We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Ma recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda , appreciate you joining us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

At our company, we understand that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are essential elements of any successful business. We believe that creating an inclusive culture that celebrates differences, encourages dialogue, and promotes equity is critical to attracting customers and retaining top talent, fostering innovation, and ultimately driving better business results. That’s why we are proud to have helped one of our clients build a successful DEI employee engagement event experience series that has led to a better culture, more engaged team members, and ultimately better business results.

When our client, approached us about their desire to create a more inclusive workplace culture, we knew that a DEI employee engagement event series could be just the solution they needed. We started by understanding their current culture, identifying areas for improvement, and crafting a strategic plan to address these issues.

The first step in our plan was to create a series of engaging events that would bring employees together to learn, discuss, and share experiences related to DEI. We worked closely with the client to identify the most pressing DEI topics, including unconscious bias, women in the workplace, allyship, and more. We then curated a lineup of events that are informative, engaging, and thought-provoking.

As the event series progressed, we saw a noticeable shift in the company culture. Employees were more engaged, more open-minded, and more willing to speak up and share their experiences. They began to feel a greater sense of belonging and inclusion, which led to higher levels of job satisfaction and retention.

Moreover, the benefits of this series went beyond just improving employee engagement and satisfaction. Our client reported that their efforts to promote DEI also led to a stronger employer brand, attracting top talent who were looking for a company that valued diversity and inclusion. As a result, the company saw a reduction in recruitment costs and a boost in productivity, innovation, and overall business results.

In conclusion, we believe that creating a DEI employee engagement event experience series can be a powerful tool for improving workplace culture, promoting inclusivity, and ultimately driving better business results. We are proud to have helped our client achieve these goals and look forward to continuing to support organizations that share our commitment to DEI.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Amanda Ma is the Founder and Chief Experience Officer of Innovate Marketing Group (IMG), an award-winning experience agency based in Los Angeles. A one-stop solution from concept to execution. Amanda is an industry professional with 17+ years of experience in event management, experiential marketing, design, and execution. IMG prides itself on innovative designs, flawless execution, and an unparalleled client experience. Her company helps fuel brands to change lives for the better.

Amanda’s distinctions include Bizbash500, Eventx Top 100 Most Influential People in Events Industry, BizBash Event Style Award.

A collaborative leader, she is consistently sought out as a trusted strategic advisor. She currently sits on multiple boards, some including Entrepreneur Organization- Los Angeles as the Diversity & Inclusion Chair. Emeritus Chair of the Asian Pacific Community Fund. She is a big champion for diversity & inclusion. When she is not working with the White House or secret service, you can find her spending time with her family or traveling.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As entrepreneurs, we go through ups and downs all the time. These ups and downs impact us deeply because we are so close to and personally invested in our businesses. I am an avid entrepreneur and have now been in the events industry for 15 years.

In March 2020 when the pandemic hit and the US shut down, the events industry was completely disrupted. The entire industry ground to a halt. In my company, projects left and right were being canceled or put on hold indefinitely. Employees throughout the industry were being let go or furloughed.

The disruption impacted my business negatively in a significant way. It was a very scary, uneasy time to be an entrepreneur. There were moments when I thought to myself, “How will my company survive this, and how much longer can we possibly last?” Considering the multiple unknowns of the pandemic and its impact on the entire world, not just the United States, it was impossible to guess.

Leaning In

In that moment, despite the rampant uncertainties, I had a choice—to give up or to lean in and lead. I refused to take my foot off the pedal even though my back was against the wall. I knew I had to come out fighting like a warrior. I thought to myself, “This ship is not going down on my watch!”

I needed to come up with a solution. My brain was constantly working on it. There were days when I was mentally exhausted, but I forced myself to go back to the drawing board and think how I could save my company and my employees.

During those days, weeks, and months of frustration, I was grateful for the support of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and especially for my Forums (I’m a member of both the Go EO Los Angeles and KillingIt Forums). EO offered a multitude of informative events to help its members navigate the uncertainty of the situation. My Forum mates—who are all in other industries—took turns checking in on me to offer their support and brainstorm ideas with me. That’s the power of EO!

Channeling Fear

I gathered my team together to share my new mindset. I told them we had a choice: We could either live in fear, or we could harness our fear and channel that energy into how we would solve this problem of no in-person events. What solution could we provide to still help our clients connect their brands with people while obeying the strict COVID-19 rules in our region?

Eventually, we landed on the option of virtual events. As it turns out, my company was one of the early adopters of this new venue. We pivoted to offering virtual events and “Events To Go Kits” as a service. As a result of our fast thinking and ability to execute our pivot, we were able to make it through those dark days of the shutdown with zero furloughs and to provide job security for all our team members. That outcome was not typical of most of the companies in the events industry.

Going from 0 to 200

We learned as we went, and we made it work. We had to—so we did. I am very proud to say that, since March 2020, we have produced over 200 virtual events.

This outcome validates why it’s so important to be part of a community like Entrepreneurs’ Organization: My peers never stopped cheering for me and brainstorming with me as I developed my plan to take my company into the unchartered realm of virtual events. My friends, colleagues, and Forum mates shared their experiences, wisdom, and contacts to help make my idea for virtual events pivot into a success.

Facing added challenges

As an Asian American woman in business during a time fraught with anti-Asian rhetoric and even violence toward members of my community, I wouldn’t let those things stop me from succeeding.

Instead, I showed up more fully, more generously, and with gratitude for everything we have. It was important to me to model positive behavior for my kids, teaching them to be kind human beings who live a life of purpose–even in the face of what may seem like insurmountable challenges.

The result? We’re still standing, and we’re stronger than ever. At Innovate marketing Group, we believe that our differences make us unique. We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive, 100% women-owned business. We believe that life is too short for boring events—and we continue to do what we do best and love what we do!

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

There are simple things in life everyone benefits from culture, connection, and recognition. Three things are very often forgotten in the world of business, where profits are a priority. Would you believe that highly engaged teams show a 21% increase in profitability compared to those that are not?

Employee engagement is taking center stage in the business world with the goal of enhancing employees’ commitment and connection to the company. Employee engagement promotes the retention of talent, fosters customer loyalty, and improves organizational performance and stakeholder value. Employee appreciation events are a great tool to engage, show your appreciation, and celebrate one of your company’s most valuable assets.

How to Build A Strong Company Culture

By definition, culture is described as “the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social groups”. Your company is its own social group. The customs, traditions, and celebrations you implement come together to create a culture in which your team can either thrive or suffer.

Take time to celebrate your team members’ birthdays, anniversaries, and big life moments. Once you establish a culture of appreciation, the happiness of your employees will increase.

Connecting with your team with innovative benefits and methods

With Covid-19 came new ways of connection and methods of building trust amongst team members. With work-from-home mandates and priority shifts, many have grown attached to a flexible lifestyle, allowing for more time with family rather than commuting.

A way to offer your team members benefits that will keep them on board is to continue allowing work from home or hybrid work. Most likely, last year your team members showed you how they can work from home and still do a great job. Perhaps offering a mixed hybrid work schedule would be an incentive to stay.

Within our company, Innovate Marketing Group, our team members work from the office three days a week and work from home two days a week. This allows for the benefit of working from home and keeping that time to connect at the office.

Employee Engagement and Culture-Building Activities

The easiest way to incorporate culture-building into the framework of your business is to set time aside once a month for a culture-building activity. During Covid-19 work from home restrictions, virtual culture event for an hour promotes connectivity and lets your employees know you care. When we curate these employee engagement series we are very intentional and we take into consideration the company culture. Demographics , like, and interests in order to design a successful program that produces results.

Contact Info:

• Website: innovatemkg.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovatemkg/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/innovatemkg
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovate-marketing-group
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@innovatemarketinggroupinc.7348