti-racist talk isn’t enough, we need to take action and keep taking it — even if we trip up, even if things quiet down around us.

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Anti-racism isn’t an announcement. It’s a series of actions to oppose racism. As a primarily white organization, that work is on us. We're being transparent with our community because we want to hold ourselves accountable — both for the institutional changes that will make us a more representative organization and the systematic changes that will make us a more representative society. As we plan out the best way to expand the scope and impact of our anti-racist actions, we hope you'll help to push us further than we might go on our own, and that you'll be inspired to join us in taking action.

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Why We Do What We Do

At Table XI our product is our people. To deliver the best solutions, we need as much diversity in the room as possible, and we need to be able to learn from each other. We also believe that to be seen for who you are — and made to feel a sense of belonging — is a fundamental courtesy every business should extend to each team member and one that isn’t always extended in our world today. That’s why we’re working to create an environment that is inclusive for everyone.

Thanks to our partners and co-authors of our DEI Roadmap at Ethos Talent. Their leadership and consultation has been instrumental in our journey at Table XI.

To start, that means understanding what diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging mean at Table XI.

• Diversity refers to who is in the room and how many different social identity groups are represented.
• Equity understands that individuals are faced with societal challenges based on their social identity groups at the cultural and industry levels, among others, and focuses on making sure that in spite of an inequitable world, they have the same access to opportunities based on the processes and practices we have put in place.
• Inclusion is our choice to include and welcome others, and ...
• Belonging is how we feel — leveraged, valued, and celebrated for who we are — as a result of what we’ve put in place for them as a company.

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We join Americans in outrage not only over the murder of George Floyd and too many crimes like it, but also the reality of systemic racism in our society that allows for and promotes inequities, bigotry, and oppression.

It’s up to all of us to stand up and stand together in demanding that the abhorrent treatment of Black people in our country stop. No more.

We remain committed to our values, key among them the idea of challenging and supporting each other. We invite you to join us in challenging ourselves to actively live our anti-racist ideals, while listening, supporting and standing in solidarity with our Black colleagues, clients, family, friends, and neighbors.

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The upside about being an early blogging adopter is that we have a thorough record of the last 10 years at Table XI. The downside is that we have a thorough record of all of our opinions from the last 10 years. But for every baby-faced photo and review of a long-dead app, we also have a record of why we’ve grown the way we have over the past decade. 

As different as we may have looked 10 years ago, we still try to act pretty much the same — with compassion and curiosity and constant desire to learn new things and get better.

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We work closely with our peers, so we know what an honor it is to make any list of best Chicago tech companies. It’s stiff competition — there’s a lot of talent here. That’s why we’re so proud to see several of our practice groups, and our podcast, rank at the top of industry.

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