DiversityInc has compiled a collection of best practices from religiously inclusive workplaces and data from the DiversityInc Top 50 to help your company navigate the cultural competence and legalities of religion in the workplace.

Ask DiversityInc: How Does Your Company Handle Religious Holidays?
When allowing employees to celebrate the holidays with tasteful decorations and celebrations, how do organizations make sure that those who don’t celebrate are not offended?

Best Practices on Religiously Inclusive Workplaces
Employers must provide “reasonable accommodations” for employees’ religious practices, per Title VII. But what exactly does that mean?

Religious Discrimination in the Workplace
A leading discrimination attorney provides advice on EEOC/Civil Rights laws and how to best mitigate religious discrimination at work.

Laws on Religion, Dress & the Workplace
What’s permissible and what’s not? We spell out the legal precedents for you.

Ask the White Guy: My Managers Are 95% White, Christian–Do I Have a Chance?
What can a person do if they’re in a company where the in-crowd goes to a certain church?

Ask DiversityInc: How Can Diversity Management Measure Religious Inclusion?
Can religion be represented/highlighted as a primary diversity metric in an overall assessment?

Ask the White Guy: What About Religious Expression?
How much religious expression in the workplace is acceptable? CEO Luke Visconti discusses the difference between proselytizing and religious expression.

Ask the White Guy: Are Traditional Christian Values Part of Diversity?
Does diversity management mean ignoring those who hold traditional Christian values?

The post Holidays at Work: Culturally Competent or Offensive? What You SHOULD Know appeared first on DiversityInc.

Q: How do o

A: Before we answer this question directly, we’d first like to address the issue of religion in the workplace. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion, national origin, race, color or sex. Companies abide by this policy, but the more progressive ones create inclusive environments in which employees are encouraged to integrate their mandated religious practices into their day-to-day jobs. This helps companies build loyalty, raise morale and productivity, and reduce one of the hidden costs of ignoring religious diversity: absenteeism.

• Nine years ago, only 42 percent of the DiversityInc Top 50 had floating religious holidays, compared with 74 percent in 2011 and 78 percent in 2012. Sixty-six percent of all participants in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 survey had floating religious holidays. To put these statistics into perspective, a “Religion and Corporate Culture Survey Report” by the Society of Human Resource Management found that just 28 percent of 513 respondents offered paid leave for days that are not part of their regular holiday calendar.
• Seventy percent of the DiversityInc Top 50 companies have onsite religious accommodations, such as prayer rooms, compared with 32 percent eight years ago.
• Twenty-eight percent of the DiversityInc Top 50 companies have religion-based resource groups versus just 5 percent eight years ago.

For more information on religion in the workplace, visit DiversityIncBestPractices.com to read “Best Practices on Religiously Inclusive Workplaces.”

These statistics are important when it comes to handling holiday celebrations. Official holidays in the United States are predominantly Christian. This means that most of the holiday celebrations will be of Christian background. Celebrating other religions during this time can get tricky. Religious holidays should be good educational opportunities—we value differences instead of homogenizing them. So celebrating—and offering cultural-competence training—on religious holidays is critically important. Here are some suggestions to ensure your company’s holiday celebrations are inclusive of all religions and run smoothly.

Proactively Accommodate

Some issues are constants, such as wearing religious attire or the need for time off for observance. Other issues, such as celebrations, occur once or twice a year. Thinking through what policies will work for your organization and making sure all employees know which accommodations are available before they have to ask are critical.

Implement a Process & Clarify It

Employees are often uncomfortable asking for what they need. Implement a process for requesting celebrations and make it clear. Train managers to respond to requests appropriately and make sure everyone knows HR is a resource.

Get Help

If you have a religious resource group, utilize it to educate your employees about all religions. If you don’t have a religious resource group, go to the one place that is sure to have people from different religious backgrounds: your other resource groups. Bounce ideas/requests off of members and gain valuable insights.

At American Express, No. 14 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity, there are longstanding religious groups for Christians, Jews and Muslims. All three groups are encouraged to educate their colleagues about their culture and share their traditions. The groups host events around the holidays. While the company has no formal policy regarding office decorations, all employees are encouraged to express themselves in a manner that is respectful of those around them.

Surveys

Use surveys to gain critical feedback on implementing or expanding celebrations. Incorporate questions specific to religious celebrations in your diversity surveys. Gather, analyze and share responses with key stakeholders and constituencies.

The post Ask DiversityInc: How Does Your Company Handle Religious Holidays? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Generating buy-in from white men is a challenge in some companies, especially for middle management. Even the DiversityInc Top 50 companies are split on strategies, with some choosing to directly focus on white men as a demographic group while others insist they are included in all workplace-diversity efforts.

In Do White Men Really Need Diversity Outreach? DiversityInc’s Barbara Frankel, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor, addresses this issue head-on in a 3,124-word analysis. Frankel interviewed 20 companies to learn how they handle including white men in their workplace-diversity efforts.

Companies include: Sodexo (No. 2 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity), PricewaterhouseCoopers (No. 1), The Coca-Cola Company (No. 46), Merck & Co. (16), CSX (No. 23), Aetna (No. 24), Health Care Service Corporation (No. 19), AXA Equitable (one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies), Harley-Davidson, Ameren, Comerica, Choice Hotels, Staples and the Army & Air Force Exchange.

Readers will also receive need-to-know answers to key questions in workplace diversity including:

• Can white men be diversity leaders in the workplace?
• What aggressive workplace-diversity efforts are companies, such as Coca-Cola and PricewaterhouseCoopers, making?
• Why do you need to keep senior management accountable for diversity efforts in the workplace?
• How can you make a business case for workplace diversity to middle managers?
• How will creating an action plan help make workplace diversity meaningful?
• Should white men have resource groups?

Read Do White Men Really Need Diversity Outreach? at DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

Watch the video below to hear DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti discuss the business case for workplace diversity and why it is important for ALL groups to be included in diversity efforts.

Read DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti’s Ask the White Guy column, Can a White Man Speak With Authority on Diversity?, for more on this subject.

The post Workplace Diversity: Do White Men Really Need Diversity Outreach? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Tyson, the current President and Chief Operating Officer, was interviewed by DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti the day he was named to the position. To hear audio of the interview, click on the audio players below. Tyson also spoke at our diversity event, emphasizing the organization’s emphasis on cultural competency and an inclusive workplace.

Cultural competence in healthcare is a hallmark of both Kaiser Permanente and Tyson’s personal priorities. “Our mission is to continue to become better educated and increase our competency in understanding the nuances of how we care for a diverse population,” he told DiversityInc. “The Institute for Culturally Competent Care is a training ground. … It’s a metaphor for where the brain trust is to help the rest of the organization better understand how to care for diverse populations.”

In addressing corporate leaders who are selecting a health-insurance provider, he noted that the commitment to diversity is critical. “Your employees will see themselves in the walls of Kaiser Permanente. We are a diverse organization, taking care of diverse people,” he said.

Where Are All the Black CEOs? 

Kaiser Permanente, No. 3 on The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, is not in the Fortune 500 since it is a nonprofit. However, the naming of a Black person to lead this major organization is a significant step. Currently, only 1.2 percent of Fortune 500 companies have Black CEOs, compared with 4 percent of the DiversityInc Top 50.

Kaiser Permanente’s Next CEO: Why Healthcare Reform, Cultural Competence Are Financial Decisions

Tyson noted Halvorson’s legacy of creating the most diverse top of the organization in the DiversityInc Top 50. “My job is to build on that and leverage the great strength of the diversity as we continue to deal with very complex problems in this country and the healthcare system,” he said.

Tyson is chairman of the board of directors of The Executive Leadership Council, which works to improve Black representation in senior levels across Fortune 500 and equivalent organizations. He emphasized the need for diversity from all underrepresented groups at the tops of organizations. He also is on the board of the American Heart Association.

Increasing Engagement and Motivation

Tyson discussed his long career at Kaiser, saying: “I’ve been afforded over the 28 years wonderful experiences in multiple roles. … At the end of the day, what has kept me here is that I believe in the mission, in high-quality affordable care.”

He added: “It’s all about creating an environment where the people bring their best thinking forward and are respected and recognized for that. The benefit is to have a highly motivated staff coming to work every day, taking care of our 9 million plus members.”

New CEO: Kaiser Permanente’s Innovation, Affordability Delivers Economic Advantage

The decision to name Tyson came after an exhaustive search. “The full board of directors underwent an extensive internal and external search process, meeting regularly to consider a number of highly qualified candidates, to identify the next leader of Kaiser Permanente,” said Kim Kaiser, board member and chairman of the search committee. “The board’s decision to offer this position to Mr. Tyson is a testament to Kaiser Permanente’s robust internal succession-planning process. During Mr. Tyson’s 28 years at Kaiser Permanente, he has demonstrated excellent leadership and vision for this organization, uniquely qualifying him to serve as our next chairman and CEO.”

Kaiser Permanente’s succession planning will be featured in our diversity web seminar on succession planning, which will include best practices from IBM and CVS Caremark as well, on Dec. 4.

“The board made an excellent choice,” said Halvorson.

“Bernard has done an extremely good job as President and COO of Kaiser Permanente, and I am confident he will continue to perform at the same level as Chairman and CEO.”

Tyson has been President and COO for almost two years. Previously, he was Executive Vice President of Health Plan and Hospital Operations for Kaiser as well as Senior Vice President and COO for the organization’s regions outside of California.

He has a bachelor’s degree in Health Services Management and an MBA in Health Care Administration and Management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. He also earned an advanced leadership certificate from Harvard University.

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Question:

Upon returning to my office, re-energized by the DiversityInc event, I shared the information you addressed during your talk [when you] spoke about DiversityInc and mentioned your Ask the White Guy feature. When mentioning your feature to a group of white female colleagues, one responded by saying, what does he (a white guy) have to do with diversity; how does he create something like DiversityInc and how could he possibly speak with authority about diversity?

Answer:
I created DiversityInc as a consequence of having my consciousness raised by a friend, Tony Cato—at the time, a fellow Naval Aviator. He helped me start the thought process that led me to where I am today. He didn’t have an agenda; we were simply swapping stories as we worked together, a consequence of his volunteering to help me when I was assigned to be the Minority Officer Recruiter in Naval Recruiting District New Jersey. Tony is not a go-along-to-get-along guy; he’s tough, disciplined and very smart. He told me stories of being denied fair treatment because he’s Black. It took me awhile to understand how profound those stories are, but it did sink in eventually. I learned to share his indignation at poor treatment meted out as a result of discrimination—and the damage it does to our country.

White men are a part of diversity and there is a great deal of diversity among white men. [Read how corporations are showing white men what's in it for them: Do White Men Really Need Diversity Outreach?] I recently spoke to a group of 900 police and fire chiefs in Oregon—97 percent white men. I made the point that they might not think they have diversity as they sit around the fire house or police station and see nothing but white men—but some of those white men grew up in single-parent households, some grew up in large families, some went to college on athletic scholarships, some worked their way through—and some didn’t go at all. Some have a gay brother, some are gay themselves (and perhaps closeted). I told the chiefs that they could utilize the diversity they already have to gain new perspective on problems and in doing so would better fulfill their missions: to save lives. My point is that it is not skin color, gender or orientation that makes one “good at” managing diversity but mindset.

This mindset for majority-culture people requires an epiphany or an evolution in thinking that brings one to understand the extent of the discrimination around all of us that is perpetrated mostly by the majority culture.

Anyone can become “authoritative” about diversity. Nobody comes to the table that way. How you get there, in my opinion, starts with understanding history. I’ve gained a lot of perspective by reading books like Beverly Tatum’s “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria,” Iris Chang’s “The Chinese in America,” Isabel Wilkerson‘s “The Warmth of Other Suns,” Douglas Blackmon’s “Slavery By Another Name,” Ira Katznelson’s “When Affirmative Action Was White” and Taylor Branch’s trilogy on the civil-rights era.

Watch Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf discuss his personal commitment to diversity and how he holds his leaders accountable for diversity goals.

History is important, but what I’ve found transformative is personal involvement in organizations that do not serve you directly (by “you,” I mean loosely you as defined by gender, race, orientation, etc.). For example, I’m a trustee of Bennett College for Women, a historically Black college, and on the foundation board of New Jersey City University, a Hispanic-serving institution. At Rutgers University (where I am also a trustee), I co-chair the fundraising committee for Rutgers Future Scholars. We have raised $2 million in the past three years. I donate all of my speaking fees through the DiversityInc Foundation, which has distributed more than $500,000 since 2006. The life experience I’ve gained by serving these institutions has been invaluable.

Any executive can take the same steps to broaden their experience and cultural competence. We see how people work so hard to complete advanced degrees—and they are important—but life experience is how an executive does not become a Hosni Mubarak as our country and world change dramatically. This change is not just visual; it is about the rising power of liberated people to destroy the concept of “melting pot” as they gain the economic ability to command respect—as they are.

Watch Procter & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald discuss how the company’s commitment to community outreach helps improve its employees’ cultural competence.

I will note that people who are not in the majority culture must deal with the majority culture as they try to retain their own identity, but those in the majority culture do not really have to deal with anything BUT the majority culture (doesn’t make it right, but this is the reality). In this country, the majority culture is defined as white, male, heterosexual, Christian and not having an ADA-defined disability. But just because a person in the majority culture starts out with a much wider “blind spot” than people not in the majority culture doesn’t mean it’s impossible for white men to become open advocates for diversity and inclusion. It also doesn’t mean that a Black woman (for example) comes with an automatic Ph.D. in diversity management (it’s just a lot easier for the Black woman to see the problem in the first place). We must all come to the realization that, as a reader put it nicely, “I am not different than you, I am different like you.”

Luke Visconti’s Ask the White Guy column is a top draw on DiversityInc.com. Visconti, the founder and CEO of DiversityInc, is a nationally recognized leader in diversity management. In his popular column, readers who ask Visconti tough questions about race/culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and age can expect smart, direct and disarmingly frank answers.

The post Ask the White Guy: Can a White Man Speak With Authority on Diversity? appeared first on DiversityInc.

President Jimmy Carter signed a joint resolution in 1978 that declared May 4–10, 1979, as the first Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. This was later extended by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to a month-long celebration. The month commemorates the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant, a fisherman named Nakanohama Manjiro, or “John Mung,” to the United States on May 7, 1843, and marks the transcontinental railroad’s completion on May 10, 1869.

Click the images below to download a PDF, or click these links to expand: Asian-American Heritage Timeline and Asian-American Fact & Figures.

 1700s–1800s:

1763 First recorded settlement of Filipinos in America in Louisiana

1843 First Japanese immigrants arrive in the United States

1847 Yale’s Yung Wing is the first Chinese person to graduate from a U.S. college

1848 Chinese people migrate to California during the Gold Rush

1854 California bars the entrance of Chinese people to the state

1858 People v. Hall rules that Chinese people cannot give testimony against whites

1865 Chinese workers are hired by the Central Pacific Railroad Company

1869 First transcontinental railroad is completed 1878 Ninth Circuit Court in California declares that Chinese people cannot receive natural citizenship

1879 Laws are passed in California against Chinese employment

1882 Chinese Exclusion Law is passed, which suspends immigration for 10 years

1898 The Philippines declares its independence. The U.S. annexes the Philippines and Hawaii

1898 Wong Kim Ark v. U.S. rules that Chinese people born in the United States are citizens

1900s:

1903 First group of Korean people arrives to work in Hawaii

1905 California Civil Code forbids marriage between Asians and whites

1906 San Francisco excludes Japanese, Korean and Chinese children from public schools

1907 Immigration from India begins

1907 President Theodore Roosevelt’s executive order prevents Japanese/Korean immigration

1922 Takao Ozawa v. U.S. rules that a Japanese person cannot be naturalized

1924 National Origins Act prohibits immigration of most Asians

1941 After the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese on the Pacific Coast are interned in camps

1943 Congress repeals all Chinese exclusion laws and grants naturalization

1946 The Philippines becomes independent; citizenship is offered to those living in the United States

1946 Wing Ong becomes first Asian person elected to state office in Arizona House of Representatives

1947 President Harry Truman pardons Japanese Americans who resisted draft in internment camps

1949 U.S. severs ties with People’s Republic of China; 5,000 educated Chinese people are granted refugee status

1950 Korean War and second wave of Korean immigration begins

1956 Dalip Singh Saund becomes the first Asian-Indian person elected to Congress

1959 Hawaii becomes the 50th state

1959 Hiram Fong and Daniel K. Inouye become the first Asian-Pacific Americans elected to Congress

1962 Hawaii’s Inouye becomes a senator; Spark Matsunaga becomes a congressman

1964 Patsy Takemoto becomes the first Asian-American woman to serve in Congress

1975 Vietnam War ends; leads to large migration of Southeast Asians to the United States

1979 The first Asian Pacific American Heritage Week is celebrated

1979 Diplomatic relations resume between the People’s Republic of China and the United States

1989 President George H.W. Bush signs into law an entitlement program to pay each surviving Japanese-American internee $20,000

1997 Kalpana Chawla becomes the first Asian Indian astronaut in space

1997 Gary Locke becomes the first Asian-American governor of a mainland state (Washington)

2000 to Present Day:

2000 Norman Mineta becomes the first Asian-American person to hold a Cabinet post

2001 Elaine Chao is appointed secretary of labor

2006 First monument dedicated to Filipino soldiers who fought for the United States in World War II is unveiled

2007 Bobby Jindal becomes the first Indian-American person elected governor (Louisiana)

2009 President Barack Obama appoints the most Asian Americans to Cabinet-level positions (three)

2010 Apolo Anton Ohno becomes the most decorated American Winter Olympian, with eight medals

The post Asian/Pacific Islander American Facts & Figures appeared first on DiversityInc.

DiversityInc examined global diversity trends in depth in our exclusive global research. We analyzed data and demographics with more than 100 responses from 17 countries across Europe, Asia and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries. The result was a wealth of information and best practices on cultural concerns and how they are being addressed. For more information on the global-diversity research, visit www.DiversityInc.com/globaldiversity.

This 1,835-word excerpt from the full “2011 Global Research Report” illustrates the complexity of this subject and the different views on what constitutes inclusion in varying regions and countries. Four detailed charts are included. 

Readers will take away:

• Which European countries dissuade valuing differences because of a cultural emphasis on assimilation
• How norms around advancing women vary between European and Asian nations, and what companies are doing to address issues of gender equity
• What two dominant challenges face companies in Asia
• The average tenure of diversity/inclusion programs in the BRIC countries and their projected progress toward inclusion
• There is a groundswell in several countries to hire one particular demographic group—see which is it and why

Go to DiversityIncBestPractices.com to read the “Why Is Global Diversity So Difficult” global report.

For more on global-diversity best practices, read “Best Practices to Overcome Global Diversity Challenges” and read ”The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Global Diversity” for a list of companies that excel in this area of diversity management. 

The post Why Is Global Diversity So Difficult? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Growing up as a third-generation Scandinavian in the Midwest meant Campbell had little experience with diversity before he moved to Arizona for his career, where he became the president of Norwest Bank Arizona.

In his position, Campbell was challenged with mitigating acquisition protests from Navajo leaders. The bank had been involved in an acquisition with Citibank and several of the acquired branches were located in the Navajo Nation, the largest American Indian reservation in the United States. The Navajo decided to use this opportunity to get their needs and wants heard.

Read: American Indian Heritage Month Facts & Figures

“I had no experience with Native American culture,” said Campbell. His first duty: to meet with the tribe leaders on location. “Here’s this white guy from the Midwest in a suit showing up at tribal offices. It was not a good start.”

He worked hard to develop a relationship but the Navajo leaders still filed their complaint. However, Campbell said that their relationship grew over the next several years through his willingness to learn the culture. And the Navajo eventually came to accept him.

“My story of fear turned to a story of joy, and I had great pride in the relationship we had come to develop,” Campbell said. It’s a story that provides diversity leaders with four keys for cultural competence. 

Read: Ask the White Guy: Can a White Man Speak With Authority on Diversity?

1. Mentors are critical. Campbell said that initially he and Wells Fargo employees spent months trying to acquire leases to build new stores on Navajo land. However, Campbell eventually became friends with a non-Native, Eddie Basha, the CEO of Bashas’, a privately owned grocery company with stores on the reservation. Bash became his mentor and vouched for him with Navajo leaders.

   Basha taught Campbell that his success was the result of hiring Navajo employees to run the stores and selling products that were made by and are desirable to its American Indian patrons.  Read Mentoring Roundtable: How Mentoring Improves Retention, Engagement & Promotions.

2. Be curious. According to Campbell, his interest in the American Indian culture needed to be sincere. “It’s important to have a genuine curiosity to learn something you don’t know about. I had a chance few people ever do: to get close to the leadership of the Navajo community.” Campbell asked questions more freely as he became more familiar with the culture and the natives, which translated well with Navajo leaders.
    
3. Embrace differences. Through asking questions about the Navajo and their traditions, Campbell learned how to be comfortable in the culture and “not expect to do things my way.” He noted that jeans and boots, rather than a corporate America–style suit and tie, are the way to go to the Navajo nation so you can “hop in back of a pickup truck” at the airport.
    
   Campbell also detailed how Navajo time runs at a much different pace, without set meeting times. “You get home when you get home,” he said. “You have to do business with local vendors and use Navajo contractors.” Additionally, a medicine man comes to every store opening to bless the building and business. “It’s a blending of culture and technology,” Campbell said.
    
4. Show up. The Navajo show a great deal of respect for each other and expect the same from their visitors, according to Campbell. “When an invitation comes, you show up,” he said. “Many times, it’s really about being present. When someone inside the culture you don’t know takes a risk and asks you in, it’s disrespectful not to accept.”

Campbell recalled when he was finally accepted into the culture by Navajo leaders. “I was invited to the Sweat Lodge, a traditional purification ceremony performed by many Native American tribes.” For him, this was the cap to his efforts and a source of personal reward.

“I was able to see how powerful it can be when a company understands diverse cultures, and I was able to see how to build business on their terms,” Campbell said, noting that Wells Fargo makes more than $1 million a year in revenue from a relationship that “started on the basis of a protest 10 years earlier.” 

Watch an exclusive video interview with Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf for more on Wells Fargo’s leadership, corporate citizenship, sustainable business and accountability.

The post What Did the Navajo Nation Teach Wells Fargo About Cultural Competence? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Diversity management at Sodexo, which centers on metrics-driven diversity goals, has brought the company significant results in human-capital diversity and, most importantly, market share. The company’s secret for success? The all-important communication and accountability between the CEO and the chief diversity officer.

Sodexo’s President and CEO George Chavel and Senior Vice President and Global Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Rohini Anand spoke with DiversityInc Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Barbara Frankel at a DiversityInc event. They discussed the strong professional relationship they have and why their collaboration is vital to business success. The company is No. 2 in the DiversityInc Top 50 for its second year (and was No. 1 in 2010).

Chavel says trust is the integral component to building a successful CEO/CDO relationship. “If you have the ability to create rapport, you can talk about all the struggles and have a strong debate.”

This open dialogue is essential with clients as well, especially in terms of Sodexo’s past. The company’s strong focus on diversity was jumpstarted by a discrimination lawsuit in 2002. “It was a painful time in our history but the opportunity to transform our company and culture,” says Chavel.

The story resonated with clients, and Sodexo began helping its clients with their own diversity goals. “In doing that, our brand became synonymous with diversity leadership as an enabler of business growth and helped us move from where we were and to sustain it in the organization,” he explains.

Anand describes this story as a business marriage. “All CDOs are ambitious about our mission and vision to change culture, but it has to be married to a business reality,” she says. “My job is to convince George. It’s a fine line. We all want to do as much as we can, and we get impatient. At the end of the day, it’s about using the strategy to grow the business.”

Their strategy includes three best practices, all tied to bottom-line results:

Commitment to Metrics

Sodexo set its diversity metrics one year into its journey. It measures everything with a robust scorecard—promotion, retention of women and Blacks, Latinos and Asians, resource-group engagement, results and mentoring promotions, retention, engagement, etc. Sodexo’s mentoring program has been featured on DiversityIncBestPractices.com and in our  Mentoring Web Seminar, with Jodi Davidson, director, diversity and inclusion initiatives, Sodexo.  For more on diversity metrics, watch the Diversity Metrics Web Seminar to learn which diversity metrics are most valuable to companies.

Sodexo keeps a very focused scorecard to measure virtually everything diversity related. For example, for every dollar spent on mentoring, Sodexo gets two dollars back. “It’s very much of a story culture,” Anand says. “It’s important to marry those metrics with case studies and vignettes. You need both to demonstrate the value.”

Compensation Incentives

Diversity metrics are then linked to 10 percent of managers’ bonus compensation, with Chavel and his team at 25 percent. The diversity fund is held apart from the financial performance of the company and is always paid to those who reach their goals. Sodexo was one of three companies featured in DiversityInc magazine as a case study on executive compensation tied to diversity.

“For our culture, it’s important to have a cause and effect, with us and with our heavily based metrics,” says Chavel. “We are trying to drive change. We’re not just pointing to those metrics but using them.”

Leveraging Qualities

Learning how to become a part of a diverse team is the key to driving innovation. With four generations working side by side, Sodexo recognizes the need to optimize each group’s unique talents and differences. “Mixing that together, that diversity and innovation, that is where we are heading,” Chavel says.

Anand notes, however, that there still are roadblocks to improvement, citing middle management as a key target for buy-in initiatives. Although Chavel is the U.S. CEO, the French-based global company is in more than 80 countries with more than 400,000 employees worldwide and is tailoring its diversity programs across the globe to incorporate local cultures. For corporate best practices to create inclusive workforces, and data points from DiversityInc’s  new global research, read 4 Ways to Overcome Global Diversity Challenges.

“In Asian countries, we are moving very rapidly. The women are hungry for initiatives and the leaders have jumped on board,” says Anand. “We have a strategy for North America and a clearly different strategy outside of the United States. We have to go almost country by country to understand the issues and tailor the initiatives.”

The post Diversity Management: The Chief Diversity Officer’s No. 1 Advantage appeared first on DiversityInc.

Kaiser Permanente has the most diverse board of directors and management, especially the top three levels of management, that DiversityInc has seen. The company’s board of directors is half Black, Latino and Asian and 36 percent women, and its top level of management is 38 percent Black, Latino and Asian and 25 percent women.

What types of best practices does Kaiser employ to keep its senior levels so diverse? The company has an exemplary mentoring program and is one of only 26 percent of the DiversityInc Top 50 that offer cultural-awareness training for mentors and mentees before they start their formal relationship. Its employee-resource groups are used for diversity training, mentoring, leadership opportunities and talent development.

Kaiser has exceptionally strong diversity leadership from its chairman and CEO, George Halvorson, who leads the National Diversity Council. What makes Kaiser remarkable is the consistency of its diversity-management efforts, as well as the alignment between diversity in the workplace and diversity in the customer base.

Kaiser first participated in The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity in 2005, when it was on the 25 Noteworthy Companies list. It moved to No. 36 on the list in 2006, No. 27 in 2007, No. 7 in 2009 and No. 4 last year. Kaiser’s diversity-management initiatives have jelled in the last five years as a clear reflection of its values and leadership.

Award accepted by Chuck Columbus, chief human resources executive and senior vice president, Kaiser Permanente:

“This recognition helps to remind us of the good work we are doing and why we are doing it. We’ll take this award back and celebrate what it represents, but we’ll celebrate it shortly. There’s still a lot left to do. We still have gaps to address. (In the healthcare world, we call them “disparities.”) For Kaiser Permanente, it’s about carrying on a legacy. We’ve had some long intentional, thoughtful, spirited debates about not just providing the best care but providing the best care for everyone—and that `inspires our work for diversity. It provides a compass for us.”

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