Page 10 - GreenMaster Winter 2022

A Deep Dive Into Syngenta’s ED&I Initiative
When Syngenta was in the final stages of formalizing its ED&I strategy and had thoughts of making it a global initiative, Dale Kobelsky’s first call was to CGSA Executive Director, Jeff Calderwood.
“CGSA has been with us from day one on this program,” said Kobelsky, who believed Canada would be the ideal country to trial Syngenta’s visionary idea. “I had that first discussion with Jeff about it over a year ago, and his first point was how this could really help the labour issue the game is facing. I commend them for jumping on board this early. We all have a shared interest in the sport and in the turf management of the game for consumers, so this really shows the partnership between the industry and suppliers. I don’t think we could do this without the CGSA quite honestly.”
Calderwood recalls that conversation vividly. “When Dale called, he said they had something they wanted to do globally with ED&I and wanted to kick it off in Canada, we were eager to listen,” he said. “Syngenta is a big partner of CGSA. It is a very forward-thinking company, especially Dale. Kudos to them for taking the lead on this. Our role is to help, support and promote something that they’ve customized for golf effectively and specifically for the maintenance department.”
Syngenta’s roll out to Canadian superintendents and turf grass specialists kicked off at the CGSA’s annual conference where ED&I leads spoke to a large gathering of attendees on its planned vision. “I believe it was the second most attended session of the entire show,” Kobelsky said. “No question there is interest.”
Dustin Zdan, AGS, Superintendent at Blackhawk GC, CGSA Vice President and a past president of the Alberta Golf Superintendents Association, praised Syngenta for its leadership and commitment to foster a more diverse, equitable and inclusive turf grass team environment.
“They have been a trusted leader in our industry in so many ways. They support continuing education and our conferences, so this is another great step and initiative they have taken the lead on to the surprise of no one,” Zdan said.
On the heels of the CGSA conference, Syngenta is planning a series of three webinars this fall that will focus on practical areas to help bolster ED&I at a facility. The first is on inclusive culture building. It will be followed by a second webinar on communicating in a more inclusive manner and the final session will revolve around inclusive performance management and the distinction between management and leadership.
“The other thing we’ve already done is host a two day ED&I retreat. We brought in superintendents, we had human resources representation, people from the management side of golf courses, representatives from the LGBTQ2S+ community, female superintendents and First Nations representatives,” said Kobelsky. “It was a discussion on reaching out more effectively beyond where we’ve been reaching out to find people tojointurfteamsandjointhe sport. Little things that can be done in short term to enhance inclusiveness and finding people in places where we might not have looked before.”
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Dale Kobelsky, Syngenta’s Head of Professional Solutions – Canada, bringing all golf stake- holders together on this initiative.
“If a superintendent can incorporate a solid ED&I strategy at their golf course, and people can see how much more powerful, creative and productive they can get by implementing this kind of platform, we believe it will be infectious across the golf course,” said Dale Kobelsky, Syngenta’s Head of Profes- sional Solutions – Canada. “We feel like if it’s done in the turf department, other areas of the golf operation will follow: food and beverage, administration, pro shop and hopefully membership. It’s a powerful tool.”
Brandon Bell, North American Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Syngenta Ag in the United States, jumped on board to assist with the project. He too believes the return on investment for superintendents and maintenance teams is ripe with possibilities.
“When organizations have a strong grasp and application of ED&I, the benefits both internal and external to the business can be astronomical,” said Bell, who has designed and implemented equity, diversity and inclusion interven- tions across the civic, public and private sectors. “It’s literally applicable to every business function.”
Specifically, Bell says that lever- aging ED&I helps a business to better identify, engage and develop talent and to bolster the talent pipeline. He is quick to point out how diverse and inclusive teams have proven to outperform more homogenous counterparts.
“When employees feel as though their organizations are equitable or fair and supportive, they are much more likely to be retained,” he added. Considering the current landscape that comes with an exclamation point.