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Supplier diversity is one of the four key areas in The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® survey, but it is important enough to merit its own specialty list. When we evaluate companies for supplier-diversity excellence, it is critical to compare them within the perspectives of their own industries since some industries, such as telecoms, have had government mandates for supplier diversity and, therefore, have had a significant head start.
This year, for the first time, we asked companies to only submit "diverse" suppliers that were third-party certified. In the case of minority business enterprises (MBEs), that usually means the National Minority Supplier Development Council but it also can mean state agencies. In the case of women's business enterprises (WBEs), that usually means the Women's Business Enterprise National Council but also can mean state agencies. We also asked for supplier-diversity data this year for lesbian- and gay-owned companies, which are certified by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. And we asked for data on suppliers owned by people with disabilities and by veterans with disabilities, neither of which has a third party yet that is willing to certify.
We
also, for the first time, did not allow companies to submit supplier-diversity
data if they exclude industry categories as being "too difficult" to find
diverse suppliers. And for the first time, we asked if companies included
diversity metrics in their RFPs (requests for proposals).
What sets The
Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity companies apart? Consider these points
for comparison:
· These Top 10 spend an average of 21.2 percent of their total Tier I (direct contractor) procurement with MWBEs, compared with a 9 percent average for the Top 50 and a 2 percent average nationwide
· All of these Top 10 companies require Tier II (subcontractor) supplier diversity, compared with 88 percent of the Top 50
· All of these Top 10 audit their supplier-diversity numbers, compared with 88 percent of the Top 50
· All of these top 10 tie compensation to supplier diversity, compared with 88 percent of the Top 50
Here's the Top 10 and what made each stand out:
No. 1: Xerox Corp.,
No. 30 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for
Diversity list.
Xerox, a longtime national supplier-diversity leader, spends 32 percent of its Tier I procurement with MWBEs and 4 percent of its Tier I procurement with companies owned by people with disabilities. Xerox also provides financial assistance for its MWBE suppliers, compared with 64 percent of the Top 50.
No. 2: HSBC Bank
President and CEO Paul J. Lawrence personally signs off on goals and achievements for supplier diversity, compared with 84 percent of the Top 50. The bank spends 37.75 percent of its Tier I procurement with MWBEs and 3 percent with companies owned by people with disabilities.
No. 3: HP,
one of DiversityInc's Top 25 Noteworthy
Companies.
The tech company spends 22 percent of its Tier I procurement with MWBEs and provides financial assistance for its MWBE suppliers.
No. 4: Kraft
Foods, one of DiversityInc's Top 25 Noteworthy
Companies.
The consumer-products company requires diversity metrics in its RFPs and ties executive compensation to supplier-diversity results.
No. 5:
Dell
CEO
Michael Dell personally signs off on goals and achievements for supplier
diversity. The company offers mentoring and training for MWBEs, which only 88
percent of Top 50 companies do.
No. 6:
Comerica, one of DiversityInc's Top 25 Noteworthy
Companies.
Chairman and CEO Ralph Babb personally signs off on goals and achievements for supplier diversity. The bank also provides financial assistance for its MWBE suppliers.
No. 7: Bank of
Bank of America, which has increasingly made supplier diversity a priority, offers financial assistance to its MWBE suppliers and audits its supplier-diversity numbers.
No. 8: Henry Ford Health System, No. 40 on the Top 50.
The hospital system, the first to make the Top 50, spends 33.5 percent of its Tier I procurement with MWBEs. Henry Ford communicates its supplier-diversity initiatives to all its employees.
No. 9: Marriott
International, No. 11 on the Top 50.
Marriott audits its supplier-diversity numbers and
provides financial assistance to its MWBEs. Marriott has developed an extremely
strong MBE program, which has paid off in community support for hotel
development in urban areas, such as
No. 10: AT&T,
No. 22 on the Top 50.
This long-time national supplier-diversity leader ties executive compensation to supplier-diversity results and provides financial assistance to MWBEs.