Why it’s important
Since the country’s demographics are continually changing, a failure to branch out and move past your comfort zone when hiring and communicating with employees will ultimately result in financial punishment for the business.
“Good service is what’s most important to customers, and if they don’t get that, you’re not going to get any points,” Mallett says. “You don’t have to sacrifice excellence for diversity and you shouldn’t. There are degrees of experience your employees will have and other diversity facets that make you a more complete business. There’s no doubt that a diverse work force helps produce better products and service, but you have to keep your eye toward the possibility for the minority and not just the mandate.”
U.S. Census Bureau reports show Hispanics are the fastest-growing population, with an increase of 121 percent since 1999. The Asian population nearly doubled since 1990 and the African-American population is predicted to increase to 65.7 million strong by 2050, an increase of 15 percent since 2008.
“If you always look for the best candidate and have made job openings available for viewing in a variety of arenas, you will naturally grow a diverse work force,” says Lori Walker, director of diversity, Compuware Corp. “Keep in mind the end result to acquiring a diverse team is morale, contributions and ideas. An entire staff of people who have had similar experiences will have similar ways of looking at and resolving issues.”
Affinity networks — employer-recognized employee groups who share a common race, gender, national origin or sexual orientation — are a great way to attract and retain diverse employees. Networking by affinity groups reduces turnover and gives companies insights to consumers they otherwise may have never understood.
General Motors Corp.’s People with Disabilities Affinity Group has been a consistent resource for providing input and support relative to accessibility of products and services. The group played a role in helping OnStar develop the addition of TTY capability, the text telephone for the hearing impaired, for OnStar-equipped vehicles. Another example of diversity was witnessed in PepsiCo Inc.’s Hispanic professional organization called Adelante. Its Hispanic employee network provided insights that resulted in the development of the guacamole chip. In the first year of distribution, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division sold $100 million in Lay’s guacamole chips.
“Include elements of diversity in employees’ performance plans and evaluate them on that,” says Linda D. Forte, senior vice president of business affairs and chief diversity officer, Comerica Inc. “This will help employees understand the leadership’s guiding vision of making an inclusive environment work.”
