Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which falls on the third Monday of January, is a federal holiday around the time of Dr. King’s Jan. 15 birthday. It was declared a federal holiday in 1986 and is now observed in all 50 states, with South Carolina the last to adopt it, in 2000. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, about a third of private employers now give employees the day off. A questionnaire sent to the 587 participants in the DiversityInc Top 50 survey found that 61 percent close their offices—and all but two of the companies on the DiversityInc Top 50 list are closed.

• 96 percent of the companies in the survey observe the holiday in some way.
• 65 percent of the companies that close also plan additional events and volunteer efforts for employees.
• 91 percent of the participants that stay open plan additional events and volunteer efforts for employees.

In addition to office closures, the responses show that companies rely on four strategies to commemorate MLK Day: Volunteerism, Resource Groups, Events and Corporate Communications. Below, we share best practices from more than 20 companies.

Volunteerism

Forty percent of the companies we surveyed encourage employees to utilize the holiday as a day of service and volunteerism. Several companies, including Kaiser Permanente (No. 3 in the DiversityInc Top 50), Marriott International (No. 21) and Accenture (No. 12), give employees the day off to serve nonprofits aimed at underrepresented groups in their communities through a call to action for the National Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

• “For the ninth consecutive year, Kaiser Permanente is proud to participate in the National Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On this day, thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees and physicians will step out of lab coats and suits and into painting caps and tool belts, rolling up their sleeves in community service to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and his commitment to improving lives through dedicated service. Last year, employees broke records with more than 7,000 volunteers, including physicians and senior leaders, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Volunteer activities took place at over 130 sites across the country, serving an estimated 35,000 people.” —Rosalind Padilla, Senior Project Manager, Workforce Diversity, National Diversity, Kaiser Permanente

• “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day of Service has become an annual call to action for volunteers across the country to get involved in meaningful community service. In this spirit of celebration, Accenture people in Detroit and Washington, D.C., will take time to give back by participating in local MLK Day events in January 2013. … Accenture’s Carolinas African American employee resource group in Charlotte will be joining with the Charlotte Experienced Hire employee resource group to serve the Charlotte community through the Habitat for Humanity MLK Day Build project. Accenture volunteers in the Miami office are invited to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy and participate in various service activities. Volunteer groups will also be participating in landscaping, mural painting and gardening projects to help beautify the school grounds.”  —Stacey Jones, Senior Director, Corporate Marketing, Accenture 

• “Marriott International honors the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in many ways. We host ongoing volunteer activities in various geographical regions where associates can serve as volunteers.”  —Maruiel Perkins-Chavis, Vice President, Workforce Effectiveness & Diversity, Marriott International 

• “At Walmart, Dr. King’s message aligns with our company’s three basic beliefs: respect for the individual, service to our customer, and striving for excellence. 2013 will mark Walmart’s 17th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. In addition to a home-office program where Mayor Dennis, the Honorable Alexis Herman and Tavis Smiley have served as guest speakers, the company has also collaborated with community-based organizations and school districts in community programs. The company also has a Day of Service project that encourages our associates to give back to our community. As Dr. King represented a lifetime of service, Walmart is committed to serve our associates and our customers.” —Donald Fan, Senior Director, Global Office of Diversity, Walmart

• “Altria encourages our employees to use Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service volunteering in honor of Rev. King. We sent a communication that went out to our company employees letting them know how they could get involved: Make It a Day On, Not a Day Off. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service (MLK Day) marks the beginning of the year of service as millions of Americans honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by volunteering in their communities. The Altria Volunteers program is one of the cornerstones of ‘Contributing Together,’ giving employees the opportunity to get involved in their community by participating in volunteer events. In support of our volunteer program, Altria Group and its companies have partnered with the HandsOn Network to positively impact local communities nationwide while simultaneously promoting strong corporate citizenship and employee-engagement goals.” —Nancy Adams, Senior Manager – Diversity / AAP / HR Client Services, Altria Client Services

• “Last year, as in previous years, Harland Clarke has encouraged our employees to take on the true spirit of Martin Luther King Day by serving the community. Rather than taking the day ‘off,’ our employees take a day ‘on’ of service.” —Stacy Franklin, Vice President of Human Resources, Diversity and Workforce Performance, Harland Clarke

• “Independence Blue Cross’s corporate volunteerism group, the Blue Crew, participates in the Martin Luther King Day of Service.” —John F. Clayton Jr., Manager, Diversity, Inclusion & Workforce Initiatives, Independence Blue Cross 

Resource Groups

Thirty percent of companies’ Black resource groups take the lead in planning celebrations, events and communications to promote Dr. King’s message of inclusion to all employees. The resource groups frequently volunteer within their communities as well.

• “Some of Ernst & Young’s Black Professional Networks (BPN) have convened client events in honor of Black History Month. For example, our West Sub-Area BPN co-hosted a ‘Black History Month Executive Roundtable’ last year with the Kaiser Permanente African-American Professional Association. The event featured a panel moderated by Tony Kendall (Chairman and CEO, Mitchell & Titus, LLP) and panelists from Gilead Sciences, Kaiser Permanente, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, AAA Northern California, Textainer Group and CBS Interactive. … Our Boston office BPN held its second annual Black History Month celebration last year, where it recognized members and champions alike for their involvement and support.” —Emily Lobel Kameros, Associate Director, Inclusiveness, Americas People Team, Ernst & Young (No. 6 on the DiversityInc Top 50)

• “This year, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield’s African-American affinity group, Enlightenment and Empowerment Enterprise, had invited the League of Women Voters of New Jersey to participate in our celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. They showcased their organization by distributing literature informing our employees about the importance of registering to vote as well as how they can get involved in the voter-registration drive. Bookmarks, which contained a reprint of one of Dr. King’s speeches, were also distributed to our employees. In addition to our affinity group’s luncheon, we run excerpts of several of Dr. King’s videoed speeches as well as various quotes and historical facts regarding Dr. King on our internal television monitors during that time as well.” —Alison Banks-Moore, Chief Diversity Officer, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (one of DiversityInc’s Top 10 Regional Companies)

• “Accenture’s Detroit African American employee-resource group will convene for an interactive panel discussion entitled ‘Living the Dream … the Accenture Way’ to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy and how diverse workplaces like Accenture, and our clients, are providing an inclusive environment and what things can be done as we continue to move forward. In coordination with the event, Accenture employees will host a canned-goods drive to collect nonperishable foods that will be donated to Detroit-based Capuchin Soup Kitchen. … Accenture’s African-American employee-resource group in Philadelphia will work with the YWCA for a day of workshops and mentoring.” —Stacey Jones, Senior Director, Corporate Marketing, Accenture

• “AT&T’s African American resource group—Community NETwork—participates in several January events across the nation: The Connecticut chapter sponsors a bus trip to the Presidential Inauguration and reflects on Martin Luther King Jr.’s life too as we pay tribute to President Barack Obama’s being elected to a second term in office; the Detroit chapter’s MLK Oratorical Program will have singing and liturgical dance, featuring 10 students reciting the ‘I Have a Dream Speech’; Chicago and Charlotte chapters will participate in A Day of Service, honoring Martin Luther King Jr.; and San Antonio chapters are the major sponsors of the largest MLK parade in the nation. We expect to have close to 100 employees marching in the parade. Also, the Oklahoma City Community NETwork chapter will participate in its local, Oklahoma City MLK parade.” —Forrest Parrott, Executive Director – Internal Communications, AT&T (No. 4 on the DiversityInc Top 50)

• “Each year, H.O.N.O.R. (Helping Our Neighbors With Our Resources) and the A.A.L.C. (African American Leadership Council), two of Johnson & Johnson’s enterprise-wide resource groups, celebrate the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This annual ceremony, now in its 35th year, also serves as a means to honor members of the Johnson & Johnson companies and the local community who have inspired and demonstrated a passion for others through caring and service.” —Anthony Carter, Vice President, Global Diversity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, Johnson & Johnson (No. 11 on the DiversityInc Top 50)

• “IMPACT, Humana’s African-American Network Resource Group, coordinated an ‘Impact Day’ for Humana associates to give a day of service to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Members from all five of our Network Resource Groups volunteered at the following nonprofit organizations: Newburg Boys & Girls Club, Christian Care Community Rehabilitation Center and ElderServe. —Kai Vaughn, Inclusion & Diversity Consultant, Humana

• “Our resource groups take the opportunity to educate Kellogg employees about Dr. King’s work via communications, newsletters, etc.” —Mark King, Chief Diversity Officer, Kellogg (No. 49 on the DiversityInc Top 50)

• “Progressive’s African American resource group PAAN plans a celebration for those who are working through a process we call ‘Celebration in a Box,’ which allows various groups using several formats to celebrate the occasion.” —Neil Lenane, Director of Employee Experience, Progressive Insurance

Special Dr. King & Black History Events

Almost 30 percent of companies host corporate events with guest speakers to discuss the significance of Dr. Martin Luther King, civil rights, diversity and inclusion, and Black History Month.

• “Wells Fargo buys local and national print-media advertising as well as radio spots to honor the life of Dr. King. A number of regions participate in MLK Day parades, breakfasts and other volunteer activities to support the communities where our team members live and work. In 2012, Wells Fargo served as the official financial-services-sector sponsor of the premiere of the George Lucas film Red Tails. With a special connection to the Tuskegee Airmen, Wells Fargo honored two of its retired Wells Fargo team members, Colonel George S. Roberts and Lieutenant James Walker.” —Jimmie Paschall, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Diversity & Inclusion, Wells Fargo, No. 33 on the DiversityInc Top 50

• “The North Shore–LIJ Health System has held an annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Program honoring Dr. King for the past 42 years. This year’s theme is ‘Living the Dream … the Next Generation.’ The program, hosted by the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Literacy, is held in the auditorium of one of our larger hospitals and is also telecast to all of our sites (15 hospitals) through the Health System’s videoconferencing network. This year’s keynote speaker for the 43rd annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Program will be John Quiñones, Emmy Award–winning co-anchor of ABC’s Primetime and sole anchor of the series What Would You Do? … We also sponsor a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Creative Arts Contest for the children of our employees. The winners are presented with prizes at the event.” —Barbara Felker, Vice President, Community and External Affairs, North Shore–Long Island Jewish Health System

• “We start our branded Black History Month celebration—”AT&T 28 Days”—every year on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It’s a six-week program with TV, radio, digital integration and live events in seven markets. This year, we will begin in Chicago on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We also have an annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration luncheon in Atlanta with prominent speakers that is open to the members of our 11 resource groups.” —Forrest Parrott, Executive Director – Internal Communications, AT&T

• “In 2012, Kellogg commemorated Dr. King’s legacy by being a sponsor of the Rainbow PUSH’s annual MLK Scholarship Breakfast in Chicago.” —Mark King, Chief Diversity Officer, Kellogg

• “Army and Airforce Exchange Service always has an official program during commemoration week with a guest speaker and display posters. Our guest speaker is Theron Bowman, Ph.D., Deputy City Manager, former Chief of Police, Arlington, Texas; Consultant, Nation Builder, Police Practices Expert, and Entrepreneur.” —Carlyn Houston, EEO Programs Specialist, EEO Diversity and Inclusion, Army and Airforce Exchange Service

Internal Office Communications

Approximately 21 percent of companies send messaging via emails, newsletters and/or corporate intranets to communicate the relevance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to employees. Some companies, including Ernst & Young, pair these efforts with messaging about Black History Month as well.

• “Comcast and NBCUniversal have changed the homepage of our new corporate website to feature a compelling 1965 Meet The Press interview with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During the interview, Dr. King discusses the march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., to help raise awareness of the difficulty faced by black voters in the South and the need for a Voting Rights Act, which passed later that year. Additional historic photos and videos from NBC News’ coverage of the civil-rights movement can be found within the story. Please share this link to help share an important piece of American history.” —Katie Lubenow, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, Comcast (one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies)

• “Ernst & Young’s local offices/regions (and their associated BPNs) do a variety of communications in recognition of Black History Month. For example, last year our McLean BPN ran a series of profiles of black leaders. In addition, they ran a giveaway with complimentary tickets to see Red Tails, the movie based on the real-life heroics of the Tuskegee Airmen.” —Emily Lobel Kameros, Associate Director, Inclusiveness, Americas People Team, Ernst & Young

• “Marriott disseminates communications to our associates that advises them of local community-service opportunities, events and celebrations they can participate in to celebrate of this day of service.” —Maruiel Perkins-Chavis, Vice President, Workforce Effectiveness & Diversity, Marriott International

• “Humana produces an all-associate communication that informs associates of the work of Dr. MLK Jr. and how we at Humana can pay tribute through community service.” —Kai Vaughn, Inclusion & Diversity Consultant, Humana

• “Deloitte shares messages on our intranet and leaders send messages to their teams about the importance of remembering Dr. King.” —Wendy Berk, Senior Manager, Inclusion, Marketing and Communications, Deloitte (No. 8 in the DiversityInc Top 50)

• “Celebrations of Black history held during the month of February have, from time to time, commemorated the life and work of Dr. King. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois plans to post a tribute to Dr. King on our intranet site this year.” —Carolyn Clift, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Health Care Service Corporation (No. 19 in the DiversityInc Top 50), which operates Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois

• “McGraw-Hill proudly recognizes MLK Day as an official holiday and the offices are closed. We generally post an article or commentary on our intranet site.” —Terri D. Austin, Chief Diversity Officer, The McGraw-Hill Companies (one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies)

 Additional Recognition & Charity Contributions

• “This year will be our 21st Peoria-local luncheon. Caterpillar was the first company to sponsor the luncheon financially. This year, we have Condoleezza Rice as our guest speaker and Caterpillar has not only generously provided financial contribution, but has two tables and is flying Dr. Rice into Peoria on the corporate jet.” —Alma Brown, Communications Representative, Caterpillar Inc.

• “The majority of Johnson & Johnson’s contribution efforts go toward the Frank R. Steele Scholarship Fund, set up by the H.O.N.O.R organization in 1984, that provides financial assistance through the Middlesex County College Foundation to African-American students studying for degrees in Business Administration and Science.” —Anthony Carter, Vice President, Global Diversity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, Johnson & Johnson

• “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois celebrates Martin Luther King Day as a corporate holiday.  All employees get the day off. Our Illinois headquarters building is illuminated on Martin Luther King Day with MLK [across the façade].” —Carolyn Clift, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Health Care Service Corporation

• “In Bentonville, Ark., Walmart sponsored the essay contest for local sixth graders where students reflected on Dr. King’s message of equality and discussed how they were living Dr. King’s dream.” —Donald Fan, Senior Director, Global Office of Diversity, Walmart

The post Dr. King & Civil Rights: How Walmart, AT&T & More Keep It Relevant appeared first on DiversityInc.

The panel was the kickoff event at an inaugural Affinity Group Leadership Development Summit sponsored and organized by American Express, Aetna and Johnson & Johnson. The panel also featured Michel Paul, company group chairman of the Diabetes Care Franchise at Johnson & Johnson.

More than 230 diversity managers and employee-resource-group leaders and members from across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands, India, the United Kingdom and Dubai attended the summit at 3 World Financial Center in New York.

Kerrie Peraino, former chief diversity officer and current senior vice president of international human resources and global employee relations at American Express, told the audience that the idea for the ERG summit was sparked after she and fellow chief diversity officers from Aetna and Johnson & Johnson attended a DiversityInc event.

“Anthony [Carter, chief diversity officer, Johnson & Johnson] and Raymond [Arroyo, chief diversity officer, Aetna] and I were invited by Luke to sit on a panel where chief diversity officers shared best practices, and as we had our conversation, it became very apparent that we were all on the same page as it related to our [resource groups] and there was an opportunity to do something,” she said. “Today is the realization of that something.”

To frame the panel discussion, Visconti shared some statistics about resource groups culled from The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity.

Among them:

• From 2005 to 2010, the number of CEOs who meet directly with their resource groups climbed from 44 percent to 88 percent

• The number of resource groups meeting during the workday went from 74 percent in 2005 to 100 percent in 2010

Visconti said the reason for the astronomical growth is simple: More and more companies are recognizing the value of using their resource groups for multicultural marketing, talent development and recruitment.

Below are excerpts from the panel discussion:

Visconti, DiversityInc: How do you feel resource groups can play a role in supporting your business strategy?

Chenault, American Express: I think what is very, very important in the development of business strategy is you want different perspectives. Not only different perspectives, but you want engaged, passionate perspectives. If you want to succeed in the marketing of products and services, you want to have people who are personally engaged and really care about the customer segments they are going after and who want to win and feel proud about what they are doing. In our case, I can give you three recent examples. With our [Latino resource group], we were able to create a holiday card that had a major impact. It was a terrific business success and the ERG helped not only with marketing but with the structure of the product and how we positioned the product. The second example involves our Pride network [for LGBT employees]. In Brighton in the United Kingdom, there is something called the Stonewall Equality Walk, and Pride worked with merchants in the Brighton area to create a decal. It allowed us to expand our merchant acceptance in Brighton and got them involved and engaged in a personal way. And the third example is … our Asian resource group just came up with a Happy Diwali card that celebrates the Indian New Year, and it’s off to a great start in the U.S. What is important about all of these examples is we saw resource groups trying to have an impact broadly on society and, in fact, it had a very positive impact on business results. That, to me, is a winning business combination.

Williams, Aetna: For us, it all starts with the values of the company, and the values of the company really start with putting the people who use our services at the center of what we do. One of the core values of the company is employee engagement. The research is very clear that employees who are engaged feel better about the organization. They do a better job. They produce better results. They stay longer. They’re more productive and do a better job taking care of our customers. From a business perspective, it’s really critical to have insight into the different customer cohorts. The different resource groups have given us very substantial insights into ways we can build our products and services. Angle (Aetna’s LGBT network) really helped us build physician networks so those members could go to member physicians who really understood their issues and wanted to build a practice around that. For us, that turned out to be an extremely important marketing initiative that led to substantial growth in our membership and was an example of the business impact. From my personal point of view, it’s really about giving those employees an opportunity to be engaged, to make a contribution, to share with us the insights they have about the special needs of those communities in a way that we actually do a better job of achieving the fundamental values we have as an organization.

Paul, J&J: Diabetes is a global epidemic. On any given day, there are 150 million to 300 million people around the world affected by this disease and there is no end in sight. This is a disease that progresses at a rate of 5-6 percent a year and there is not a region in the world that is not affected by this disease, for which there is no cure. When we talk about resource groups, I see them as strategic business units that are truly aligned with the strategic vision of my organization. This is a volunteer army that comes together with specific intent and we have a huge opportunity for education as well as promoting good habits.

Visconti, DiversityInc: What are the barriers you see to maximizing the effectives of your resource groups and how can senior leaders help break through those barriers?

Williams, Aetna: One of the things senior leaders can do on a continuous basis is sanction the activities of these resource groups and be very clear that they are operating within the cultural context of the company’s values. I chair our diversity council and we assign our senior most staff as executive sponsors and we tend to cross fertilize. So someone might sponsor the Hispanic resource group who is from a different culture. The other thing we do is make them central to the business. If you think about the products we develop, (resource groups)…are a great source of insight and focus groups and ways to make certain that what we think we are doing in the way of meeting a particular customer’s needs is really being responsive to the customer’s needs.

Visconti, DiversityInc: The environment you set as a leader, the empowerment people feel and their ability to bring their ideas and suggestions to the table comes from the top-down. It’s definitely an atmosphere the CEO sets.

Chenault, American Express: Certainly, everything starts and ends with leadership. So, from the top to the bottom, what people have to see is aligned support, not just coming from one segment or level. They have to see it throughout the company if you want sustainable progress. Secondly, what is absolutely essential is for people to see concrete evidence that their ideas and recommendations are being acted upon. (It’s also important) to give examples of where the feedback has been constructive, direct and critical and what were changes in policy as a result of that feedback. I think getting that message out really empowers people. People say, “Boy, I can really raise an issue that I thought was going to be controversial for me and my group and I was listened to and not only was it not hidden, but the company talked about it.”

Paul, J&J: One of the key barriers that resource groups ought to be aware of are the ones that are self-imposed. It’s really how you define your group and what strategic intent you choose to play or not play. There are external barriers, environmental barriers, economic barriers, but I think … the barriers you choose to put on yourselves in terms of what role you choose to play are probably the most detrimental ones. I think these groups should be limitless and they should also be proactive in driving the conversation and causing the conversation with business leaders.

Visconti, DiversityInc: What are business leaders looking for from resource groups?

Williams, Aetna: I think the No. 1 thing is engagement and commitment and passion about what they are doing. This is a huge opportunity to make an investment in something that can have a transformative effect on our business and our customers. I think about the number of initiatives that have resulted in very solid, profitable growth, great leadership opportunities, and often, some difficult conversations where the senior leadership team has really had to sit down and ask, ‘Are we doing what we need to be doing in regard to this cohort?’ and the answer is no and we have to sit down and figure out what we need to do.

Chenault, American Express: I would reaffirm the criticality of getting insights and honest feedback and what I call “constructive confrontation.” Whether it’s issues about the culture of the company or the business issues, the willingness to confront and to know that you will be respected—that type of confrontation is constructive and helpful.

Williams, Aetna: I think many of us can recall in our own work lives where we have been in a meeting and an idea or a topic is raised where you have some unique insight or someone on your team has unique insight. The meeting is held. It’s adjourned and then people go out into the corridor and somebody says, “Well, that was the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.” But, they didn’t speak up in the meeting or have the courage in the moment to bring that unique insight they had or to understand how it really impacts a part of the organization. It’s a lost opportunity to really help the organization do better, based on your unique understanding and perspective.

Chenault, American Express: In the world we live in today, the sense of urgency is critical. We can’t afford to miss these opportunities. When we had market-growth rates of 5 to 10 percent, it was a different story … but the reality is, in the world we live in today, [things can] change just like that. And if you fail to raise those issues, you are really hurting your company, big time.

Visconti, DiversityInc: What leadership skills are you looking for out of your resource-group leaders?

Paul, J&J: I think it’s a great environment for leadership development and for also driving specific outcomes. No matter how often I travel to India, to China, to Latin America, to the Middle East, I will never know these markets as well as the people who have either experienced it or are connected to that culture. I believe leaders of resource groups have an obligation to bring forth those very deep insights that a traditional brand manager just doesn’t have or you have to pay a whole lot of money to get.

Williams, Aetna: One of the examples I like to use with audiences is we process 450 million claims a year. So, if we get it right 99.7 percent of the time, it means we have only upset 1.2 million people. So the standard for tolerance is quite narrow when 99.7 percent doesn’t get you there. But, I think one of the things we talked about is courage. One of the most important things people in resource groups can have is the courage to articulate their point of view and the courage to recognize that we need ideas. We need suggestions. A lot of times, people don’t have that self-confidence. That is part of being a leader and I would encourage everyone in these kinds of groups to make that personal commitment to articulate their point of view to help the organization. Those insights are critical to growth and profitability, and when you are in the zone we are in, with fairly thin margins and a low tolerance for error, we need to have a very rapid cycle of feedback.

Chenault, American Express: One of the greatest sins of modern society is being unconscious. At the end of the day, you have access to information everywhere, and part of what you have to do as a leader is understand how you get access to that information and have people in your organization that have the courage to talk to you about what the real issues are. The worst thing as a leader—the worst thing—is when someone says to me I did not realize the impact. I didn’t realize what I said really caused this problem or I didn’t realize if I didn’t say anything it would have an impact. It has a big impact. What we need is for people to be really conscious of their actions, of their words, of their non-actions. Silence doesn’t work.

Paul, J&J: I think it works both ways. Resource groups have an obligation to cause the conversation, but similarly, business leaders also have to be inviting, right? No one wants to hit their heads against a brick wall constantly and not be heard. We as leaders have the responsibility to create the environment so that these resource groups can be successful and their voices can be heard.

The post Resource Groups & Business Results appeared first on DiversityInc.

That’s the premise behind the bestselling book “Mass Career Customization: Aligning the Workplace with Today’s Nontraditional Workforce,” written by Cathleen Benko, the vice chairman and chief talent officer at Deloitte and her colleague Anne Weisberg.

“The end of ‘traditional’ career paths patterns is upon us,” says Benko. “Today a career is no longer a straight climb up the corporate ladder but rather an undulating journey of climbs, lateral moves and planned descents. The proverbial corporate ladder is evolving, right before our eyes, into a corporate lattice.”

It was this belief that inspired her to create Deloitte’s Mass Career Customization program, a workplace version of the classic motto: Have it your way. The book provides a detailed analysis of what originally began as a pilot program at Deloitte five years ago to create a culture of flexibility and has since been rolled out to all employees, partners and principals of Deloitte’s U.S. and India-based personnel. In a time of high unemployment and widespread cost cutting, a large number of companies, both globally and domestically, are raising the bar in developing effective and flexible work/life benefits to attract, retain and promote talented employees.

Despite the recession, nearly 81 percent of U.S. employers are maintaining and 13 percent are increasing the flexibility they offer their employees, according to a Families and Work Institute study. And the most progressive companies, The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity, offer more benefits with more sustainable results.

In the past, flexible schedules most often were granted to new mothers and those with serious family concerns, such as a terminally ill relative. Today, however, progressive companies have broadened the scope of what constitutes grounds for flexibility. And companies that allow employees flexibility in balancing their personal and professional lives are often rewarded by more loyal and motivated workers.

Another study conducted by the Families and Work Institute found that 54 percent of employers with more than 1,000 employees allow parents extra time to return after birth or adoption. Forty-seven percent allow time off for important family needs, 44 percent for extended care-giving, and 20 percent allow paid time off for volunteering and community service. Those numbers are even higher for The 2010 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity, where 98 percent offer flexible hours, 96 percent offer telecommuting, 60 percent offer paternity leave, 62 percent offer alternative career tracks for employees with long-term family-care issues, and 82 percent offer paid time for volunteering and community service.

“It’s a fast-paced world,” says Theresa Torres, director of diversity and employee experience for Verizon Communications. “To help our employees maintain peak performance, we offer programs that help them balance the many demands of work and personal life.”

Companies that are flexible have a far greater ability to retain and promote employees, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups who might be more vulnerable to leaving the workplace or turning down opportunities for advancement.

Ninety-two percent of the DiversityInc Top 50 offer job sharing, 90 percent offer lactation rooms and 52 percent offer onsite childcare. The Families and Work Institute study showed 31 percent of companies offer job sharing and 21 percent offer onsite childcare.

Filling Most Urgent Needs

Verizon’s Torres says employees are definitely taking advantage of these programs.

In 2009, employees contacted VZ-LIFE, the company’s employee-assistance program—which provides resources on parenting and childcare, adult care, health and wellness, moving and relocation and more—more than 1,100 times a month by telephone and logged on to the website 35,000 times a month, the company said.

And Verizon Wireless, a business group within Verizon Communications, provided employees with more than 40,000 hours in emergency backup care for its employees’ children—time that employees would have otherwise had to use as vacation, personal or sick days.

Verizon Wireless also offers a world-class initiative to promote healthy babies, affectionately known as the “$15 baby program.” Under this program, employees have a one-time co-pay of $15 at their first OBGYN visit, and the rest of the tab—everything—is on the company, Torres says. Expectant mothers get the $15 co-pay refunded if they enroll in their first trimester.

“From transitioning employees back to work gradually after childbirth to providing valuable resources to keep them healthy or find care for a child or loved one, Verizon knows the importance of striking the right balance,” Torres says. “In today’s competitive environment, we need our employees focused on delivering the best customer experience possible.”

Flexibility Is Key

A number of studies have highlighted the value of work/life benefits and flexible workplaces. Although these benefits have often focused on women, they increasingly are inclusive of men and consider other factors, especially age, race and ethnicity.

A survey on the Bookends Generations by Dr. Sylvia Ann Hewlett of the Center for Work-Life Policy found 87 percent of baby boomers and 89 percent of Gen Y said flex time was important to them and is a key motivating factor.

Deloitte’s MCC, as it is called for short, enables employees at Deloitte to “dial up or dial down” their careers to fit various stages of their lives and, essentially, redefine what it means to build a successful career, Benko says.

Just like mass-product customization increases brand loyalty by creating a strong connection between the consumer and the producer, mass career customization results in greater employee loyalty, Benko says.

It also reduces the costs of turnover and enables a company’s most valuable assets—its people—to accomplish the company’s important work and purpose as well as their own.

“The corporate lattice replaces the one-size-fits-all corporate-ladder model of career progression with a customized approach, allowing people to move in different directions to find interesting and satisfying roles, while integrating their work and life priorities over time,” she says.

Ultimately, MCC’s greatest benefit is the option value it creates, she says, “the psychic comfort of customizing one’s career as priorities change over time.”

Business Advantage for ALL Employees

Traditionally, work/life benefits were aimed at women. And since white women were the first beneficiaries of corporate affirmative-action policies, they also were the prime beneficiaries of corporate work/life policies.

But in recent years, companies have broadened their work/life benefits so they have cultural nuances that recognize familial and other challenges of Black, Latino, Asian and American Indian employees—and also the specific work/life needs of employees with disabilities and LGBT employees.

Indeed, the original reason Deloitte decided to tackle the issue of flexibility was to accelerate the retention and advancement of women in the firm, Benko says— lack of flexibility was the No. 1 reason women were leaving the workforce. But once the company began exploring the issue in depth, Deloitte discovered it was not just a women’s issue at all.

“There is a fundamental shift in the workforce and its composition,” she says. “There was a misalignment between expected norms of the workplace relative to the needs of the workforce.”

In fact, more men have reached a point where preserving or increasing their time is more appealing than bigger jobs and more money. According to a study by the Association of Executive Search Consultants, more than half of senior executives surveyed would strongly consider refusing a promotion if it meant fewer hours available for their personal lives.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, 59 percent of Fortune 500 companies now offer domestic-partner healthcare benefits in the United States. Since offering same-sex domestic-partner benefits is a requirement to be considered for the DiversityInc Top 50, all of the companies on the list offer these benefits.

When it comes to other benefits that help LGBT people and their families, the DiversityInc Top 50 remains strong. All of the DiversityInc Top 50 have employee-resource groups for LGBT employees; 94 percent include gender identity in their nondiscrimination policies, and 84 percent offer adoption assistance, defined as both financial and supportive (educational/counseling) help for families adopting children.

The Families and Work Institute has compiled hundreds of examples of innovative work/life–balance benefits being offered by companies across the country in its Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work.

One of the featured companies is IBM, which was cited for its flexibility. Describing itself as “the world’s most forward-looking company,” IBM offers a number of work/life benefits, including part-time and compressed work weeks, job sharing, leaves of absence and the ability to work from home.

“On any given day, more than one-third of IBM’s employees worldwide are either telecommuting or working in a customer’s offices,” the report states.

“Providing employees with leading work/life programs and services—such as flexibility, time off and access to a broad array of resources—demonstrates our commitment to a diverse, multi-generational workforce, and an inclusive and supportive workplace,” says Wendy Breiterman, the director of Global Work/Life Strategies in Johnson & Johnson‘s Office of Global Diversity & Inclusion.

Johnson & Johnson also offers an exhaustive list of work/life benefits for its employees including onsite childcare, the ability to work at home and/or telecommute, adoption assistance, flexible hours and job sharing, and paternity leave. The company offers alternative career tracks for parents or other employees with long-term family-care issues as well as access to eldercare services, childcare discount programs and resources for parents raising special-needs children, access to teen driving resources and college counseling and educational services.

Employees may also request paid work, personal and family time off for planned and unplanned events including marriage, personal emergencies, eldercare, adoption, custody matters, childcare and even pet care.

“There’s compelling evidence that work/life programs and services drive recruitment, retention and engagement of diverse talent,” Breiterman says. “To me, it’s not only the right thing to do but it reflects a commitment to the pursuit of being an employer of choice.”

The post The Work/Life Balancing Act: How 4 Companies Do It appeared first on DiversityInc.