Attract Diverse Talent by investing in their future

Context: As 72andSunny experienced rapid growth, the agency faced increasing pressure from clients to cultivate a more diverse workforce—one that could better represent their customers and meet the demand for innovative communication solutions. 72andSunny required a unique strategy to attract a broader, more diverse talent pool equipped with future-focused skills.

My Role: Founding Director. I was hired to design and run a talent solution to address this need.

Strategy: I delivered 72U, a first of its kind program that is part talent accelerator and part creative incubator to attract high-potential, diverse talent. For Participants, the collaborative, project-based program provided real world experience to develop hard and soft skills while add to their portfolio. The project-based curriculum was reimagined for each cohort in order to leverage the participant’s skills and passions to create culturally relevant work. Outputs of the program included pop up experiences, conceptual events, social impact murals, and documentary films which were launched into the world and were free and open to the public. The program was a backdoor and onramp to full time employment. For the agency, the program was a way to de-risk talent with non-traditional backgrounds and expand the organization’s capabilities and perspective. These projects were often written up about which garnered free press and goodwill for 72andSunny.

Impact: 70% of participants transitioned to full-time roles. Alumni of the program achieved a 66% higher retention rate than peers who didn’t join the program. The projects that were produced consistently garnered earned media for 72andSunny and helped land 72andSunny on Fast Company’s, “Most Innovative Companies” list. I was invited to speak all over the world on the topic of Creative Collaboration and Innovation.