Synopsis: A Guide to Effective Resource-Group Executive Sponsorship

Written by DiversityInc Vice President of Consulting Debby Scheinholtz, the Guide to Effective Resource-Group Executive Sponsorship is a comprehensive report that features DiversityInc data as well as interviews with chief diversity officers from six companies that excel at managing effective resource groups. Featured companies include:

• MasterCard Worldwide, No. 15 in the DiversityInc Top 50
• Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), No. 19
• Target, No. 30
• Northrop Grumman, No. 42
• Rockwell Collins, No. 43
• Comcast Corporation, one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies

You can read an excerpt from the 1,663-word article below. The Guide to Effective Resource-Group Executive Sponsorship article is available at DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

What’s an Executive Resource-Group Sponsor?

Executive resource-group sponsors—usually direct reports to the CEO or members of the senior-leadership team—give resource groups business influence within their companies.

1. Who is Eligible for Executive Sponsorship?
   Executive resource-group sponsors are usually at the highest level of the company—most often direct reports to the CEO.
2. How Are Executive Sponsors Selected?
   The chief diversity officer often selects sponsors from among the senior-leadership team. Alternatively, resource groups may request a particular sponsor or a potential sponsor may request a specific group.
   
3. Do Executive Sponsors Serve for a Defined Term?
   Some companies allow executive sponsors to serve indefinitely. In cases where terms are limited, they usually last a minimum of two years to allow for a ramping-up period and time to produce results.
   
   
4. What Qualities Do Chief Diversity Officers Look for in Executive Sponsors?
   The people we interviewed tell us that along with a senior-leadership role, executive sponsors should help the resource group align its goals with business objectives and strategies, help members navigate the corporate culture, and introduce group members to the right contacts to help them achieve their goals. Having emotional intelligence is also important.
   
   
5. What Type of Training Should Executive Sponsors Receive?
   DiversityInc’s white paper on resource groups found that 89 percent of companies surveyed train their executive sponsors in advance. The most prevalent type of diversity training is cultural-competency training, but some companies offer leadership training as well.
   
   
6. Are Sponsors Always Cross-Cultural?
   It is highly recommended that executive resource-group sponsors be cross-cultural, based on data analysis of results (promotions, engagement) and anecdotal evidence.
   
   
7. Are Executive Sponsors Compensated or Rewarded for their Roles?
   At the six companies whose CDOs we interviewed, executive sponsors receive no additional compensation for their role. The performance goal is tied to assessment and overall performance rating, but other activities can also satisfy this goal.

Read The Guide to Effective Resource-Group Executive Sponsorship article at DiversityIncBestPractices.com and get practical, takeaway examples from MasterCard Worldwide, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), Target, Northrop Grumman, Rockwell Collins and Comcast Corporation.

The post MasterCard, Target & Comcast: Your How-To Guide for Executive Resource-Group Sponsorship appeared first on DiversityInc.

MasterCard’s diversity leader, Donna Johnson, details at our diversity event how the company works with HR, legal and diversity to improve its talent-development efforts. Watch the video below. The full presentation slides are available on DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

Video Minutes

0:04:00 Strong Foundation for a D&I Policy

0:05:27 Setting Measurable Evaluation Criteria

0:06:32 Governance & Accountability

0:09:10 MasterCard’s Eight Business Resource Groups

0:11:56 D&I as Part of Law and Franchise Integrity

0:16:28 Public Policy, Philanthropy, Ethics & Compliance

0:28:04 The Evolution of a Global Policy

The post HR & Legal: Setting Goals appeared first on DiversityInc.

“It’s something we all feel really passionate about,” she says, “having worked in industries that tended to be less than integrated.”

Click here to read more of Donna Alligood Johnson’s profile.

The post MasterCard’s Donna Johnson: Diversity Legacy appeared first on DiversityInc.

“It’s something we all feel really passionate about,” she says, “having worked in industries that tended to be less than integrated.” Johnson began her career as an account manager at BBDO ad agency. She then moved into marketing management at Citicorp before joining MasterCard in 1995 asdirector of retail acceptance development, where she hassince taken on positions of increasing responsibility.

Three years ago, during the formation of MasterCard’s refocused diversity strategy, Johnson was asked to help start the company’s resource group for Black employees, called LEAD (Lifting Employees of African Descent). She developed the business plan, created the charter and presented it to senior management, and since its inception, she has watched membership grow from five to more than 200 people with chapters nationwide. Not only did this opportunity showcase Johnson as a valuable leader, it steered her career toward diversity management.

Last January, Johnson was appointed chief diversity officer. Thanks to the help of LEAD members, Johnson is “getting more people within the organization to walk the walk,” she says. For instance, LEAD members participated in a three-hour brainstorming session last year, she says, that “led the organization to look at the African-American market very differently. In 2010, you will see the results of that work.”

Johnson is also a member of MasterCard’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Council, the Executive Women’s Steering Committee and the Multicultural
Steering Committee, which recently held its second multicultural summit expanding the company’s diversity efforts globally.

This leadership profile is featured in the upcoming June 2010 issue of DiversityInc magazine.

The post DiversityInc Leadership Profiles: Donna Alligood Johnson, MasterCard Worldwide appeared first on DiversityInc.