Belonging at Work When Careers Unravel

Kimberly Bedeau, Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, HelloFresh

Kimberly Bedeau, Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, HelloFresh

Kimberly Bedeau is the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at HelloFresh. She strives to foster belonging, employee engagement, and accountability in the workplace by leveraging her experience in recruitment, relationship building, and leadership. She drives meaningful impact in the DEI space by empowering people and transforming workplace culture. Kimberly shared her expert insights for the 2025 edition of HR Tech Outlook about the inclusive hiring practices and empowering connections in the employment process.

Navigating Career Uncertainty

In today’s economy, job loss and career transitions are increasingly common and disproportionately affect specific communities. Thus this conversation appropriately begins at the intersection of (un)employment and inclusion. I emphatically declare that inclusion and belonging principles are not optional during moments of career uncertainty; they are essential.

Stating the obvious, debates about inclusion & belonging have become polarized, with some seeing it as a zero-sum shift in opportunity; others emphasizing its business and societal value. If you are fortunate, the aforementioned debate feels distant. If not, you may be facing job loss, reduced hours, or restructuring while the conversation continues.

Cultivating Inclusive Hiring Practices

As a practitioner, I typically focus on outcomes like broadening pipelines, providing leadership development programs, and building retention through connection. Those levers matter and are well supported by evidence. But when roles disappear, business strategies meet a human reality: people need tangible, immediate support, even as some organizations deprioritize inclusion and belonging for a myriad of reasons.

However, this feels shortsighted as belonging and values alignments increasingly become search parameters for the next generation of job seekers. Job seekers who are willing to be publicly vulnerable, signal availability, share setbacks, and ask for help. Those disclosures deserve recognition and must translate into action. If organizations truly value inclusion, the employed and not just an 'Inclusion & Belonging' team (member) should share collective responsibility. Here are practical ways people and organizations can do that:

. Treat career-transition as a defined talent segment: Create a clear label and candidate flow (e.g., “Career Transition Cohort”) so programs, metrics, and outreach intentionally target people exiting roles, industry pivots, and federal-to-private moves.

. Launch rapid, paid micro-engagements: Advertise short (4–12 week) project sprints or paid trials that let candidates demonstrate capability, reduce hiring risk, and convert quickly to permanent roles when fit.

. Embed transferability rubrics in screening: Replace “exact match” filters with a 3-factor rubric (e.g., core competency, learning agility, stakeholder impact) used in a resume screen and interview stages to widen the applicant pool for non-linear fit candidates.

. Operationalize human checks for AI sourcing: Set automatic flags (e.g., profiles marked "open to work," career gaps, industry switches) that require human review, with a mandated justification for any automated exclusion.

. Be open to using your referral program. Managers can take simple, repeatable actions immediately, such as using their referral program for a former colleague or direct report as appropriate. This provides a significant advantage to job seekers in a crowded field.

“Encourage someone because support does not need to be loud, it just needs to be intentional.”

. Measure inclusion by placement outcomes: Track hires from transition cohorts, conversion from micro-engagements, and candidate sentiment; publish quarterly results to drive iterative improvement and show impact.

If nothing else encourages someone because support does not need to be loud, it just needs to be intentional.

This is a different kind of allyship, one grounded in reciprocity and action rather than statements. It assumes those who are relatively secure will use their networks and influence to open doors for others. In practice, recommendations, introductions, and time are given to coach and amplify.

Empowering Connections in Employment

Connection is a valuable currency in an unstable world. I often end my LinkedIn posts with the sign-off and a secret hope that more people will embrace the belief "we are better together," not as a platitude but as a directive: remain connected to our shared humanity and act on it. If inclusion is to be meaningful, it must show up at the point where employment is sought (sometimes desperately).

This is not about adjudicating whether Inclusion & Belonging is good or bad; those debates have been exhaustively litigated. It is about shifting the conversation to broaden the scope of inclusion. Whether you are a hiring manager, a colleague, a friend, or someone with one connection to offer, please consider this a call to action.

Take a moment to reflect: What is one concrete thing you can do this week to help someone gain employment? Imagine the collective impact could be profound.

The most American thing we can do is support those looking for secure employment. Let us make inclusion practical, immediate, and measured by the real outcomes it creates for people in transition. Truth be told, it could be us or someone we care about in the future!