QUESTIONS TO & RESPONSES FROM MODO:
Question Set 4 ~
Aside from measuring the number of ethnic individuals in the company, is there any other way you measure how diverse the company is? In other words, how would you say you measure diversity? (We hope to use the same measures to evaluate the effectiveness of our recommendations)
For employees, we look at gender and whether an individual is part of a visible minority. In both cases, we compare ourselves to census data in the areas where we operate.
You mentioned that you utilised a third-party DEI training company called Buka in our group discussion. Please could you provide a link to their website? I believe I may have misheard you or may be misspelling it and therefore I am unable to find it online.
The organization I mentioned is Bakau Consulting.
How often do you provide training? If possible, please go into specifics about how often it is provided to leaders, board members, staff members, etc if the frequency differs.
We are overdue for additional training. Assuming you are intending to include training amongst your recommendations, I suggest that rather than focusing on what we are doing currently, you provide your thoughts on what you propose we should do going forward.
Is the DEI training available for general members?
No. Note that there are approx. 28,000 members, 60 employees and 9 board members.
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Question Set 3 ~
1. How is inclusivity defined exactly? Check that we should focus only on inclusivity as ethnic diversity and not tackle other aspects of inclusivity (gender, age, income bracket)
We are looking at multiple dimensions of diversity. For this project, the focus is on ethnic diversity.
2. What are the opportunities for members to interact with each other? – “We examined whether our business and membership did in fact reflect the communities we serve”
It’s rather limited. They are opportunities via engaging with our social media and participating at our Annual General Meeting. Relatively few members do that.
3. Can we have the data from the quantitative survey about Modo members based on ethnic backgrounds?
– Specifically, barriers to folks whose identities have been historically, persistently, and/or systemically marginalized here in Canada. We’ve heard and learned from individuals generous with their time and emotional labor, who shared their experiences in their interactions with Modo with us, and what they would want to see from us in the future. – what did they share?
You will need to work with what was shared in the brief
4. Our Employee Handbook details what it means to be a respectful workplace and our defines clearly our position on bullying, harassment, and discrimination. New employees receive direct training on these topics, and all employees are expected to refresh this learning annually. Our handbook also includes helpful information around gender disclosure and how Modo is prepared to support an employee who wishes to disclose their gender at work. – can we see that employee handbook? – Are there incentives in place for employees to review the learning annually?
The employee handbook is not available for review and recall that this project is focused on membership diversity and not employee diversity. Regarding incentives, all employees are eligible for an annual bonus that is based on realization of Purpose, where being affordable, convenient, inclusive and sustainable are core attributes.
5. In the past year, Modo has engaged with experts to examine some of our employment practices from a DEI lens. We continue to revise how we attract, recruit, and interview job seekers to remove as many barriers as possible for folks with marginalized identities. Each year we survey our employees to learn whether they feel a sense of belonging at Modo – and we strive to keep those scores high! – Are we able to have access to this survey?
Per the note above, this project is focused on diversity in the membership and not amongst employees
6. At the end of the call with a customer, does the representative send them a
feedback form? If so, can you share any stats on the response rate?
No, but we do survey the membership annually and received very high marks on member service. Some aspects of member satisfaction was shared in the brief. We typically receive between 2,500 and 3,000 responses to the survey.
7. Does Modo host events for its members occasionally? What’s special about being a member at Modo?
We participate in community events but do not hold member events beyond our annual general meeting. What is special about Modo is that it is a platform where thousands of people effectively co-own, through their co-op, and share hundreds of cars in a way that’s affordable, convenient, inclusive and sustainable. Members do not need to own a vehicle but have access to one when they need it, allowing them to reduce their living costs and their environmental footprint.
8. You may have mentioned this, but who is Modo’s direct competitor?
The privately owned automobile.
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Question Set 2 ~
1. Can Modo’s financial statements and details on its cost structure be shared with us?
We don’t distribute our financial statements but I can provide you with an overview of the cost structure. Revenue in 2021 was approx. $12M, largely from vehicle usage fees paid by members. Each time a member uses a vehicle, they pay a fee based on the duration of their trip and kms travelled. Costs relate largely to vehicles and people. The most significant vehicle costs are depreciation, insurance, fuel, repairs, maintenance and parking. A little more than half of revenue is used to pay vehicle costs. Approx 30% of revenue is used to pay for wages and benefits. The next largest expenses are for facilities and marketing. We are profitable and retain all earnings within the co-op, to continue to invest in people, vehicles and systems and to build reserves against rainy days.
2. Does Modo currently have an official DEI strategy?
It depends what you mean by official. We have identified a focus on DEI as one of 5 strategic themes that we are pursuing. There are three tracks of work – employees, members and Board, and actions related to each.
3. Does Modo have any annual reports that can be shared with us?
Your best source for learning about Modo will be what you can find at modo.coop.
4. Can we be provided with information on the surveying methodology of the surveys and interviews mentioned in the Client Brief? How were the non-Modo members selected for the 1-on-1 interviews? What was the ethnic makeup of these interview participants?
The member survey was sent to all Modo members that have not opted out of receiving mail from us. An online survey link was emailed by Modo to the membership. The email had 24% open-rate and among those we had 82% response rate for a total of 3,018 completed questionnaires. Responses were received and processed by a third party, in a way that anonymized and aggregated the data to protect privacy. The questionnaire itself was designed by a third party agency that we selected through an RFP process. The RFP evaluation criteria included the respondent’s knowledge, experience and proficiency in the subject as well as the proposed methodology.
The non-Modo members were recruited by the successful RFP respondent, without Modo participation. Note that they also recommended the number and mix of interviewees. The interviews were conducted by two individuals who themselves identify as BIPOC and have significant professional experience in cross cultural communications.
30 one-on-one interviews were conducted across four key BIPOC segments.
Chinese: 9 Interviews
South Asian: 9 Interviews
Indigenous: 6 Interviews
Black: 6 Interview
5. What are Modo’s main marketing messages and who are the audiences that Modo is targeting with them?
Modo’s Director of Marketing and Communications will join me on the 16th and she can provide a more complete answer then. The main messages are related to affordability, convenience and environmental impact. Transit users are generally good targets on the presumption that they don’t need a car to get to work/school. See modo.coop and our social media for more insights.
6. Is there a designated DEI committee in the co-op or positions that focus on this?
There are three tracks of DEI work at Modo – employees, members and Board. The employees track is lead by Hema Patel, Modo’s Director of People and Culture. You’ll meet her later in the month. I lead the membership track. The Board has struck a committee that leads the Board track. Key decision makers are the co-op’s leadership team as a group and our Board.
7. What is Modo’s current level of community involvement? What types of community events has Modo held or attended?
Please visit https://modo.coop/why-modo/our-impact/community-support
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Question Set 1 ~
1. You mentioned surveying and interviewing people with respect to the diversity initiative – would it be possible to get our hands on the raw data?
Responses were received through a third party to protect confidentiality of the respondents. That third party anonymized and aggregated the replies before providing inputs to us. So we do not have any raw data to share.
2. Language was recognized as an area of improvement by the CEO- are there any initiatives to make service more accessible to people who are not native English speakers?
No, nothing to date. Access to Modo whether through our digital channels (e.g. modo.coop) or our contact centre ( response to phone and email) is available only in English.
3. Are there any specific campaigns/initiatives already in place to target the issue of lack of diversity? What were the metrics used to track the success of these initiatives?
Initiatives to date include encouraging a wider diversity of our members to tell their stories on our digital channels and ensuring greater diversity amongst our Ambassadors. We are also working with affordable housing operators to make Modo memberships available without charge to residents. And finally, we are working with the City of Surrey to introduce more vehicles there (see our car map). In terms of tracking progress, our annual member survey is currently in market. In it we ask several questions that will provide demographic information. We will compare these results with those from two years ago.
4. Are there any resource constraints we should be aware of when planning potential solutions?
We are a small business ($12M revenue and 60 employees) that very deliberately puts people before profits, so resources are always constrained. Specifically, that is represented by people’s time and dollars.
5. Can we get demographic information about employees and members?
Amongst all employees, between 40% and 50% are women and the same range applies to members of a visible minority. It is not possible to know with greater certainty and be more specific either on these two aspects of diversity nor others. Regarding members, I have shared with you how members identified in terms of ethnicity in the survey we conducted in 2020. In the whole membership, those that identified as BIPOC represented about 38%. Gender split is nearly even between women and men. Is there anything more specific that you would like to know?
6. Who is responsible and included in the discussions around increasing diversity? Who are the key decision-makers and where does this lie on the priority across other initiatives mentioned in the strategic plan (i.e are there people or resources dedicated to this project)?
There are three tracks of DEI work at Modo – employees, members and Board. The employees track is lead by Hema Patel, Modo’s Director of People and Culture. You’ll meet her later in the month. I lead the membership track. The Board has struck a committee that leads the Board track. Key decision makers are the co-op’s leadership team as a group and our Board. DEI ranks amongst the 5 strategic themes that we have identified for the period 2022 to 2024 and that I shared with you. There is no order of priority amongst the five.
