Ask the Expert: Building More Equitable Communities and More Diverse Workplaces

Through our work with hundreds of clients, The Diversity Movement has connected with thousands of fascinating people who are creating more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces and communities. For this “Ask the Expert” series, we invite leaders to talk about their DEI journey, lessons they’ve learned, and what inspires them every day. 

Josh Haymond, Managing Partner, Vaco

Josh Haymond, Managing Partner of Vaco Raleigh, is an equity holder in the company, where he has P&L responsibilities and serves as the lead business developer for the market. Josh is a CPA who practiced accounting at PwC and KPMG prior to joining Vaco. He remains active in the community through the nonprofit organization he founded, Beyond Basketball, and by supporting other community organizations focused on helping underserved youth. Josh and his wife, Christie, have two sons, Liam and McDaniel. 

Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share the story of how you came to your current role?

I joined Vaco, a global recruiting and consulting firm, in 2013 after spending just over five years in public accounting as a practicing CPA in the world of external audit, where I supported clients by providing accurate financial statements. Though I loved client service, I wanted to find a role where I could bet on myself. Since I joined Vaco, the company has grown 550%. I was promoted to an equity holder in 2017, and further to Raleigh Managing Partner in 2021. Along with our market leadership responsibilities, I continue to serve as our lead business developer.

How are you working to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in your community?

Professionally, through my efforts with Vaco, we are on the forefront of building teams across all industries. We see firsthand the hiring process for hundreds of clients each year and can ensure that our clients are focused on inclusive hiring. With the ability to influence our clients to think differently than they had previously around diverse and equitable hiring, it is important that we continuously educate our recruiting and sales team on DEI best practices. That is why we have engaged The Diversity Movement to continue to provide our team guidance and awareness around areas like unconscious bias, so we are able to be an extension of DEI through the many clients we support.

As part of my role with Vaco, we are active on college campuses annually, supporting the future workforce with job search best practices. We intentionally focus equal or more time at local historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) compared to other universities.

In 2020, I founded Beyond Basketball, a nonprofit that prepares youth for life after the ball stops bouncing. We hold workshops and youth summits on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, mental and physical wellness, and career development. Most of the youth in our program are culturally diverse, as we focus on serving the Southeast Raleigh community, which has faced challenges of gaining access to opportunities and resources despite rapid growth and development of our market. During and since the pandemic, we have distributed over 1000 Chromebooks to students who did not have adequate access to computers during virtual learning and beyond. In the spirit of “putting my money where my mouth is,” I am Beyond Basketball’s largest donor. Beyond Basketball mindfully procures from Black-owned businesses, further promoting economic equity.

Aside from Beyond Basketball, I am an active member of the community, having spent years volunteering in various community organizations including the Raleigh Boys Club and Second Round Boxing, a youth program sponsored by Haven House Services. I also coached basketball at my former high school and built deeper mentor/mentee relationships with student-athletes who needed more hands-on support than the basketball coaching itself.

Finally, I am an investor in The Diversity Movement. With my connections to business leaders, HR leaders, and finance leaders, I am in a rare seat to be able to fuel TDM’s growth in my daily conversations. 

Can you share a personal experience that fuels your passion?

I was raised by a single mother who worked two jobs to make ends meet, as my mother and father divorced when I was a baby. As I was growing up, my father was in and out of prison, struggling with substance abuse and depression. To this day, my father has very little to his name, and lives in poverty with his wife and my younger half-sister in rural South Carolina. 

I was raised by my mother and her parents in Raleigh. My grandfather on my mother’s side grew up dirt poor in the Bronx, and married my grandmother, also from a poor family. He was in the Army for years, completing his active service during the Vietnam War. My mom and her three siblings lived in Thailand for several years and moved around the United States every few years until finally settling down in North Carolina. My grandfather made money quite late in life as a successful business owner, but even though the family had financial freedom, my mother was too proud to ask for much help. 

My grandfather taught me many lessons growing up that have fueled my work ethic as a youth scholar and athlete, into my professional success. I wanted to be successful enough where I did not have to live like my father. I knew that having very little when I was growing up did not mean I could not find success, financial freedom, and peace as an adult. Now my mission is to provide other youth with similar opportunities for success and financial freedom, as well as the confidence that they deserve them. 

Can you tell us about a DEI win that you are proud of? It doesn’t have to be big, just meaningful for you.

We have spent the last four years building a consulting team at Vaco that serves our clients with special project and staff augmentation needs. We have attracted talent from diverse backgrounds, skill sets, upbringings, beliefs, genders, and races. As the team has grown, our consultants feel Vaco is a safe place, referenced by the fact that many of the consultants we hire refer friends and former colleagues, which has also driven continued diversity in our team. When I joined Vaco – and several years afterward –  I would often hear, “There are not a lot of Black accountants,” which simply isn’t true. We have put ourselves in the places where there is a greater likelihood of hiring culturally diverse candidates. 

Character is so important today in our professional and personal lives. Which character trait do you think has been most helpful in your journey? Can you please share a story or example of that trait in action?

Empathy. My upbringing taught me to not assume. When you look at me, you wouldn’t necessarily know some of the challenges I faced. Unless you were one of the select few friends who knew me at a deeper level, you might have believed I was a stereotypically normal kid from a stereotypically normal family who wasn’t going through challenges at home. Even though my upbringing wasn’t perfect, I still knew I had it better than so many others.

I wanted to help others as much as possible, and I truly believe I found my calling in recruiting and consulting. We work with so many people who have had their lives turned upside down overnight due to a layoff, their company getting acquired, whatever the case may be. For those people, it is more than losing a job. It’s about the result of the job loss – whether it be taking care of an elderly parent, supporting children, being able to pay one’s rent. That is why I care. It is important for us to humanize those we encounter.

What is your one piece of advice for people who want to be inclusive leaders?

Stop making excuses for why your organization is not diverse. Talent from all walks of life exists if you are deliberate in your hiring practices. 

How can people follow you online or connect with you?

I am most active on LinkedIn, write a monthly post on my personal blog, and can be reached via email at josh@vaco.com. I look forward to connecting!

Check out more expert advice in TDM Library, where you’ll find articles, videos, how-to guides, podcasts, and webinars – all organized by topic so you can quickly find the answers you need about the subjects you care about. When you subscribe to TDM Library, you get access to thousands of award-winning DEI learning resources, so you can start improving your workplace culture right away.