Lau is both an HR innovator and community leader in Philadelphia, where she holds a leadership role mentoring with the Penjerdel Employee Benefits and Compensation Association. At Comcast, she leads by example, continuing to help build relationships across Comcast, NBCU and Sky and recently guiding the company’s approach regarding how employees will return to the office for in-person work. She’s also focused on diverse talent for Comcast. “This includes ensuring we are attracting candidates from marginalized communities, through strong partnerships with diversity recruiting organizations, working closely with HBCUs and our commitment to diverse slates,” Lau says.
What’s one way your company has broadened the recruiting process to ensure greater diversity?
Our inclusive recruiting practices are key to our success in attracting and retaining a diverse representation of talent. This includes ensuring we are attracting candidates from marginalized communities, through strong partnerships with diversity recruiting organizations, working closely with HBCUs, and our commitment to diverse slates. Throughout the interview process, we work to make sure we have representative interview panels, and hiring managers that are trained on inclusive practices like working against unconscious bias. More recently, for our internal candidates, we have been especially successful with our “gig” program, where our high-potential talent are able to serve as “gig” resources. These employees allocate all or portion of their time over a few weeks to six months on other teams on short-term, impactful projects. We have been able to recruit and retain very strong internal talent from underrepresented communities through this program and have given them the visibility and platform to develop and further progress their careers within the company.
Best advice for someone looking to re-enter the workforce after a hiatus?
I would strongly recommend focusing on companies that are committed to talent who are seeking to restart their careers. Many organizations—including ours—sponsor workforce entry programs for parents and veterans, and they are ideal companies on which to focus. You’ll find these companies are focused less on gaps in the resume, and more on the skills and competencies it would take to do the job well. It is also very important to spend time on interview preparation. Even the most talented interviewers need practice—research the company, and ensure that you can clearly share how you continued to develop your skills while on hiatus.
