Latest / The Diversity Career Podcast with Fexingo: Inclusion, Equity, and Underrepresented Professionals / How One Company Built a Career Ladder for First-Generation Professionals
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I've been digging into a program that a big professional services firm — think one of the Big Four — rolled out about three years ago. It's called the First Gen Initiative, and it's a structured career ladder specifically for first-generation college graduates and professionals. Luna: First-gen meaning neither parent had a bachelor's degree, right? That's a huge population in a lot of firms, but I don't think I've ever seen a dedicated ladder for them. Lucas: Exactly. And they started with data. The firm looked at their own retention numbers and found that first-gen employees were leaving at a rate about 30 percent higher than their peers with college-educated parents. Attrition was especially sharp around the three-to-five-year mark, which is when you're supposed to be moving from senior associate to manager. Luna: So the problem wasn't hiring — it was advancement. They were getting in the door but not moving up. Lucas: Right. The firm's head of talent called it 'the hidden curriculum problem.' She said first-gen hires often don't know the unwritten rules: how to ask for a stretch assignment, how to network internally, what it means to find a sponsor rather than just a mentor. And they're also dealing with financial pressure — many are supporting families — which makes them risk-averse when it comes to things like unpaid networking events or extra certifications. Luna: So what did the ladder actually look like? I'm guessing it wasn't just a mentoring program. Lucas: Not at all. First, they created a formal 'First Gen' employee resource group, but with a twist: membership is opt-in and confidential. You only disclose to HR if you want program benefits. That way, nobody feels singled out. Then they built a three-tier structure: early career, mid-career, and senior. Luna: And what's in each tier? Lucas: For early career, it's a dedicated executive mentor — not a manager, but a partner or director from a different practice. Monthly one-on-ones, plus a small stipend — fifteen hundred dollars a year — for professional development: conferences, courses, professional attire, even things like a LinkedIn Premium subscription. The firm found that many first-gen employees were skipping these because they didn't know they were expected investments. Luna: That's smart. It removes the financial barrier and also signals that these are normal costs of career growth. Lucas: Mid-career is where it gets more interesting. They assign a 'sponsor' — someone with authority to put the employee's name forward for high-visibility projects and promotions. The sponsor is evaluated partly on whether they advocate for their sponsee. And they hold quarterly 'opportunity briefings' where open assignments are listed transparently, which levels the playing field for people who don't have the informal grapevine. Luna: So it's structural, not just supportive. I love that the sponsor is held accountable. That's the difference between a nice to have and a real career ladder. Lucas: The senior tier targets retention at the manager to senior manager jump. Here, the firm offers a networking budget — three thousand dollars annually — specifically for external industry events and conferences. They also cover the cost of professional certifications, which can run several thousand dollars. And they've redesigned performance reviews to explicitly ask managers: 'Has this employee demonstrated awareness of the hidden curriculum?' and 'Have you provided guidance on unwritten expectations?' Luna: That's a fundamental change. It forces managers to recognize that not everyone walks in with the same cultural capital. Lucas: The results so far are striking. After two years, retention among first-gen employees enrolled in the program is 40 percent higher than before the program. And promotion rates to manager and senior manager are now roughly equal between first-gen and continuing-gen employees. The firm also found that first-gen participants are more likely to serve on diversity committees and mentor other first-gen hires, creating a virtuous cycle. Luna: I want to ask about the scale. How many people are we talking about? A few hundred? A few thousand? Lucas: The firm employs roughly fifty thousand people in the US. They identified about eight thousand as first-gen — so about 16 percent of their workforce. About three thousand have opted into the program so far. It's voluntary, but participation has been growing by word of mouth. Luna: That's a meaningful chunk. And I imagine the program costs aren't trivial — stipends, networking budgets, manager training. Do you have a sense of the ROI? Lucas: The firm hasn't released a formal ROI study, but a senior partner told me they've calculated replacement costs for a single manager at roughly two times annual salary. With an average salary of around one hundred twenty thousand, retaining just fifty managers a year saves roughly twelve million dollars. The entire program budget is about four million annually. So even modest retention gains cover it. Luna: It's a classic business case disguised as a DEI initiative. And it's replicable — any large employer could look at their own workforce data and build something similar. Lucas: What I find most impressive is that they didn't just throw money at the problem. They changed the architecture — the review criteria, the sponsorship accountability, the transparency around assignments. That's the hard work. Luna: On that note — and I don't want to interrupt the flow — but this is exactly the kind of concrete, structural thinking that listeners tell us they appreciate. And it's why a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That support is what lets us keep digging into programs like this without running ads. So if you find value in these episodes, that's the way to keep them coming. Lucas: And we mean it — every contribution goes straight into research time and production. It's a small group that makes this sustainable. Luna: Alright, back to the first-gen ladder. Lucas, one thing I'm curious about: did the firm face any pushback from employees who weren't first-gen — maybe feeling left out? Lucas: Good question. They did have some initial concerns, but they framed the program as closing a specific gap, not as a perk. They also made clear that any employee could access the same development funds through their standard career development budget — it's just that first-gen employees got additional guidance and sponsorship. The transparency around the criteria helped. Luna: So it wasn't about giving some people more, but about making sure everyone had the same access to what already existed. Lucas: Exactly. And they trained managers to recognize that a first-gen employee asking for a networking budget isn't asking for special treatment — they're asking for the tools that other employees already know to access. The firm even published an internal guide called 'The Hidden Curriculum Handbook' that lists unwritten norms: how to prepare for a promotion committee, how to manage up, what 'visibility' actually means. Luna: That handbook sounds like something every company should have, regardless of first-gen status. Lucas: The firm is actually considering making it available to all employees. They've found that even continuing-gen employees appreciate the clarity. It turns out the hidden curriculum is hidden for a lot of people, just not as deeply. Luna: That's a nice meta-lesson: building for the edges often improves the center. Lucas: Right. And the final piece I want to mention is mentorship training specifically for first-gen mentors. The firm noticed that early mentors from similar backgrounds were often too hands-off, assuming the protégé would just figure it out like they did. So they created a mentor curriculum that teaches how to explicitly teach norms — things like 'I want you to send a thank-you note after this meeting' or 'Here's how I prepare for a performance review conversation.' Luna: So it's not just having a mentor, it's having a mentor who knows how to be explicit about the rules of the game. That's a whole other level of intentionality. Lucas: Exactly. And it's working. The firm is now looking at expanding the model to other underrepresented groups — first-generation immigrants, for example, or employees from rural backgrounds. The principle is the same: identify the hidden barriers, then remove them structurally. Luna: I think the biggest takeaway for me is that this isn't about charity or culture fit. It's about building a system where talent can surface regardless of what your parents did for a living. Lucas: And that's the kind of career ladder that benefits everyone. The firm's managing partner said something I'll remember: 'We used to think first-gen employees needed to catch up. Now we realize the system was designed to leave them behind.' Luna: That's a powerful reframe. And a good note to end on. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. And thanks to everyone who makes this show possible.