To evaluate the impact of global diversity efforts, we have investigated best practices that correlate to results, measured in increased human-capital diversity and business opportunity. Through 203 data submissions and extensive interviews with 25 companies, we have learned that diversity-and-inclusion initiatives have been mostly focused around gender, while efforts to include ethnic and religious minorities, people with disabilities and LGBT people are just beginning to surface.

We studied all global regions and found the most successful diversity-and-inclusion efforts in Europe, Asia and Central/South America. Virtually all start with initiatives aimed at women that emphasize local cultural values. We found direct correlations between companies that have initiatives for recruitment and talent-development programs for women and increased representation of women in the workplace, management and the senior-executive ranks. We also note correlations between D&I initiatives such as resource groups and mentoring, and increased female representation in management ranks.

Support from corporate and local leadership is especially critical when addressing other dimensions of diversity. Companies in every region with global diversity councils have made far more significant inroads in LGBT inclusion. And companies with regional diversity councils led by local business leaders are far more likely to implement supplier-diversity initiatives.

In this report, we will document which best practices are working through analytical data and case studies demonstrating results. All of the companies we have analyzed tell us these efforts are just beginning and they expect to see rapid advancement in their global diversity efforts and enhanced competition for talent.

I. Methodology: DiversityInc’s Global Diversity Research

This report relies on two years’ worth of data submissions, totaling 203 entries from 46 countries. The submissions represent nine industries—professional services, technology, consumer-packaged goods, pharmaceutical, chemical, manufacturing, auto, hospitality and medical devices. The questionnaire was designed to be culturally competent, capturing and codifying demographics (gender, age and locally underrepresented groups where reportable) as well as best practices (talent and leadership development, resource groups, diversity councils, supplier diversity).

Our thirteen 2012 sponsors helped us determine what best practices to examine locally and globally to implement initiatives with sustainable results. Our interviews, with an emphasis on talent development, leadership pipeline and resource groups for underrepresented groups, gave us perspective on what has worked for different companies in different countries/regions, and how they overcame challenges. The sponsors are: Accenture, BASF, Cigna, Dell, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, Ernst & Young, General Motors, Merck & Co., Medtronic, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sodexo and Wells Fargo.

Companies filled out the survey for each country they chose; most also provided information for headquarters. The survey continues to stay open. We add companies, countries and regions to our database with each new submission. The survey has approximately 100 questions and is divided into the following seven sections:

• General Information: Ascertains how long the diversity-and-inclusion initiative has existed, and how it is organized and staffed (full-time, part-time and volunteer).
• Headquarters: Assesses global diversity councils and global support and control of local diversity-and-inclusion initiatives.
  
• Leadership and Values: Examines what diversity and/or inclusion means locally, what the three biggest challenges/barriers facing successful D&I efforts in each country are, what type of internal diversity council has been established, the support of local business leaders, how D&I is integrated into the local business goals, what metrics are used to assess D&I success locally (i.e., what is the business case?), and how employee engagement is measured.
  
• Human Capital: Measures workforce, management and senior-management representation by gender, looks at the age of the workforce in each country, and probes whether the local organization has specific recruitment and leadership-development efforts for women and other underrepresented groups.
  
• Best Practices for Global Diversity: Looks at local efforts to implement global diversity strategies and initiatives that include resource groups, mentoring, training, outreach to LGBT people (where legally permissible), outreach to people with disabilities, work/life benefits (especially flexible workplaces), and website communications about D&I.
  
• Supplier Diversity: Studies whether local supplier diversity exists and, if so, what groups are targeted and what best practices are in place to support growth and impact.

 II.  Major Global Diversity Findings 

Our findings show significant correlations between established best practices and human-capital results, primarily measured in recruitment and promotions of women. The data and interviews support specific and proven approaches to recruitment, leadership development, flexible workplaces, formal mentoring, resource groups, generational issues and global executive diversity councils. Full findings are available to global sponsors and global consulting clients. (See more information on DiversityInc Global Consulting.)

Examples:

• Companies with formal recruitment policies aimed at women reported dramatic increases in female representation in the workforce. For example, in India, companies with formal recruitment policies had one-third more women in the workforce.

• We note a significant increase in management opportunities and promotions for women in companies that have locally based leadership-development programs aimed specifically at women. In contrast, leadership programs targeted at underrepresented groups are scarce globally. For example, in Brazil, companies with leadership programs for women had almost four times as many women in management as companies without these programs; in Japan, the difference was sixfold.

• Almost all companies surveyed felt that flexibility in terms of hours and location is key to increasing retention, engagement and promotions of women and younger people in general. The degree of flexibility often depends on the local cultural role of women and how strong their home/family duties are. For example, in France, companies with flexible workplaces have almost double the percentage of women senior executives and a third more women in management. They also have double the amount of women in the workforce.

• While formal mentoring and sponsorship programs are just beginning to catch on in most of the world, their impact in areas where they have been in place is dramatic. For example, companies in Australia with formal mentoring had one-third more women executives than companies without.

• Global resource groups traditionally are aimed at women and focus almost exclusively on talent development, but we are beginning to see groups based on age, sexual orientation and, in a few cases, race/ethnicity. There are definite correlations between having groups and increased diversity in the workplace. For example, in the United Kingdom, companies with resource groups had 10 percent more women in management.

• Our research shows a vast difference in the age of workers in various countries, with many Asian countries having very young workforces and some European countries having older workforces. The issues facing them are very different and, therefore, require a variety of solutions. For example, more than half of the workforce of the countries in Asia are younger than 34.

• Global executive diversity councils are increasingly used to set D&I strategies for the organization, which then are filtered to local diversity councils for implementation. They show organizational consistency in values and subsequent messaging, which produces results in the global workplace. For example, in Europe, companies with global executive diversity councils are twice as likely to offer domestic-partner benefits in countries where they are legal and three times more likely to include sexual orientation in training. And companies with global executive diversity councils are also three times more likely to have regional councils to implement strategies. Supplier diversity is a good example of that: Companies with regional councils in Europe are twice as likely to have formal supplier-diversity outreach. (There is virtually no supplier diversity in Asia yet.)

Case Studies:

Global Diversity Best Practice: Developing Female Talent in Australia: Can flexible workplace models and leadership programs provide measurable improvements in gender diversity? Read these case studies from Deloitte and Ernst & Young.

Global Diversity Best Practice: Flexible Workplaces in India: Global companies must combat a “leaky pipeline” of women talent, but these best practices from Sodexo, Merck, Dell and Deloitte can improve retention.

2 European Case Studies: People With Disabilities & Ethnic Minorities: How are Sodexo and Merck recruiting people from underrepresented groups in Europe?

Best Practice: IBM’s Global LGBT Support: How is IBM’s global commitment to the LGBT market reshaping its business advantage? It builds credibility and trust with clients—and increases revenue prospects.

III. Conclusions About Global Diversity

The direct link between diversity-management best practices and sustainable human-capital results is clear from this research as well as from the interviews with executives around the globe.

To highlight the key correlations:

• Companies with recruitment programs for women recruited 20 percent more women in Europe and Central/South America.
• Companies with leadership programs for women had 44 percent more women executives in Asia.
• Companies with flexible work arrangements had 34 percent more women executives in all areas studied.
• Companies with formal mentoring programs had 12 percent more women in Central/South America.
• Companies with global diversity councils were twice as likely to have global LGBT efforts in all regions.
• Companies with regional diversity councils led by local country executives were four times more likely to have supplier-diversity programs in Europe and Asia.

The best practices the companies have detailed for us, and which still are evolving, increase representation, engagement, productivity and marketplace connections. However, the research shows they work most effectively when specifically tailored to local cultural norms and when there is support from both global headquarters and local leadership.

There are demographic differences between regions, which we note in this research, such as the much younger workforce in Asia and older workforce in Europe. There are also varying standards on women’s roles in and out of the home, inclusion of LGBT people, the need for proactive efforts to include people with disabilities, and the importance of supplier diversity.

Global diversity is evolving at different paces in various regions and countries, but all participating companies agree to its increasing importance in having an engaged workforce that relates to the local population.

WHAT’S NEXT? 

Our consulting practice can help build your global diversity initiative and successfully implement it on a local level. This service includes: Making the business case to local leadership; in-depth assessment of organization/current initiatives; roadmaps and specific plans of action; situational analysis; written and verbal debriefs.

Our next round of global research will start in the spring of 2013, and will focus on increasing our knowledge database, especially in emerging-market countries where there is significant business-growth potential. Sponsors will be able to shape the best practices we study and will receive data analysis of their submissions compared to the competitive set.

For more information on consulting and research sponsorship, visit DiversityInc Global Consulting or contact consulting@diversityinc.com.

The post Global Diversity Research Executive Summary: 203 Data Submissions in 46 Countries appeared first on DiversityInc.

In our diversity web seminar on mentoring and sponsorship, BASF’s Chief Diversity Officer Patricia Rossman, and Deloitte Consulting’s Kelvin Womack, Principal, Lead Client Service Partner, Federal Health Practice, and Managing Principal, Diversity, discussed:

• How BASF Successfully Launched a Mentoring Program: The company utilizes an eHarmony-style digital system to match mentors and mentees, which increases engagement and customizes each mentoring pair for optimal results.
• Why Sponsorship at Deloitte Drives Careers: The company’s pilot Navigation to Excellence formal sponsorship program nationally paired 15 Black, Latina and Asian women with sponsors. Participants reported improved relationships with senior sponsors, networking and communication skills.

Additional insights from BASF and Deloitte include:

• Relationship Must-Haves: What you need to formalize and integrate mentoring and sponsorship programs into your corporate culture.
• Benefits of Formal Programs: How are they different from informal programs and why companies opt to formalize their talent development.
• Metrics & Data: What are the best metrics to assess progress, especially involving retention, engagement and promotion?
• Consistency: How to achieve a sustainable program at your organization.

Please log in to DiversityIncBestPractices.com to watch the presentation and download the slides.

Not a subscriber? Buy this web seminar now, or request subscriber information and pricing for DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

The post Will Your New Mentoring/Sponsorship Program Succeed? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Synopsis:

At our spring event, DiversityInc convened a panel of executives from global companies who grapple with these issues and have devised successful business solutions for global talent development.

Participants:

Nancy Calderon, Americas Region Chief Administrative Officer and U.S. National Partner in Charge of Operations, KPMG, No. 22 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity

Linda Clement-Holmes, Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Business Services, Procter & Gamble, No. 5 in the DiversityInc Top 50

Pat Rossman, Chief Diversity Officer, BASF, one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies

Sarah King, Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Wyndham Worldwide is one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies)

Here are their best practices for global talent development:

1. Align global talent development with corporate business goals: Senior management should regularly review top talent globally as well as the diversity of slates for openings.
2. Stay true to global values, especially on human rights, while respecting local cultures: Offering a wide range of diversity-training programs that address global cultural competence at a local level is important, especially regarding LGBT and women’s issues.
3. Convince talented managers about the benefits of global assignments: Companies need to identify employees during the “sweet spot” of their career: early enough that life circumstances (i.e., family, homeownership, etc.) more easily allow for travel, yet late enough that the role is meaningful. 

Other best practices revealed in this article include providing global cultural-competence training and education for employees and their families before doling out assignments; helping ex-pats re-adjust at home; and leveraging multicultural and multinational resource groups. 

Click here to read this 1,396-word report, featuring case-study examples from these four global companies and additional video clips.

The full article is available to DiversityIncBestPractices.com subscribers. Not a subscriber? Click here to request subscriber information and pricing.

For more on global diversity, read Ask DiversityInc: Who Has Global LGBT Groups?

The post 6 Best Practices on Global Talent Development appeared first on DiversityInc.

Naturally, she was excited for her first team meeting. “I was very interested in showing colleagues in South America that I understood their issues,” Rossman recalls. “I did research about business, communication styles, differences in government relations—for example, the differences between the United States and Brazilian systems.”

However, when it came time to make her introductory presentation, Rossman found her audience wasn’t impressed with her extensive “homework.” It turned out that they were looking for a more personal connection.

“I was prepared on the professional side, the research issues … They wanted to know what I stood for—my values and some of the formative experiences I had as a person,” says Rossman. “There was a cultural affinity toward working as people first, then focusing on the issues. I was coming in on the opposite side.”

Rossman quickly learned that she needed to change her management style if her cross-cultural and cross-continental team was going to be successful. “We met in the middle and developed a good relationship to tackle the issues, but we did it more from a sense of knowing who we were as people,” says Rossman. “It was a good lesson for all of us. It really proved the value of diversity and inclusion.”

It was a moment that she says completely changed her management approach and overall way of thinking: “That experience has helped me to listen more and try to put myself in the position of the other person and people with whom I’m working.”

It also inspired her to take action at external organizations. Rossman serves on the board of trustees for the American Conference on Diversity, and on designated weekends, she volunteers at a thrift shop that serves a disadvantaged population.

“The power that I have seen when diverse perspectives come together in powerful combinations of ideas and teams … I saw firsthand and developed a deep appreciation for diversity and cultural differences,” she says. “I saw how this appreciation, understanding and recognition of differences can be a powerful accelerator for high-performing teams.”

Resource Groups Keep It Personal

Rossman combined her newfound awareness with her experiences from her HR background to promote and recognize BASF employees as individuals with varying perspectives. “I think that the ability to work in fields [that focus] on people and their combinations of ideas provides great training,” she says. In fact, it’s a central building block for the way BASF does its business. Its goal: manifesting its “we create chemistry” strategy on a tangible level.

“Chemistry at BASF is created with our people—they really are our greatest resource,” she says. “Diversity will help us do a better job of harnessing the power of their ideas, so our priorities focus on making BASF more personal.”

That more personal touch is apparent in Rossman’s approach to talent development at BASF, which she embraces with a “leading by example” approach. She’s an active participant in BASF’s resource groups, which the company refers to as affinity groups. These include the African American, Emerging Professionals and Friends (for any new BASF employee, regardless of age), ALLchemie (LGBT), Latin American, and Women in Business, which are based in the North America region. All of the groups are open to any employee who wishes to join, regardless of race, ethnicity, orientation or gender.

“I attend as many group meetings as I can. I have a lot of contact with the groups,” says Rossman. She recently participated in a Women in Business meeting about skill building and building a personal brand.

“It’s all part of helping people build networks, helping the company seem more intimate and more personal,” explains Rossman. “BASF business leaders provide their perspectives as part of the orientation for these programs.”

“For me, it’s about appreciating that ideas get better as they get shared. The idea is to always keep improving,” Rossman says.

Related video: Rossman discusses challenges in global assignments at one of our diversity events.

The post How a Global Giant Builds Employee Cultural Competence appeared first on DiversityInc.