Focus on three essential types of equity: economic, professional, and emotional.
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While earning my electrical engineering degree, I took a controls theory class. It dealt with things like how rockets are designed to launch to just the right spot or how controllers for manufacturing are programmed so bottle caps twist on properly.
I enjoyed the class, but it all seemed very theoretical. So, I had the audacity one day to ask my professor if what we were learning would be applicable in the real world. He had worked at IBM for several years, so he pulled out some reports he had written and said, “Thumb through these and see if anything looks familiar.”
Sure enough, I recognized concepts from class.
Then he said, “Look, in college, you’re learning a lot of concepts, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to give you a skillset to solve problems. That’s what theory does.”
That was the piece that stuck with me. At Rayburn, we’re solving problems to improve people’s lives—that’s what electricity does. Everything we do is focused on that goal. We also want to improve the lives of our staff members. To do this, we focus on three essential types of equity: economic, professional, and emotional.
Economic equity ensures fair compensation. But a paycheck alone doesn’t build loyalty.
People might join for the paycheck, but they stay for other reasons. We are still trying to figure out why reasons that worked in workforce development a decade ago don’t work today.
The industry is changing too rapidly. Many organizations, including ours, have implemented tuition reimbursement programs to foster economic equity beyond fair pay to help eliminate barriers to professional growth. Some companies subsidize wellness initiatives such as gym memberships or provide on-site fitness equipment to reduce employees’ out-of-pocket expenses.
Offering paid volunteer days or service grants further supports employees’ financial well-being while aligning with their values, fostering a sense of purpose and community impact. These offerings impact the economic health of our people and address that side of the equation.
Professional equity is different. This is found in giving people opportunities to grow and develop. Training for certifications and continuing education is relatively straightforward. The harder part is challenging people to accept new roles before they feel completely ready. To encourage professional equity, many leaders establish mentorship programs and structured career pathways that align individual growth with organizational goals.
They also offer role rotations or stretch assignments that allow employees to explore new skills in a low-risk environment. These are all useful in helping build a workforce invested in more than just a job description and a paycheck.
Finally, emotional equity is our people’s investment in making a difference and improving their and others’ quality of life. You achieve this by giving people real things to do – not just placating them. In Rayburn’s flat organization, our people have to contribute, which helps fulfill this emotional need to make a meaningful impact. It’s the way we’re set up.
To build emotional equity, consider implementing team-based projects where employees can see the tangible outcomes of their efforts. Regular recognition and storytelling about how their work impacts the organization and community can also deepen emotional investment.
These three equities combine to attract, build, and retain the best people for the best teams. The skillset that gets someone to where they are isn’t the same skillset that will take them where they need to go next. As people advance, technical expertise often becomes less critical than leadership capabilities.
Our excellence today should be better than yesterday, but not as good as tomorrow.
