Five Greater Des Moines (DSM) Businesses win the 2024 Inclusion Award

The Greater Des Moines Partnership has recognized the winners of the 2024 Inclusion Awards, celebrating the success of Greater Des Moines (DSM) businesses and organizations in championing diversity within the region. Each of the businesses listed below were recognized on Nov. 8, 2024 at the 12th annual Inclusion Summit at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny.

Read about our five Inclusion Award winners and the amazing work they are doing to help bring our community together below:

The Weitz Company

Winner: Large (more than 500 employees) Category

The Weitz Company is the sixth oldest Architectural / Engineering / Construction firm in the United States with a strong 169-year history, forging their reputation by constantly seeking new construction innovations and technologies that provide clients with predictable, reliable and collaborative services.

The Weitz Company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitments are rooted in the company’s core values and essential to its business function and key drivers of growth. One innovative inclusive strategy deployed this past year focused on launching Weitz University, a diverse business targeted program aimed to support the growth and connectivity of diverse businesses in the construction industry. Wietz University offers five modules that help businesses understand what’s needed to do business with a larger contractor and also help the Weitz team understand realities of working alongside smaller businesses in the industry.

Through investing in inclusion staff, auditing learning and development modules for inclusive practices, core leadership training and establishing cultural observance companywide (i.e. MLK Jr. Day, Pride Month, National Indigenous People's Day, etc.), companywide participation in Women in Construction Week and ambassador-level engagement for Construction Inclusion Week.

The Weitz Company has the pleasure of teaming up with another construction company to upgrade the Des Moines International

Airport, a project bringing more than $445 million into the DSMUSA community. It remains a priority of the project team to build these new community resources alongside small and diverse local businesses. To ensure small and diverse businesses were aware, could bid and compete for an opportunity to secure a portion of the multi-million-dollar upgrade, teams:

• Partnered with La Reina radio 96.5 FM, the largest Spanish speaking radio station in Des Moines, to promote the scopes of work and ways to bid
• Held multiple outreach events (in person and virtual)
• Offered services in English and Spanish
• Shared with various ethnicity-focused organizations
• Partners with the iDOT Civil Rights Bureau, connecting businesses to federal certification programs
• Worked alongside CIRAS Diverse Business Enterprise support services program to expand the reach and engagement with diverse businesses

Learn more about The Weitz Company at weitz.com. 

Turner Construction Company

Winner: Medium (151 – 500 employees) Category

Turner Construction Company plans and delivers building projects of all types and sizes—schools and hospitals, stadiums and museums, airports, data centers, offices and more throughout North America and in 30 countries around the world. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is not just an initiative of Turner; it is the culture created within the organization and across its jobsites, with project teams and project partners. Turner approaches work holistically, focused on the people, the environment and the industry. Recruitment efforts include strengthening relationships at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) and committing to support student tuition, internship opportunities and other student programming to increase the pipeline of diverse talent nationally.

Turner School of Constructions Management (TSCM) is also a free program offering construction management education and training to small minority-owned, women-owned and emerging small businesses, helping participants build networks, connect with resources, establish joint venture partnerships and form long-term business relationships.

Ensuring growth through equitable pathways allows Turner to continue offering an inclusive work environment. By engaging Turner Diversity Advocates (DA) and offering more than 125 Employee Resource Groups across the country, Turner is a place where employees want to stay, advance and succeed.

Learn more about Turner Construction Company at turnerconstruction.com.

VizyPay

Winner: Small (1 – 150 employees) Category

VizyPay is a leading payment processing fintech disrupting the industry with transparent, simple and honest services catered to the needs of small business owners. The company is driving inclusivity in the payment technology sector by prioritizing small- and medium-sized businesses in rural areas through strategies like the innovative Dual Pricing Program and Cash Discount Program.

The Dual Pricing Program allows businesses to significantly lower their credit card processing fees by offering customers a choice between a cash price and a regular price. This flexibility helps merchants manage fees more effectively. VizyPay’s Cash Discount Program, available through a low monthly subscription, enables businesses to process unlimited credit card transactions and offset up to 100% of processing fees. This cost-effective solution improves financial predictability and has saved entrepreneurs $27 million in processing fees over the past year.

In 2023, VizyPay initiated a hiring blitz, onboarding more than 40 new team members within the first two months of the year. This included appointing three new directors, bringing the total to more than 130 employees. This expansion helped fill critical roles in sales, customer service and tech development, ensuring that the company is well-prepared to meet the rising demand for its services. By actively recruiting for these key areas, VizyPay positions itself as a leader in the fast-growing “Silicon Prairie” environment, addressing both current and future workforce needs.

What truly sets VizyPay apart is its inclusive approach to development, where individuals are embraced for who they are, and learning programs are tailored to foster growth at all levels. This begins with a unique hiring process that emphasizes the candidate’ s potential and cultural fit rather than just their resume. CEO Austin Mac Nab and Co-founder Frank Pagano personally meet potential hires to ensure alignment with VizyPay’s values of attitude, drive and effort. VizyPay’s talent acquisition process is centered on understanding the individual, not just their qualifications. VizyPay goes a step further by offering both technical and personal development training. A key initiative is “ Vizonian University,” an onboarding process that introduces new employees to the payment industry and VizyPay’s workplace culture.

Learn more about VizyPay at vizypay.com.

Ankeny Area Chamber of Commerce

Winner: Nonprofits Category

In 2024, the Minority Owned Business Summit theme was Supercharging Growth & Opportunity Within Your Business featuring breakout sessions tailored to providing small businesses with resources to implement within their business and networking with fellow entrepreneurs, industry leaders and vendors.

Encourage Collaboration — The Ankeny Area Chamber of Commerce and the Multicultural Taskforce began its journey back in 2022 when a group of business leaders, advocates, community leaders and members of the community came together to begin to understand racism and how the Chamber could take steps to make a difference in Ankeny. The Chamber began with a book study of "What Lies Between Us," spending 12 weeks learning about the history of racism, uncovering unconscious bias. The Minority Owned Business Summit has also brought people together to collaborate on how to continue supporting a diverse business community that is often forgotten.

The Chamber focuses on growing the local workforce by following this advice: If the diverse workforce hasn't found you yet, it's time for you to go find them. Through ORBIS, a partnership between Ankeny Community School and the Chamber, students gain work experience and community engagement, soft skills critical for future employment.

Learn more about the Ankeny Chamber of Commerce at ankeny.org.

Broadlawns Medical Center

Winner: Public Entities Category

Several of Broadlawns Medical Center’s (BMC's) strategies, both externally and internally, focus on promoting inclusion. BMC's mission is to provide high quality care to all individuals, regardless of ability to pay. Within BMC's facilities, one of the ways the organization works to promote health equity and inclusion is through the deployment of accessible communication strategies — including the provision of interpreters at no cost to the patient.

Additionally, through its partnership with One Iowa, BMC has educated and trained over 50 clinicians to provide all-inclusive care to LGBTQ+ patients, ensuring the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ Iowans are upheld and respected. BMC has taken several steps to support refugees, including the hiring of a Refugee Case Manager who supports refugee patients by ensuring access to interpretative services and providing assistance with completing Initial Refugee Health Assessments. BMC prioritizes the development and sustainment of community partnerships to ensure that efforts reach marginalized populations who may otherwise lack access to healthcare education or preventive health services.

In 2023, BMC conducted a comprehensive workforce assessment to engage employees and evaluate their sense of inclusion and belonging in the workplace. Employees new to the organization participate in a training and education session centered on recognizing and mitigating biases as well as assessing and promoting inclusion and belonging in the workplace. Further, BMC is proud to have employee-led Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Employee Engagement Committees, each with membership from several levels and sectors of the organization.

BMC is excited to have partnered with the By Degrees Foundation and Des Moines North High School to launch a mentorship program, which launched on Oct. 23, 2024. Health professionals at BMC will be paired with high school juniors and seniors to increase awareness of career opportunities, develop relationships, offer shadowing and provide guidance on educational pathways.

Also in 2023, BMC undertook a comprehensive compensation study to identify pay gaps, adjusting salaries to ensure equity within and across departments. Presently, BMC continues to prioritize pay equity and ensures new hires and current employees are paid consistently and fairly, without regard to gender, race, ethnicity or other demographic characteristics.

Learn more about Broadlawns Medical Center at broadlawns.org.

Greater Des Moines (DSM) welcomes diverse talent to the region. As one of the fastest growing business communities, inclusion and attracting diverse talent in the workplace is a key strategy of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. Inclusion Awards also recognize employers strengthening Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts in their organizations and are awarded during the annual Inclusion Summit.

From Pride to Juneteenth to the Latino Heritage Festival, big, inclusive events are par for the course in Greater Des Moines (DSM). But there are smaller events celebrating diversity here, too. Attend one of the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Multicultural Receptions, an event celebrating veterans or a sensory-friendly event in the region. Learn more here.