Merkle (formerly Namics) is a full-service digital agency with over 550 employees at six locations in Switzerland, Germany, and Serbia. When it comes to diversity management, the company participated, for example, in the “trans welcome” program of TGNS (Transgender Network Switzerland) for the inclusion of trans* people in the world of work.
As part of the pilot for the Toolkit: Women & Diversity in Innovation, Merkle has set itself the goal to raise employees’ awareness of diversity and to promote inclusive internal communication. The existing organizational culture provides favorable conditions which the company intends to foster in the future. Managers at Merkle take on the role of coaches and maintain a professional and personal exchange with employees in the form of weekly feedback meetings. The intranet has developed into a transparent exchange platform that resembles a social network: all employees have an equal opportunity to post.
In addition, Merkle has initiated several targeted measures to promote inclusion in HR management and internal communications. For example, having a Diversity Manager participate in all promotion interviews raises general awareness regarding this issue. Furthermore, Merkle has conducted an anonymized survey among employees to record the general prevalence of stereotypes and “pigeonhole thinking”, as well as to uncover possible incidents of bullying or discrimination. An internal awareness campaign on the theme of diversity is also planned.