Email a Friend

Digg

A reader asked DiversityInc for help coming up with short diversity topics to present in five- to seven-minute talks during staff meetings. We thought our response could benefit many of you whose companies are in the early stages of developing diversity initiatives or who are asked to drill down more comprehensive diversity programs for a quick presentation.

Since we have been analyzing corporate-diversity initiatives for almost a decade and have the latest and most comprehensive data through The DiversityInc 2008 Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® survey, here are DiversityInc Top 50 best practices and links to stories in DiversityInc magazine and on www.DiversityInc.com that can help you. For more in-depth information on these topics, view our monthly webinars, available at www.DiversityInc.com/webinars.

Topic 1: Recruitment

It's no secret that the demographics of the United States are changing rapidly and that to reach increasingly affluent Blacks, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans, you need employees who can relate to them. It's increasingly important to have a work force that reflects ALL your customers, including people with disabilities and LGBT people.

DiversityInc Top 50 Recruitment Tips:

• Set hiring goals, tie them to executive compensation, have top management review and approve them
• Use employee-resource groups for outreach to communities, at job fairs, and to make connections with prospects and new employees
  
  

Articles to help you with this topic:

The 2008 DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention

It's 2050 … What Does Your Work Force Look Like?

What Do Talented People of Color Want Most on the Job?

How You Can Develop a Pipeline of Young Latino Employees

What to Look For in a Job Candidate

Recruitment Success Strategies

Topic 2: Retention

How do you prevent talented people from traditionally underrepresented groups from feeling underappreciated or alienated in corporate America? How do you stop the brain drain of women managers because of the rigorous demands of corporate jobs?

DiversityInc Top 50 Retention Tips:

• Create formal mentoring programs to help your mid-career professionals stay connected
• Make sure succession planning incorporates diversity and excludes no one
• Use employee-resource groups to ascertain if you have a problem retaining people from any one group
• Survey your employees (current and those leaving) to see where the trouble spots are

Articles to help you with this topic:

Bias in Retention: Gauge of Corporate Culture

Four Generations in the Workplace: Do You Get Their Differences?

Why Are So Few CEOs People of Color and Women?       

Topic 3: CEO Commitment

There's a reason CEO Commitment is the most heavily weighted area of the DiversityInc Top 50 survey: Without it, your diversity initiatives will fail. Real CEO commitment is far more than lip service; it means holding senior executives accountable for ensuring that diversity becomes integral to the company's business strategies.

DiversityInc Top 50 CEO Commitment Tips:

• Make the business case for diversity. Use facts and empirical data to show your CEO why he/she can't be without a strong diversity program to be competitive
• Create an internal diversity council and ask the CEO to head it and appoint its members
• Seek a structure in which a portion of top executive bonuses is tied to diversity success and the CEO must sign off on this goal
• Have the CEO meet regularly with employee-resource groups and ensure that a senior executive is a member of each group

Articles to help you with this topic:

First Comes CEO Commitment

Money Talks: Diversity Incentives Make the Difference

Holding Managers Accountable for Diversity Success

Candid Advice From CEOs on Diversity

Power Players: Internal Diversity Councils

Topic 4: Diversity Training

What's the difference between training and compliance? What are the pros and cons of mandatory versus voluntary training? Should you use an external consultant as a trainer or your own people? Is this really important or is it just window dressing?

DiversityInc Top 50 Diversity-Training Tips:

• Make training mandatory for the entire global work force, not just managers. If it isn't, those who really need it won't attend
• Hold the training frequently so there are no excuses for not attending, and make certain it lasts a full day
• Training can't exist in a vacuum. Make sure there are sufficient metrics and follow-ups
  
  

Articles to help you with this topic:

Debunking the Attack on Diversity Training

Diversity Training Finally Gets Respect

Making Diversity Training Pay Off

Diversity Training: Why You Need It, How to Get It Right

Topic 5: Supplier Diversity

The relationship between minority- and women-owned suppliers (MBEs and WBEs) and corporations is often undervalued by companies. It is essential to building community ties and to developing an innovative network of competent contractors.

DiversityInc Top 50 Supplier-Diversity Tips:

• Offer education and training to MBEs and WBEs to ensure they reach their maximum potential. They often will become your best customers
• Always use third-party certification to ensure the validity of your MBEs, WBEs and gay/lesbian-owned companies. At this time, there are no third parties certifying companies owned by people with disabilities
• Help your suppliers grow by giving them financial assistance, usually in the form of low-interest or interest-free loans

Articles to help you with this topic:

What Would Make White People Support a Black Business?

The Best Supplier-Diversity Metrics

Partnerships With Diverse Suppliers Key to Building Corporate Trust

Best Ways to Help Your Suppliers Grow

More Diversity Management >>