Global LGBTQIA+ Advisory Support @ Spotify

Creating and developing workplace strategies that center on the most marginalized groups in our society can be very challenging, particularly because the field of social justice is not always easy to emulate within corporate environments. To that effect, Spotify wanted to create a robust LGBTQIA+ strategy for their employees - both LGBTQIA+ members and allies - and brought-in Converge Firm to jumpstart this project.

To develop a successful LGBTQIA+ strategy, the first step for Spotify was to listen to their people: to hear their employees’ thoughts, opinions, ideas and more to inform the strategy. Converge was hired to put together a series of listening sessions across the organization and provide a comprehensive outcome from the listening sessions. Converge hosted 8 listening sessions total to hear from both the LGBTQIA+ community and allies within Spotify. Over 80 Spotify employees participated in these sessions, held globally across the U.S., EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), and Asia to ensure all perspectives, identities and voices were heard and would be thoughtfully considered and intertwined into the broader LGBTQIA+ strategy. Each session was held with anonymity and in the strictest of confidence, to allow for Spotify employees to share their true thoughts and opinions without any fear or restriction in the suggestions they shared. 

Spotify’s primary goals for their LGBTQIA+ strategy included heightening and elevating the lives and engagement of their LGBTQIA+ members and to attract, retain and develop LGBTQIA+ talent. Converge put together key themes, highlights and recommendations from the listening session in a way that protected the identities of the session participants while providing Spotify’s DEI team with critical information to help inform their strategy. Converge also provided specific steps Spotify could take to develop a well-rounded and inclusive strategy, including recommendations not only from the listening tour but more broadly to inform the DEI efforts within Spotify through Converge’s expertise in this field.

Converge’s expertise and knowledge across a wide spectrum of DEI work proved invaluable in both creating strategic recommendations to inform Spotify’s LGBTQIA+ strategy and building a collaborative, trusting partnership with Spotify employees and their DEI team. As one representative from Spotify shared, “Converge wants not only to get to know the organization and their partners, but what their values are, how they can meet you where you’re at right now. They asked many insightful questions and were as collaborative as they can be - we really developed a true partnership.”

— Marc McKenna-Coles, EMEA Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Strategy Lead