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Redmond consultants recommend strategy-and-performance office with equity specialist instead of stand-alone Office of Equity
Summary
Consultants from Edge Advisory Group told the Redmond City Council on June 24 that the city’s Respect, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion plan should be operationalized through an office of strategy and performance led by a manager with strong equity credentials rather than only creating a stand‑alone Office of Equity.
Consultants from Edge Advisory Group told the Redmond City Council on June 24 that the city’s Respect, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) plan needs stronger organizational performance and accountability to produce durable results, recommending a shift from creating only an Office of Equity to establishing an office focused on strategy and performance led by a person with deep equity expertise.
Anita Paige of Edge Advisory Group told the council, “there's frankly, there's no other way around this than for it to be led from the top.” She said the group recommends adding language to the REDI plan to make explicit that implementation will address systems, processes, policies and procedures so equity is evaluated comprehensively.
Paige and Dr. Adrienne Thompson described a new workplace equity assessment tool (the WEA) covering eight dimensions — leadership commitment, recruitment/hiring, compensation/benefits, retention/advancement, culture/inclusion, learning/development, community engagement, and interpersonal interactions — and said embedding equity into enterprise strategy improves outcomes and sustainability. Dr. Thompson summarized research results, saying organizations that embed equity see “about 40% faster improvements in equity outcomes” and “60% higher sustainability in their initiatives.”
Council members pressed for clarity about the recommendation. Councilmember Stewart and others said they felt the late presentation and absence of a written recommendation left them unprepared to endorse a pivot away from the previously discussed Office of Equity. Paige acknowledged she had not provided a formal written report to council yet and apologized if members felt blindsided.
Paige said the city can recruit an equity director in the original six‑month timeline, but that hiring someone without the broader strategy and performance supports will likely leave the role disempowered and the REDI plan harder to implement. She described the preference for a “person who's highly skilled in equity work, but just as strong in organizational change management, just as strong in strategy.”
Council members asked for specific follow up: a written summary of the consultants’ findings and recommendations; a proposed job description and timeline for recruitment; a proposed short‑term “stopgap” community contact while recruitment proceeds; and a live walkthrough of the assessment tool and methodology. Anita Paige said the consultants will provide the deliverables and requested time on a future agenda to present the assessment tool in depth.
No formal staffing decision or vote was taken at the study session. Council and consultants agreed to additional follow‑up and to provide materials the council requested before any hiring or structural action.
What’s next: the consultants will deliver the assessment results and proposed staffing/structure documents to city staff and the council, include a requested walkthrough of the WEA tool, and staff will return with more detailed timelines and draft position descriptions for council review.
