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.

Northrop Grumman (No. 42 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity) and Prudential Financial (No. 9) both utilize their diversity councils to oversee diversity management and drive the success of inclusion programs. It’s one strategy that has helped these companies improve retention, employee engagement, leadership accountability and market outreach.

Each company, however, has realized this success through very different council models. Northrop Grumman follows a more traditional structure, where its council operates as a separate entity of senior-level executives. Prudential follows a more integrated model in which their general executive council aims to tie diversity into everything that the company does.

In this 90-minute diversity-council web seminar, Sylvester Mendoza, corporate director of diversity and inclusion & EEO at Northrop Grumman, and Emilio Egea, vice president of human resources and chief diversity officer at Prudential Financial, discuss with DiversityInc Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Barbara Frankel their diversity-council framework, as well as the diversity-management best practices that have generated significant results.

During the diversity web seminar presentation, readers will learn:

• The difference between internal and external diversity councils and the benefits that each can bring to diversity initiatives
• The importance of CEO commitment and involvement in diversity councils to set firm goals and hold leaders accountable for reaching diversity metrics
• The key characteristics and attributes diversity-council members at Northrop Grumman must have to be selected as diversity leaders, plus the company’s key council goals
• The constituents of Prudential’s “head, hand and heart” diversity model and why it is so critical to the firm’s success in addressing customer needs and building their talent pipeline

Watch this diversity-seminar presentation on DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

The post Which Diversity-Councils Model Is Best for Your Organization? appeared first on DiversityInc.

More than three-quarters of the companies DiversityInc benchmarks, including most of the DiversityInc Top 50, are concerned about getting more racial/ethnic and gender diversity in their senior-management ranks and in the lower levels as a sustainable long-term pipeline to the top.

While “talent development” is the phrase that everyone uses to emphasize maximum engagement and realization of full potential, it remains elusive in many cases as employees—especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups—leave or just bide their time without fully contributing.

In this 3,160-word article, DiversityInc offers best practices and insights from a panel of chief diversity officers from five DiversityInc Top 50 companies with the highest scores in talent-development initiatives and results. We also present our data findings and recommendations.

The roundtable participants include Debbie Storey, senior vice president, talent development, and chief diversity officer, AT&T (No. 4 in The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity); Beth Brooke, global vice chair of public policy, sustainability and stakeholder engagement, Ernst & Young (No. 6); Deborah Dagit, vice president and chief diversity officer, Merck & Co. (No. 16); Sylvester Mendoza, corporate director, workforce diversity & EEO, Northrop Grumman (No. 42); Pat Crawford, senior vice president and head of diversity and inclusion, Wells Fargo (No. 33); Luke Visconti, CEO, DiversityInc; and Barbara Frankel, senior vice president, executive editor, DiversityInc.

Readers will learn:

• The three key areas that most benefit efforts to improve engagement, retention and promotions of people from traditionally underrepresented groups
• How to use resource groups as a recruitment resource
• Why increased participation in these groups leads to increased engagement
• Why cross-cultural mentors are important to nurture talent, especially among women
• How to build mentoring relationship across business lines
• The impact that strong CEO commitment can have on diversity efforts

For more best practices, case studies and results, read the full 3,160-word Increasing Diversity in Talent Development article.

The post Increasing Diversity in Talent Development appeared first on DiversityInc.