Dynamic Approaches to Diversity
In many countries, demographic change is breathing down employers' necks. Corporations face workforces increasingly diverse in many respects, from racial and ethnic mix to the span of generations, from differences in gender and sexual preferences to a broad spectrum of religious beliefs. Only about 15% of new entrants into today's U.S. labor force are non-Hispanic white men; the rest are women, Hispanics, African Americans, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russians, Europeans, and more. At BellSouth in 2000, just one third of college graduates hired were white men, according to Dick Sibbernsen, vice president of HR. "Two thirds were female or minority."
For competitive advantage and profit, it's imperative at both the local and global levels that businesses help this diverse mix of employees work together productively and creatively. In a 2002 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, the largest share of HR professionals (22%) said diversity would be the top trend affecting their companies in the next six to 12 months. In the same survey, 11% of the 450 respondents said diversity had had a great impact on their organizations during the past year; 32% said they expected major changes from workforce diversity within the next five years.
Most companies have good intentions when it comes to inclusiveness, but even those with the best diversity efforts are looking for ways to make sure they take hold at all levels and provide a bottom-line boost. Many are trying strategies that aim at reworking processes, opening minds and broadening horizons.
Bausch and Lomb (B&L) calls its newest initiative "Diversity of Thought." The firm asks employees to embrace diversity and to recognize they must understand and collaborate with people who may be very different from themselves. To stay competitive, the company must draw from groups whose managerial and cultural styles are very different from those in the U.S., says Clayton Osborne, B&L vice president of diversity and workforce development. To this end, B&L is arranging for its U.S. managers to meet foreign managers to discuss cross-cultural management styles and issues.
At B&L, top managers have been trained in the diversity-of-thought platform, which is now cascading through the organization. Managers also have learned about the Kirton Adaptation-Innovation Inventory, which measures individual styles of problem-solving and creativity. By using this tool to staff teams, they can make sure two crucial types of thinkers are represented: those who come up with creative ideas and those who are good at adapting and implementing them.
BellSouth was 10th on Fortune's list of Best Companies for Minorities in 2001, up from 21st the year before, but the company is not resting on its laurels. To give its diversity initiatives a bigger push, the company created the post of chief diversity officer in 2001 and put Ron Frieson, a seasoned line manager, into it. It instituted a mandatory one-day course - "Inclusion: A Business Imperative" - for its 1,700 managers and executives at director level and above. In addition, a new board of directors' subcommittee focuses solely on ensuring that diversity efforts are implemented and expanded.
Representation of minorities in the workforce is only half of the diversity equation, according to Frieson. He is adamant about making strategic business goals primary and tying diversity efforts to them. Diversity is about "removing barriers to learning," Frieson emphasizes, and includes teaching managers to listen to everyone. BellSouth's training aims at helping managers identify unconscious behaviors that tell some team members, "I don't want to hear what you have to say." Information from everyone is crucial to solving business problems, so "if a technician learns the best way to do something by trial and error, we've got to share that information," Frieson says.
Eastman Kodak has just begun a long-term, competitively critical effort to build a "Winning and Inclusive Culture." The diversity effort includes a new Leadership Development and Assessment Center, where, in a break from tradition, any employee can sign up for supervisory training without a manager's approval. "In the past, the procedure was the same as at other companies: your boss had to recommend you," says Chief Diversity Officer May Snowden. "We got feedback from employees who didn't feel they had an opportunity because their leadership didn't recommend them." A step-by-step process provides training in leadership skills, allowing participants to drop out at any point. Those who continue can go through two levels of certification. Completing the process takes well over a year.
"This sends a very powerful message to employees about how serious we are when we talk about being inclusive," says Bob Berman, Kodak vice president and director of human resources. "We are going to be inclusive in every way that makes sense for the business, up to and including the way we generate a candidate pool for leadership roles in the future." That's the goal of today's diversity efforts.
Details about Eastman Kodak's diversity efforts are in the April 2002 cover story of Human Resource Executive magazine, "Refocusing Priorities," by Eric Raimy.
"Dynamic Diversity," also by Eric Raimy, the October 1, 2001, cover story in Human Resource Executive magazine, explores inclusion initiatives at BellSouth, Bausch and Lomb, and Advantica.
A recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Fortune magazine examines the "Changing Face of Diversity" at large corporations. It is on the SHRM Web site at
http://www.shrm.org/surveys/results/02FortuneSurvey.pdf
An article that examines including white men as a group in diversity initiatives, "Bringing Diversity to White Men," by William Atkinson, is in the September 2001 HR Magazine.
For competitive advantage and profit, it's imperative at both the local and global levels that businesses help this diverse mix of employees work together productively and creatively. In a 2002 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, the largest share of HR professionals (22%) said diversity would be the top trend affecting their companies in the next six to 12 months. In the same survey, 11% of the 450 respondents said diversity had had a great impact on their organizations during the past year; 32% said they expected major changes from workforce diversity within the next five years.
Most companies have good intentions when it comes to inclusiveness, but even those with the best diversity efforts are looking for ways to make sure they take hold at all levels and provide a bottom-line boost. Many are trying strategies that aim at reworking processes, opening minds and broadening horizons.
Bausch and Lomb (B&L) calls its newest initiative "Diversity of Thought." The firm asks employees to embrace diversity and to recognize they must understand and collaborate with people who may be very different from themselves. To stay competitive, the company must draw from groups whose managerial and cultural styles are very different from those in the U.S., says Clayton Osborne, B&L vice president of diversity and workforce development. To this end, B&L is arranging for its U.S. managers to meet foreign managers to discuss cross-cultural management styles and issues.
At B&L, top managers have been trained in the diversity-of-thought platform, which is now cascading through the organization. Managers also have learned about the Kirton Adaptation-Innovation Inventory, which measures individual styles of problem-solving and creativity. By using this tool to staff teams, they can make sure two crucial types of thinkers are represented: those who come up with creative ideas and those who are good at adapting and implementing them.
BellSouth was 10th on Fortune's list of Best Companies for Minorities in 2001, up from 21st the year before, but the company is not resting on its laurels. To give its diversity initiatives a bigger push, the company created the post of chief diversity officer in 2001 and put Ron Frieson, a seasoned line manager, into it. It instituted a mandatory one-day course - "Inclusion: A Business Imperative" - for its 1,700 managers and executives at director level and above. In addition, a new board of directors' subcommittee focuses solely on ensuring that diversity efforts are implemented and expanded.
Representation of minorities in the workforce is only half of the diversity equation, according to Frieson. He is adamant about making strategic business goals primary and tying diversity efforts to them. Diversity is about "removing barriers to learning," Frieson emphasizes, and includes teaching managers to listen to everyone. BellSouth's training aims at helping managers identify unconscious behaviors that tell some team members, "I don't want to hear what you have to say." Information from everyone is crucial to solving business problems, so "if a technician learns the best way to do something by trial and error, we've got to share that information," Frieson says.
Eastman Kodak has just begun a long-term, competitively critical effort to build a "Winning and Inclusive Culture." The diversity effort includes a new Leadership Development and Assessment Center, where, in a break from tradition, any employee can sign up for supervisory training without a manager's approval. "In the past, the procedure was the same as at other companies: your boss had to recommend you," says Chief Diversity Officer May Snowden. "We got feedback from employees who didn't feel they had an opportunity because their leadership didn't recommend them." A step-by-step process provides training in leadership skills, allowing participants to drop out at any point. Those who continue can go through two levels of certification. Completing the process takes well over a year.
"This sends a very powerful message to employees about how serious we are when we talk about being inclusive," says Bob Berman, Kodak vice president and director of human resources. "We are going to be inclusive in every way that makes sense for the business, up to and including the way we generate a candidate pool for leadership roles in the future." That's the goal of today's diversity efforts.
Details about Eastman Kodak's diversity efforts are in the April 2002 cover story of Human Resource Executive magazine, "Refocusing Priorities," by Eric Raimy.
"Dynamic Diversity," also by Eric Raimy, the October 1, 2001, cover story in Human Resource Executive magazine, explores inclusion initiatives at BellSouth, Bausch and Lomb, and Advantica.
A recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Fortune magazine examines the "Changing Face of Diversity" at large corporations. It is on the SHRM Web site at
http://www.shrm.org/surveys/results/02FortuneSurvey.pdf
An article that examines including white men as a group in diversity initiatives, "Bringing Diversity to White Men," by William Atkinson, is in the September 2001 HR Magazine.