The next C4DISC Community of Practice call will be held on March 2, 2026.
Monday March 2 – 9 am Los Angeles / 12 pm New York / 5 pm UTC & GMT / 6pm CET / 7 pm Cape Town / 8 pm Nairobi / 10.30 pm India Time converter link.
The theme this time is Recruitment, Retention, and Resilience in Publishing.
We revisit the discussion of recruitment and retention with a focus on current challenges of intensifying political pressures on diversity initiatives and widespread restructures. Despite these headwinds, many organizations remain committed to building inclusive workforces that reflect the diverse perspectives of their customers.
The recruitment and retention process encompasses seeking out, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding employees, partners, and vendors. In publishing, this extends to authors, reviewers, and editors. As the industry navigates economic pressures and shifting political landscapes, how we approach these processes becomes increasingly critical to organizational success and cultural relevance.
Questions/discussion prompts
- How have recent industry redundancies affected your organization’s approach to recruitment, and what strategies have proven effective for retaining talent during uncertain times?
- With political challenges to DEI initiatives intensifying, what concrete actions is your organization taking to maintain commitment to inclusive recruitment practices?
- How are you adapting recruitment language, platforms, and methodologies to ensure continued progress in building diverse teams despite external pressures?
- What innovative onboarding and mentorship approaches have you implemented to support new colleagues, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds?
- How can publishing organizations create sustainable career pathways for people from low-income backgrounds when the industry faces economic constraints?
- What role should industry associations and cross-publisher collaborations play in advancing inclusive recruitment and retention during challenging times?
- How are you measuring the effectiveness of your diversity initiatives in recruitment and retention, and what metrics have proven most valuable?
- In what ways can publishers balance necessary cost-cutting measures with continued investment in diversity and inclusion programs?
Participants will have breakout room discussions around any aspect of this topic they wish to bring and we will come together for the last part of the call to hear key takeaways.
If you are a COP member you will receive the Zoom link ahead of the call. If you have not yet joined the COP then – learn more here on how to join the community.
Upcoming planned calls
DEIA Community of Practice Call Summaries