At Perficient, we value and champion diversity. We believe that our individual differences make us stronger as a team.
Perficient Champions Our Diverse Community
In September 2020, Perficient colleagues gathered for the month’s highly-anticipated social event: A Cultural Celebration Happy Hour. This event, planned by the Cultural and Social Committee, highlighted the rich diversity of our Perficient family.
The happy hour was a hit, with presenters spanning six cultures and over thirty event participants! Our Perficient teammates each presented on their cultures and countries, sharing and storytelling about what makes them unique. Speakers covered everything from food to fashion, holidays to architecture. At a time when international travel isn’t exactly an option, our presenters brought the world to us (and all from the socially-distanced safety of Microsoft Teams!).
Why Celebrating Diversity Matters
Here at Perficient, we are thrilled to offer opportunities for our diverse community to connect and share their stories. Whether it’s by celebrating Diwali together or sharing tips on how to be more inclusive, our colleagues understand that people are at the heart of Perficient. Our differences make us stronger in many ways: we become more empathetic teammates, stronger communicators, and inspiring leaders who champion innovation and collaboration.
“Culture is a strong part of people’s lives, so when building relationships with others it helps to have some perspective and understanding of their cultures.” – Andrea Lampert, VP of People
Want to learn more about how Perficient champions diversity? Read this post about how our differences make for stronger collaboration!
The Impact of Inclusive Leadership
Perficient’s VP of People, Andrea Lampert, came to Perficient with great ideas on how to support and encourage our workplace community. In fact, Andrea hosted the Cultural Celebration Happy Hour and has made celebrating diversity a focus for Perficient. When asked what she thought of the event, she shared, “I’m proud to work at a company that takes the time to help colleagues learn about cultural differences, a key to bringing people closer together and working better together.”
Andrea also shared that she loved seeing colleagues take pride in their culture and that it was incredible that a virtual event could invoke so much engagement and excitement. She said, “Culture is a strong part of people’s lives, so when building relationships with others it helps to have some perspective and understanding of their cultures. At Perficient, we never stop learning, and events like this make the learning fun!”
Meet Our Presenters
Six colleagues volunteered to share their stories and cultures with the larger Perficient community. They shared family photos, taught us about their culture’s languages and foods, and inspired us with their passion and pride. Mariana Huber (Corporate Marketing) shared about her Mexican heritage. She shared, “There are many things that I love about the Mexican culture but my two favorites are the family-oriented mindset and the food!” Mariana also noted, “I am very fortunate to work for a corporation that not only supports cultural diversity but celebrates it.”
Mariana and her children are pictured here celebrating Dia De Los Muertos!
Mamta Kohli, Project Manager, and Ramakrishna Hanish Chikoti, Tech Consulting, gave their presentation on their Indian culture. Mamta even shared a personal family photo with us, as the “undivided family” is an extremely important Indian tradition. Ramakrishna and Mamta introduced us to the classical Indian folk dances, the country’s most popular foods, and even the colorful Holi festival in which attendees celebrate with colored powders that are tossed into the air!
Our presenters also included Nino Obanor, a tech consultant in St. Louis, who shared two cultures with us! Nino’s mother is from Belgrade, Serbia, and his father comes from Nigeria. Nino originally came to the US to pursue basketball on a scholarship and has shared that basketball is quite popular in Serbia. Nidie Ewbank, a business consultant in St. Louis, presented on The Philippines and her favorite celebration, Fiesta. Our last presenter was Natalia Pelaez Henao, who shared her pride and love for her home country, Colombia. Natalia noted that Colombia is full of singing, dancing, and color, and happens to be one of the most megadiverse countries in the world!
“The World is a Global Village…”
Perficient is honored and excited to continue celebrating diversity in the workplace. In the words our VP of People, Andrea Lampert, “The world is becoming a global village. We need to be intentional about forming relationships…and understanding different cultures.”
Here at Perficient, we will continue to share the ways we make diversity a focus and celebrate the rich backgrounds of Perficient’s people! Be sure to follow this blog series for updates – you might just learn a thing or two about the incredible cultures and individuals that make us great!
