Adobe's Brian Miller talks about the importance of diversity, leadership, and talent development

Text/Carolina Milanesi

Brian Miller, Adobe's new chief talent, diversity and inclusion officer. Image source: Adobe

Before the end of the year, I sat down with Brian Miller, Adobe's new chief talent, diversity and inclusion officer, who is making adobe's vision for All fully realized.

"Adobe is a good idea that can come from any source," Miller said. When named Adobe's chief talent, diversity and inclusion officer, he added: "The idea of democratizing the idea really appealed to me. ”

Prior to joining the Adobe family, Miller served as Impossible Foods' chief human resources officer, where he led initiatives to provide "high salaries" for all employees. Prior to joining Impossible Foods, he dedicated his 10-year career to Gilead Sciences as Vice President of Talent, Development and Inclusion. After lunch with Gloria Chen, Adobe's chief people officer and executive vice president of employee experience, Miller made it clear what his next job was.

Miller explains: "I think we're really starting to see that together we can do something special, great. It was this realization at lunch that inspired Miller's strategic goal: to make Adobe the best place to work, learn and grow.

While narrowing the diversity gap, to do this, we must first start from the most basic aspects: optimize recruitment practices and recruit diverse talents. But it can't stop there. "It's an idea that combines talent acquisition with talent development. Talent acquisition and talent management, diversity and inclusion, must work together. ”

Miller said enthusiastically.

Many times, organizations extend their DE&I commitment too thinly, hoping that it will fit seamlessly into everything they do without an actual application strategy. But for Adobe, Miller said, "We want to make sure that DE&I is not just a call to action, but the way we perform every day." It has its own pillars, but there are also multiple pillars that have the opportunity to influence the entire company. ”

In the anti-racist campaign of the summer of 2020, among the calls for corporate unity, there was sharp criticism from the public that engaged in expressive activism but ultimately proved that their dedication was for the bottom line and the pacification of stakeholders. As the criticism subsided, so did their efforts. But that's not the case with Adobe, and even when there's no headlines to deal with, Miller is determined to keep the momentum going.

"If you look back ten years ago, the DE&I conversation was a very intellectual conversation," Miller said. "We're talking about unconscious bias. We're talking about code conversion. We're talking about micro-aggression. We discussed intersectionality. As soon as the epidemic broke out, george floyd died, and the Reichstag riot occurred, everything became a manifestation of the heart. I feel like people will stand up and say, 'You know what, I need to do something.' ’”

It was this rise in energy that led Miller to reflect on his vision for Adobe in "AAA": activism to advocacy to agency. "At this company, they'll say we can move from activism to advocacy, and then we'll give you agency in that regard."

While taking responsibility for these goals, Miller is implementing priorities that will achieve measurable results. One of Miller's strategies is what he calls great managers. "Every employee should have a good manager," he says. "After all, in this era of big resignations, we have to remember that most of the time, people leave the manager, not the company. For Miller, achieving management excellence means companies must "redouble their training, double their accountability, and double their empowerment."

He further explained: "If these things are not done well, we all know it. They have a disproportionate impact on underrepresented minorities and women. Every data point will tell you this. If we don't do well, they are the first to feel it, and usually the first to leave. ”

Achieving management excellence also means diversity in leadership, not just for diversity's sake, but for the multiplier effect. Diversity in leadership means younger employees can look up at themselves and see that there is a path ahead of them.

"How do we make opportunities more transparent?" Miller asked in response to his first strategic pillar. "We have a great method called Check-in, where we make feedback available to all employees and build a profile that automatically creates other job opportunities for the company. For example, if you're a senior HR manager, the system will show you other people who have held this position at the company and what other positions they have held in the company. ”

Adobe will use this technology-based transparency to articulate growth opportunities. Using the compiled data, they will be able to see exactly all the functions of the company on a global scale.

Another key focus will be to continue to expand the operational success of its talent acquisition strategy. Miller proudly shared: "It's an amazing team. He also said that by the year he took office for 90 days, they had hired 6,000 employees. Of course, these talent acquisition efforts are all actively committed to building diversity and promoting inclusion in their ranks.

For Miller, the end goal is very clear: "We should be a destination for underrepresented minorities... We should be the first choice for blacks and African Americans, the first choice for hispanic and Latino communities, and the first choice for LGBTQIA. They'll say, 'Hey, Adobe? That's where I want to go. ’”

With a strong conviction and a commitment to responsibility, Miller embarked on a journey that built on the existing excellence he saw within Adobe. This nuance and unwavering dedication can play a role in the pursuit of a more diverse and inclusive work culture, especially in tech.

Carolina Milanesi is a Forbes contributor and expresses opinions on behalf of individuals only.

Translated by Stephen