Foster a Respectful, Inclusive Culture
Starting in 2020, URBN began requiring a D&I Fundamentals Course for all employees. In 2022, URBN joined the Open to All initiative, making a commitment to take actions to mitigate bias in the shopper experience, and foster an inclusive shopping experience across our brands, be held accountable by our customers and employees.
Employee Resource Groups are designed to bring employees together to build community and develop skills and relationships that support their paths at URBN and beyond. These groups will help cultivate an even more inclusive culture and uphold our values – Unite, Respect, Build, Nurture.
Upon hire, URBN’s Home Office employees receive 12 hours of paid time off per fiscal year to volunteer with qualified organizations.
In 2021, URBN launched a new continuous listening strategy, including an overall employee engagement survey, pulse surveys, and updated new hire and exit surveys. Engage@URBN allows us to better understand the employee experience so we can shape URBN’s culture and environment.
The URBN Mentorship pilot program kicked off in mid-2022. The program connect employees across departments & brands to build community, broaden perspectives and sharpen skills.
In 2022, URBN launched a partnership with Progyny to provide employees with inclusive fertility and family building benefits that support all paths to parenthood. Progyny provides personalized healthcare services including in-vitro fertilization, egg freezing, and sperm freezing
Build a Talented and Diverse Workforce
URBN is proud to partner with After School All Stars, which expands the learning day for children across the US. URBN sponsors the ASAS Graphic Design Academy and participates in the ASAS Summer Camp program through employee volunteering and a career day hosted at URBN's Home Office.
URBN is a founding partner of Creatives Want Change, an organization dedicated to cultivating young Black creative talent through educational and mentorship opportunities. To date, URBN has committed over 150,000 to sending students to pre-college programs in art and design. In addition to financial support, URBN is partnering with CWC to further their mission to encourage Black students in fashion.
Store associates are at the heart of URBN, which is why URBN’s talent team invests heavily in developing a robust Field to Home Office program, which features a number of virtual and in-person events that provide field employees with resume and interviewing workshops and the opportunity to apply to open Home Office roles.
In 2022, URBN piloted a 10-month Rotational Program aimed at providing Field Employees with an onramp to full-time employment. The team is working on optimizing this program in the hopes of expanding it in the future.
URBN Employee Training Programs are designed to support employees in the critical areas of tools & techniques, career growth, compliance, business strategy and leadership. We have several immersion programs designed to support accurate and equitable onboarding into our key business areas and a leadership development academy centered around our core competencies for success.
Nurture Long-Term Connections with our Community
Fostering Creativity in the Next Generation Creative, entrepreneurial people are at the heart of URBN. That’s why URBN is committed to fostering creativity in the next generation through invevstments in education and specialized training initiatives. We do this through corporate partnerships and direct investments to youth empowerment programs.
Environmental & Social Responsibility URBN is working to reduce our impact on the planet, including efforts to reduce waste, use more responsible materials, and empower the people in our supply chain. Our goal is to leave the world a bit better than we found it.