Cloutier also explained (video below) how the company has changed its recruitment efforts to align job codes to find talented veteran employees. ADP particularly values veterans for their history of service and leadership experience.

ADP is No. 27 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50.

The post ADP: What Technologies Can Increase Veteran Recruitment? appeared first on DiversityInc.

Read this story in the DiversityInc magazine digital issue, and sign up to receive DiversityInc magazine.

When senior tax consultant Juan Betancourt first came to the United States from Colombia, he knew his only option for success was to graduate college: “I knew it would be hard for my father to afford college, so I came to live with an aunt in Texas” and work full time as a dishwasher to get an accounting degree from the University of Texas.

However, a roadblock during Betancourt’s sophomore year almost prevented him from graduating. “All my college buddies had gotten internships at great companies. I had nothing and panicked. I was the first person in my family to go to college and didn’t understand all the things you have to do,” he says.

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ (HACU) National Internship Program (HNIP) helped him get the experience he needed with an internship at Deloitte, No. 8 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity. The program places high-performing college students with paid internships at corporations such as DiversityInc Top 50 companies PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sodexo, Marriott International, Eli Lilly and Company, and Target. Students also are placed at federal agencies. HNIP held its 20th-anniversary celebration gala on Oct. 22 in Washington, D.C., and has placed more than 10,000 students to date. Thirty-three percent of interns receive offers of employment, and 57 percent of the offers are accepted, HACU reports.

“If it wasn’t for HACU’s connections, I’d have a different type of job and career,” says Paola Marte, HACU alumnae and senior tax consultant for Deloitte in New York City. Marte, born in the Dominican Republic, was among the first in her family to attend college. “The Big Four don’t recruit at small schools like mine [Barton College in North Carolina],” she says. “HACU was the bridge that allowed me to go to a large firm and line up a job before graduation.”

The transition from college to career is clear-cut for many middle-class students: You take classes, obtain an internship, graduate and then apply for jobs. But a majority of first-generation college-goers, many of whom are Latinos and immigrants, aren’t aware of the opportunities available to them, according to Dr. Antonio R. Flores, president and CEO of HACU. And the majority of Latino parents don’t have the career knowledge needed to provide the necessary guidance.

“Lack of exposure to development of expertise, successful interviews, taking corporate exams for entry or for full-time opportunities—all these things need to be addressed,” says Dr. Flores.  “Latino students need to know it’s possible for them to go into these high-performing careers, that these types of positions are available.”

Dr. Flores adds, “We have to make them think of themselves as professional, then give them a game plan to get there.”

The post HACU Helps You Develop Latino Talent Pipeline appeared first on DiversityInc.

People in the St. Louis region refer to their home as a thriving “city of neighborhoods.” Each of the city’s 79 communities features its own identity with distinctive characteristics and cultural heritage. Nicknamed the Gateway City, the city’s populations trace their heritage back to Africa, Asia, Latin America and many European countries. The largest demographic group is Blacks, who currently make up 49.4 percent of the population.

Despite the racial/ethnic diversity of the city’s nearly 320,000 residents, the neighborhoods formed by immigrant communities in the late 1800s to early 1900s remain very homogenous, says Reena Hajat Carroll, executive director of the Diversity Awareness Partnership.

“There are very specific white restaurants and bars and nonwhite restaurants and bars. You very quickly realize you are of the nonmajority. It makes it very hard to fit in if you are not Black or white,” says Carroll, who is Asian Indian. “Increasing diversity awareness socially and in the professional arena is very important for the region to grow and remain competitive.”

The Diversity Awareness Partnership hosts a variety of programs to educate the public on issues surrounding race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. The nonprofit also works with 14 partner corporations, which include Edward Jones, Ameren, the Cardinals baseball team and the Rams football team, as well as DiversityInc Top 50 companies PricewaterhouseCoopers (No. 1 in the DiversityInc Top 50) and Wells Fargo (No. 33).

In addition to supporting the Diversity Awareness Partnership, local businesses also are taking their own initiatives to increase diversity awareness. In particular, Ameren, MasterCard, Monsanto, Edward Jones, McCarthy Building Companies and Anheuser-Busch have made diversity efforts a key strategy for recruitment, talent development and succession planning. Their goal: to attract diverse talent to the area to increase innovation and, ultimately, the city’s economic success.

Ameren
Leadership Accountability & Diversity Training

The largest electric utility in Missouri, and one of the largest investor-owned utility companies in the nation, the St. Louis–based Ameren Corporation has more than 3 million customers in the surrounding region. To provide them with exceptional service, Ameren has developed a comprehensive diversity-training program that allows its employees to have more awareness of diversity and cultural nuances while out in the field.

It’s one of the things that Ameren, one of DiversityInc’s Top 5 Utility Companies, is most proud of, according to Sharon Harvey Davis, vice president and chief diversity officer—so proud, in fact, that it makes the diversity-training program available to other companies for use in training their own employees. (Go to the Corporate Diversity page at Ameren.com to purchase the DVDs.)

“A large part of our efforts at Ameren are to move diversity ahead so that we can bring employees along to a new area of diversity,” says Steve Parks, manager of diversity. The training program is now in its third year with a focus on creating awareness around people with disabilities. Previous years’ themes included LGBT and sexual-orientation issues, and interracial relationships.

Davis notes that one of the rewarding effects of the training is that it helps employees in the community. “Our resource groups are charged with impacting the community around their respective focus areas. We give them training for community involvement and customer involvement,” she says. “Everyone that lives here is our customer. We have to be good at diversity.”

Recently, Ameren was recognized for its efforts in the community: The Governor’s Council on Disability named Ameren as honorable mention (runner-up) for its annual Inclusion Award. Ameren’s Network for Disabled Employees frequently reaches out to area public schools to engage students with disabilities and teach them the importance of education. The group hosted a Mentoring Day that produced a two-fold benefit: Students met employees and learned about opportunities in the utility industry, while employees interacted with students and developed a new comfort level with this demographic.

Ameren also sponsors Rams Blitz: Youth Working Together to Break Through Boundaries, a sportsmanship program, featuring players from the NFL’s Rams, that is bringing together football teams from Seckman High and Parkway North High for a series of activities during the school year designed to promote understanding and acceptance of differences.

Overall, more than 50 percent of Ameren’s community giving goes to multicultural nonprofits and college-outreach programs. “Ameren is very well known for its diversity efforts. A lot of people come to work here already aware and knowledgeable of what we’ve done through outreach and community giving,” says Davis, who attributes the company’s reputation to CEO Tom Voss’ visible commitment to diversity and inclusion. “He’s helping the city become better for all types of people through his involvement in organizations like the regional chamber of commerce and The Black Rep theater. His effort speaks volumes and it’s impacting his peers and CEOs in the community to get involved.”

Davis notes that Voss often is called on by other organizations to speak, such as during Edward Jones’ Inclusion and Diversity Week in October: “He’s a corporate champion in the community.” She continues, “Tom made it clear that if you’re a leader in this company, you’re involved in diversity. It’s expected of all direct reports and all high-level executives.”

Voss, who spoke at DiversityInc’s event last April, discusses how he holds his executives accountable in his Q&A with DiversityInc at www.DiversityInc.com/tom-voss. Davis’ work with him is highlighted  in 2 Case Studies of CEO Commitment.

MasterCard
Recruiting Tech-Savvy Millennials Is Key to Innovation

MasterCard is technology focused, with a goal of improving security and efficiency for all consumers globally—covering a total of more than 23 billion transactions a year. As such, MasterCard’s strategic plan is closely tied to the innovation of its talent and, therefore, the diversity of its employees. This is especially true in St. Louis, where the company’s office for tech and operations is based.

“We’re focused on bringing in top, diverse technical talent and distributing that talent globally—and that’s not just diversity in ethnicity and gender,” says Rob Reeg, president of the MasterCard Technologies division of MasterCard Worldwide. He notes that students in the technical and operations fields at most colleges and universities predominantly are Asian males. “It’s increasingly difficult to find diverse kids.”

“We need different perspectives; technologies invented here have to work across the world. Having that reach and representation from location, ethnicities and cultures is needed for innovations,” explains Luis Campadelli, group head, Human Resources, MasterCard Technologies. “Millennials are early adopters of technology and willing to try new things, especially emerging mobile and ecommerce solutions.”

A key recruiting strategy for MasterCard, No. 15 in the DiversityInc Top 50, has been to attract Millennial workers via targeted internship programs with colleges that provide access to a diverse talent pool. The MasterCard Technologies unit has found success in hiring from universities across the Midwest over the past three years, with the number of Millennial employees in its workforce increasing from 10 percent to 24 percent.

“For us, you have to look from a technology lens, which makes Luis’ job a little harder. We have to focus on campuses that can bring us the right level of diversity,” says Reeg, noting that MasterCard also utilizes its resource groups—which include groups for Black, Latino, Asian, women, LGBT, veteran, older and younger employees—as a way to target and identify prospective candidates.

MasterCard also began collaborating this year with InSight St. Louis, which offers an immersion program for graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities who relocate to St. Louis and showcases the city as a great place to build a career, and with Washington University in St. Louis on a new MBA program.

The company plans to further its national recruiting efforts next year by partnering with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

Additionally, MasterCard will continue its partnership with INROADS, a nonprofit that places high-performing Black, Latino and American Indian students in internships at leading corporations. It will also partner with Junior Achievement, which educates children about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy, and the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Programs, which engage students in activities that build science, engineering and technology skills.

Monsanto
Diverse Pipeline Improves Processes, Technology & Innovation

Diversity-and-inclusion efforts at Monsanto, No. 44 in the DiversityInc Top 50, give the global agriculture company “deep roots within the St. Louis community” that support its strong focus of business success through innovation, says Melissa Harper, vice president of Global Talent Acquisition and Diversity.

The world’s rapidly increasing population size and diversity make this particularly relevant today, notes Harper. Agriculture, she explains, is a pivotal intersection point among food, fuel and fiber where success is based on three factors—food/product demand, innovation and execution. With the world population expected to increase by 2.3 billion, to more than 9 billion, by 2050, innovation will be all the more important.

“That’s why we’re continuously looking for ways to improve on agriculture today, to help our farmers and growers be successful through better technology, processes and innovation,” says Harper. “We rely on people from all different backgrounds and viewpoints to develop new, best products continuously.”

Harper recently spoke at DiversityInc’s Innovation Fest! event about how the company’s three-part talent-acquisition process helps overcome recruiting challenges and more fully integrates and engages its employees from various global cultures. Watch the video:

Monsanto’s strategy takes a proactive approach to increasing diversity in the talent pool. St. Louis–based initiatives include outreach to support diversity and local communities through education—such as partnerships with the company’s philanthropic arm, the Monsanto Fund—to help encourage Black, Latino and women students to study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects.

These efforts include financial contributions; partnering with professional associations, such as Black Data Processing Associates, Future Farmers of America, Women in IT and the National Sales Network; supporting school-based and local urban greenhouses; and allowing employees to volunteer in classrooms to assist with science experiments and provide tutoring services.

Monsanto also participates in the InSight St. Louis program. The nonprofit is dedicated to recruiting top graduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to the St. Louis region. Monsanto and other participating companies host these students and provide educational development while showing them what it’s like to live and work in the city.

“We want to generate better awareness for long-term technology and engineering careers at Monsanto,” says Harper. This helps the company build a diverse, local set of qualified recruits for the future.

Additionally, Monsanto donated $1 million this year to the St. Louis Chapter of the United Negro College Fund. And members of Monsanto’s nine resource groups—Black, Latino, Asian, women, LGBT, family, veterans, people with disabilities, and young professionals—host and plan United Way’s Inspire Fashion Show each year, with all proceeds going to local charities in Greater St. Louis.

“Our recruitment and talent efforts are very deliberate. Being proactive helps us—we do not wait until we have an exact need to hire. Companies that do that tend to struggle a bit more,” says Harper.

Edward Jones
Improving Diversity in Financial Services—Getting White Men on Board

Although St. Louis has a diverse population, generating diversity awareness and finding diverse talent still proves to be a top challenge for organizations, particularly if you are in the financial-services industry, according to Emily Pitts, principal, Inclusion/Diversity at Edward Jones. The investment firm, which has 5,000 employees at its St. Louis headquarters, has nearly 7 million clients and more than 10,000 branches in the U.S. and Canada.

In a predominantly white- and male-dominated industry, the firm has had to make proactive efforts to attract diverse candidates to the region, she says. These efforts include fostering partnerships with multicultural organizations and professional associations, as well as its own robust recruitment and on-boarding programs for new hires.

“We sponsor events such as the National Urban League and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. We’re always looking to strategically align ourselves with organizations that can help attract more diverse talent to St. Louis,” explains Pitts.

Like Monsanto’s Harper, Pitts notes the benefits of the InSight St. Louis program. Edward Jones has been a member for the last four years.

The company also has partnered with the Washington University chapter of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management for the past three years. The program aims to attract diverse, young professionals who are pursuing their MBAs. Returning students have an opportunity to interview with the program’s sponsors.

Edward Jones also has a Rotational Development Program that rotates recent graduates through four or five divisions in the firm before they are assigned a final placement. This allows the graduates to learn about the culture of the firm and observe the intricacies and nuances throughout the business.

To support its talent development and recruitment efforts from the inside, Edward Jones for the last three years has held an annual Inclusion and Diversity Week for both its associates and leaders. The week provides employees the opportunity to hear national speakers, attend cross-cultural-competence workshops and network.

This year the firm extended the program to the surrounding community through a partnership with the World Diversity Leadership Summit. “Diversity 2012 and Beyond,” a two-day event hosted at the company’s headquarters, was attended by 200 senior global executives from leading corporations, and sponsors included Ameren, Prudential Financial (No. 9 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50), the Diversity Awareness Partnership, United Negro College Fund and Major League Baseball.

Local community-focused organizations also were invited to an exposition to showcase the opportunities for associates to get involved in community outreach. Nonprofits participating included the Disabilities Institute, the Diversity Awareness Partnership, the Urban League and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“Having an event like this raises awareness and also creates a catalyst to get associates engaged. Diversity at Edward Jones is strong and we have a great culture, but people are always looking for what they can do or reasons for why we’re doing this,” says Pitts. “It creates a vehicle to educate and engage and promote the importance of inclusion and diversity in our firms.”

Additionally, Edward Jones works closely with the Diversity Awareness Partnership through the Give Respect Get Respect program. The five-month program brings together students from 25 middle and high schools, along with teachers and Edward Jones associates, monthly at Edward Jones’ offices to explore the issues of race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation and gender identity. Employees volunteer a total of 15 hours with the program, for which Edward Jones compensates them.

It’s a partnership that’s grown over the past decade, according to DAP’s Carroll. “Give Respect Get Respect provides companies internal diversity training in a nontraditional sense,” she says. “We’re helping students learn to handle conflict situations at school, like bullying and prejudice, but what also happens is students are teaching the adults. A lot of associates have kids as well so they get to hear an [unbiased] student’s perspective.”

Edward Jones was the first company to endorse the program, and Carroll says there will be three more companies—Boeing, the Saint Louis Zoological Park and the Missouri Botanical Garden—in 2013.

McCarthy Building Companies
Employee-Owned Company Builds Engagement Among Students

Finding diverse talent is also a key priority for McCarthy Building Companies, a St. Louis-based national general-contracting company that handles challenging, technical projects. “Talent is a significant issue and a concern for us across all our companies,” says Scott Wittkop, president, McCarthy Central Division. “The construction industry offers a wide variety of high-quality employment opportunities and will need to add 1.5 million workers to successfully install the volume of work expected in 2014 alone.”

Wittkop says his company’s advantage lies in his employees’ diversity and their ability to innovate by bringing different perspectives to the table. That’s why the company both looks to attract talent from across the country and continually develop its employees, as well as develop and engage talented students within local regions.

“We are continually challenging ourselves to accelerate the development of our top talent. Our annual senior talent-review process includes a formal identification of high-potential diverse employees and the creation of personal-development plans to foster their internal growth in our company,” says Wittkop, noting that talent development and retention is a particular concern for this 100 percent employee-owned company. “Developing our future leaders is critical to our long-term success.”

McCarthy Building Companies’ approach to talent management is just one part of its four-arm diversity-management strategy. The company also focuses on increasing educational support, collaborating with diverse clients and partners, and increasing philanthropic efforts.

For example, the company is the founding partner of the Introduction to Construction Careers program, which exposes diverse groups of talented students in St. Louis to high-paying construction careers. “It helps create awareness and excitement around those types of opportunities,” says Adam Knoebel, vice president of operations for McCarthy’s Central Division. “The construction workforce is aging and we’re all sending kids to school. The challenge is: Who’s going to be building our buildings in 10 to 20 years?”

Similarly, the Association for Construction Careers, Education & Support Services (ACCESS) serves to increase exposure to the construction industry among Blacks and Latinos, as well as provide educational support services. “The focus is to provide a clearinghouse for individuals interested in career opportunities in the city and put them in touch with needed educational opportunities,” explains Knoebel.

He adds, “Maintaining dialogue is important. We need to be a part of the conversation, internally and externally, and share best practices in a collaborative manner.”

The benefits of McCarthy Building Company’s diversity programs and outreach efforts are further dispersed throughout the region by its support of diverse suppliers. “Their ability to learn about a project early on and get involved with estimators” is a key driver for their ability to compete and find economic success,” says Monica Bailey, director of diversity, Central Division. “A lot of suppliers are unaware of projects out there, so we host specific events to collect their input, provide networking opportunities and help them with bidding, estimating and cost.” The company also provides formal and informal mentoring to diverse suppliers.

Wittkop and his executive team sit on boards or committees of 10 different nonprofits that are dedicated to improving St. Louis’ diversity within the workforce and among subcontractors. Currently, the company has dedicated approximately 18 percent of its spend to minority- and women-owned businesses, the company says.

Anheuser-Busch
More Than $1B in Social-Responsibility Commitments

Executives at Anheuser-Busch say their commitment to diversity management, and to maintaining a diverse employee base and inclusive work environment, is an essential strategy for the beer company’s business success. Creating an inclusive work environment not only helps it stay competitive in an increasingly global market and meet the needs of its consumers, but it also helps Anheuser-Busch stay true to its corporate goal of becoming the “best beer company in a better world” through focused efforts to promote alcohol responsibility, environmental sustainability and community outreach.

“At Anheuser-Busch, in all that we do we recognize our responsibility to improve the world where we do business. We are committed to building a company for the long-term with a legacy to be proud of—for the people who work for us and with us; for future generations and the environment in which we live; and, above all, for our consumers who we hope will always enjoy our products responsibly and be as proud to choose them as we are to create them,” states Anheuser-Busch’s Global Citizenship Report. The company has dedicated $1.3 billion to social responsibility since 1982.

As one of its foundational pillars, community outreach is a shared commitment among employees: More than 4,700 employees volunteered in 2011 with programs to promote alcohol responsibility, make a difference in the environment and help make a positive impact on local communities, including St. Louis.

With donations of $4.5 million in 2011 to United Way, Anheuser-Busch continues to be one of the health-and-human-services agency’s top corporate donors in the region. (The Anheuser-Busch Foundation and company employees have contributed more than $38 million combined to United Way since 1985.) Anheuser-Busch also avidly participates in Habitat for Humanity as a way to facilitate and improve economic development in local regions. Hundreds of employees helped to build homes in St. Louis in 2011, the project’s second year. “We’re proud to partner with Habitat to help our neighbors in need,” said Margarita Flores, vice president of community affairs for Anheuser-Busch. “Our employees look forward to these builds and it’s a real source of pride for them and us as a company.”

Additionally, Anheuser-Busch provides financial support to multicultural college students via national educational scholarship funds. This includes more than $24 million in contributions over the last 30 years to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), which has provided more than 23,000 scholarships to Latino students, and a donation of $325,000 in 2011 to the UNCF, formerly the United Negro College Fund.

“We are committed to making a difference through our people, integrity of our business conduct, and support of our community. We are proud of the positive and meaningful impact our business has on the communities in which we work,” Flores said.

Anheuser-Busch also supports the National Urban League, St. Louis American Foundation, NAACP, Hispanic Chamber of Metropolitan St. Louis, Casa Salud, the Hispanic Arts Council, St. Louis LGBT Business Guild, Organization of Chinese Americans, American Legion Post, YWCA and numerous other diverse and inclusive organizations both in St. Louis and across the country.

The post Building a Diverse Talent Pipeline in St. Louis appeared first on DiversityInc.

Read “Cleveland’s Economic Development: Investment in Diversity & Inclusion Pays Dividends” in the DiversityInc digital issue.

* This is an advertorial.

Not many cities can say they’re better off after the recession than they were before. Cleveland is a notable exception, thanks to focused diversity management. Despite the economic turmoil of recent years, the GCP and its members have been taking the economic development to the next level by promoting diversity and inclusion and economic investment in the region’s underserved communities.

The city of Cleveland itself is more than half (53.3 percent) Black and 10 percent Latino. Leveraging this diversity through diversity management is key to Cleveland’s economic success. In 2010, Ohio had the fifth fastest growing economy of any state. And local manufacturing output is expected to grow nearly 30 percent by 2015, outpacing the nation by almost 10 percentage points. It’s clear that the greater Cleveland area is poised for continued economic growth. Recognizing the region’s economic-development potential, the GCP and its Commission on Economic Inclusion are committed to making sure that traditionally underrepresented groups help fuel continued growth.

Along with the more than 100 corporate members—including KeyCorp (one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies and headed by the first woman CEO of a major bank), Cuyahoga Community College, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Cleveland Public Library, MetroHealth, the Cleveland Clinic (one of the DiversityInc Top 5 Hospital Systems), Forest City Enterprises, University Hospitals (one of the DiversityInc Top 5 Hospital Systems), Mercy Health Partners, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Cleveland State University—the GCP acts as a community anchor.

Cleveland Economic Development: Community-Focused Healthcare Through Diversity & Inclusion

An impressive array of community-outreach programs focused on health, education and cultural competency is the backbone of these organizations’ strategies forCleveland’s urban renewal and economic development. Community health centers are often the base for outreach programs. The idea is to target Cleveland’s traditionally underserved groups where they live and work.

MetroHealth is catering to the region’s population with 16 specialized Cleveland community health centers, including the Asia Town Clinic, the Pride Clinic (serving the LGBT community), the Latina Clinic and a Senior Health and Wellness Center. The healthcare system also launched Partners in Care, a program that offers comprehensive treatment to the uninsured. Download a PDF of MetroHealth’s diversity report.

Winnell Mason, MetroHealth’s director of diversity, calls this community-based model a “team approach” to healthcare. And it’s working. The program has documented 35 percent fewer hospitalizations for its enrollees, while reducing costs. In 2011, MetroHealth made substantial efforts to better serve Cleveland’s growing Latino population, adding bilingual staff to its call center. To date, nearly 30,000 calls have been fielded in Spanish. The organization also launched a bilingual newsletter and an annual family day with free health screenings for the Latino community.

The Cleveland Clinic is also reducing barriers to healthcare through diversity-and-inclusion management with its Minority Men’s Health Center. Established in 2004, the center provides direct care, education and outreach primarily to Black men suffering from prostate cancer and kidney disease. “It continues to be one of the first and only programs of its kind committed to providing comprehensive, culturally sensitive health access, treatment and education to minority men,” says center director and Cleveland Clinic urologist Dr. Charles Modlin. “It is all about eliminating healthcare disparities.”

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the center’s Minority Men’s Health Fair has provided more than 5,000 health screenings to men in the region. In addition, the clinic sponsors annual health fairs that target Black women and Latinos and has a presence at Cleveland’s cultural events including the Puerto Rican Parade and the Cleveland Asian Festival. Spanish courses for physicians are offered on campus to improve patient relations.

For the past six years, Mercy’s Health Partners’ Rising Stars Program has worked with the Lorain County Urban League to expose Cleveland’s high-school students from traditionally underrepresented groups to careers in healthcare. “Our goal is to create the next generation of healthcare leaders for our community,” says Sascha Chatman, Mercy’s regional diversity officer. With its Parish Nursing Programs, Mercy teams up with predominantly Black and Latino churches to provide education, outreach and health screenings. They also partner with the Urban League to educate at-risk men about diabetes in a program called Save Our Sons.

Watch: DiversityInc Innovation Fest! Presentation by WellPoint, Empire BlueCross BlueShield: Community Ambassador Program

Educating the Community

Educational programs also offer an important arena for Cleveland’s outreach and diversity management, as well as future economic development. As a community hub, the Cleveland Public Library is a public space for cross-cultural connections. “We share in the vision of a sustainable Cleveland transformed by the collective impact of determined people and organizations working together,” says Madeline Corchado, the library’s director of human resources. “Our role in this transformation is the work we do at the center of the city’s culture of learning.”

That role as an educational center is substantial. The library is on target to reach its goal of doubling the number of computers available to the public in 2012. A state-of-the art computer lab is slated to open at the downtown branch in May, offering access to cutting-edge equipment and a variety of technology classes. The library also encourages small businesses to sponsor and host branch events.

“It’s transforming library programs into networking events where there is a free exchange of practical business information that directly speaks to the needs of our community,” says Corchado. One of the most tangible outreach efforts is the Bookmobile, a 32-foot full-service mobile library that visits all of Cleveland’s neighborhoods year-round. Demand for the program is strong: Participation in the Bookmobile was up 500 percent in 2010.

KeyBank is also dedicated to reaching out to community members where they live and work. Many of the bank’s outreach efforts revolve around financial education through the Underserved Initiative Program. “As a core component of our underserved strategy, this investment assists individuals in becoming better educated about their options to improve their financial capabilities,” says Poppie Parish, Key’s client education manager. “More than 400 KeyBank employees volunteer as financial educators in their communities.”

For example, Super Refund Saturday, a volunteer event in Cleveland, processes low-income residents’ tax refunds without charge. More than 20,000 people have received free financial services and education. These financial-literacy programs empower Cleveland’s traditionally underserved populations to manage money and achieve goals such as homeownership and college education, ultimately, improving the potential for economic growth in the region.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is also committed to financial education in the community. Its Learning Center and Money Museum features 30 free interactive exhibits. Modeled on state educational benchmarks, the museum’s programs book seven months in advance. The Cleveland Fed Mentor Program offers educational and networking programs to a predominantly Black high school in East Cleveland. Bank leaders meet with traditionally underserved students to share career advice in the Leadership Dialogue Series. Last spring, the bank inserted a financial-literacy workbook for kids in a regional Black newspaper.

The Cleveland Fed has distributed more than 320,000 copies of the pamphlet, available in both English and Spanish, to families, schools and community groups in the last several years. “We have developed programs to assist students, including those in underserved communities, in building critical-thinking skills, an attribute that complements financial literacy,” says Diana Starks, assistant vice president in the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.

Read: Rutgers Future Scholars Enhances Talent Pipelines With Corporate-Student Outreach

Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) places an emphasis on cultural literacy, offering an array of programs to celebrate its diverse student body. Tri-C is the first community college in the nation to join the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network, a student-led initiative promoting diversity and inclusion on campus through weekly public dialogues.

“Sustained dialogue equips the next generation of leaders with tools to effect change in schools, workplaces and communities,” says Judi McMullen, vice president of human resources at Cuyahoga Community College.

Its Workforce and Economic Development Division also recruits Blacks, Latinos and Asians for fast-track programs, which provide career training, interview skills and job-placement assistance. The Economic Development Division has a goal of placing 80 percent of program graduates with jobs.

Cleveland State University (CSU) sees its diverse student body as an extension of the local community. “The contribution that CSU is making is actually educating the future workforce,” says Dr. Njeri Nuru-Holm, the university’s vice president for institutional diversity. “We know what the demographics are … and we’re going to see even greater diversity” and inclusion.

CSU provides social, cultural and academic support for students from a variety of backgrounds through initiatives such as the African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American Peer Mentoring Program (AHANA). As a result of programs like this, the university has “significantly boosted minority student retention through aggressive multicultural mentoring,” according to its 2010 Diversity Action Plan.

“So many are first-generation college-goers who have a parent who is pushing them to do better than they achieved,” says Dr. Nuru-Holm. “We are able to motivate students beyond what they can even see.”

First-Generation College-Goers: Cleveland Diversity & Inclusion

Across the university, there are more than 50 scholarships aimed at traditionally underrepresented students. Events including multicultural seminars, an annual diversity conference and the Minority Career Fair, which drew 150 area employers this year, reinforce commitment to an increasingly diverse student body.

With a service area that spans 62 local communities, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) also sees its future workforce in today’s students.

“Student programs are a huge part of our community outreach,” says Kim Jones, community relations manager at NEORSD. Through a series of scholarships geared toward students from underrepresented groups, NEORSD seeks students that represent the community in order “to stimulate their interest in technical or scientific careers and perhaps an eventual career here at the sewer district.” The district has hired several scholarship recipients and pipeline-program graduates as full-time employees.

Diversity Management: Coordinating the Effort for Cleveland’s Economic Development

None of these community programs would be possible without first reaching out to local businesses to emphasize the importance of diversity management and inclusion in driving economic change. The Greater Cleveland Partnership’s Commission on Economic Inclusion has a number of programs including regular CEO briefings and a conference for diversity professionals to address issues of inclusion in the regional economy.

In an effort to bring corporate leaders to the table and familiarize them with the commission’s work, Cleveland real-estate company Forest City Enterprises partnered with Cleveland-based national law firm Thompson Hine to sponsor a series of Senior Executive Forums. Here, business leaders learn about the commission’s annual Employers Survey on Diversity, and they talk about ways to improve outreach to traditionally underrepresented groups. Three forums have taken place already, with an average of 90 C-level executives attending—and two more are slated for this year.

“It’s exciting because it really has started to build momentum,” says Charmaine Brown, director of diversity and inclusion at Forest City. “It has really touched those folks who truly have to do the work within the organization. It’s operationalizing diversity.”

The Greater Cleveland Partnership sees these forums as a vital exchange of ideas for diversity management and inclusion and a bridge toward cultural understanding. Other initiatives include the Boardroom-to-Boardroom program, co-sponsored by The Presidents’ Council, an association of Black business owners. These sessions bring together CEOs of different backgrounds to discuss the challenges faced by businesses owned by Blacks and Latinos.

“Diverse teams produce greater outcomes,” says Deborah Bridwell, senior director of inclusion initiatives at the Greater Cleveland Partnership. “Practicing cultural competency within our employers directly supports the region’s efforts to stay competitive.”

Financial Investment in Cleveland’s Diversity & Inclusion: Economic Development

Many area businesses have committed to spending dollars locally, providing a much-needed shot in the arm to area firms, many of them minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MBEs and WBEs). Last year marked the grand opening of the Minority Business Center, operated by the Minority Business Development Agency. One of about 30 nationwide, the center came to Cleveland with the help of the GCP and its partners, including the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE); JumpStart; the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; the Northern Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council; Team NEO; and the WECO Fund.

The Commission’s Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ will support the efforts of the new center. Made possible by financial support from the Fund for Our Economic Future, Jones Day and the Cleveland Foundation, the accelerator will focus on growing the size and scale of Black- and Latino-owned enterprises. Since its inception in 2008, the Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ has brokered a total of 182 deals with Black- and Latino-owned businesses valued at $142 million and creating nearly 400 jobs.

“The Commission focuses on strengthening the regional economy by strengthening all businesses,” says Andrew Jackson, senior vice president and executive director of the Commission on Economic Inclusion. “MBEs hire MBEs, and the growth of minority businesses of all sizes increases competitiveness and attractiveness of the region.” With the help of corporate sponsors KeyBank, PNC Bank and the Cleveland Foundation, the GCP also administers the Working Capital Loan Fund. The fund provides collateral to Black- and Latino-owned businesses in Northeast Ohio to help them secure lines of credit.

Greater Cleveland Partnership’s corporate members are rebuilding Cleveland’s economic development, giving special attention to neighborhoods that have been traditionally ignored. “At Key, the most significant investment we make is in our communities,” says Chairman and CEO Beth Mooney. “Our deep commitments to diversity and community drive our strategy of helping to strengthen lower-income and underserved communities.”

The first of the nation’s largest banks to earn seven consecutive “outstanding” ratings for its lending under the Community Reinvestment Act, KeyBank takes its role as a local lender seriously. The Key Community Development Corporation provides loans for affordable housing, businesses in low-income areas and community services. Currently, KeyBank has more than $2.2 billion invested in underserved communities.

“Our philanthropic efforts follow a strategic plan to provide grants in three areas that foster economic self-sufficiency in the communities we serve,” says Margot Copeland, chair of the KeyBank Foundation. Over the last three years, the foundation has given more than $54 million to nonprofits nationwide to support financial education, economic development, workforce development and workforce diversity and inclusion.

University Hospitals is an active player in downtown Cleveland’s renaissance. As an active participant in the Cleveland Foundation’s Greater University Circle initiative, the healthcare system and its partners have invested $14.5 million in real estate, small-business loans and housing incentives around the University Hospitals Case Medical Center. University Hospitals also gave $1 million to the NewBridge Cleveland Center for the Arts, a nonprofit that prepares adults for careers in healthcare. Ohio’s Latino newspaper, La Prensa, called the center “a shimmering beacon of hope in downtown Cleveland.”

Another major player in the regional economy, the Cleveland Clinic has deep pockets when it comes to supporting residents. Much of the clinic’s community investment is providing care to those who cannot afford it. The clinic spends roughly $350 million in the community annually, including $92 million in charity care, free health screenings and patient education forums.

Forest City Enterprises also has a robust charitable-giving program. Twenty-two percent of the dollars it donates to the United Way go directly to organizations that focus on traditionally underrepresented groups, including LGBT people and people with disabilities. Forest City also actively supports community organizations such as Plexus, Cleveland’s LGBT chamber of commerce.

Cleveland Emphasis on Supplier Diversity for Economic Development 

The members of the Greater Cleveland Partnership share a commitment to supplier diversity. Responding to increases in enrollment, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) is in the midst of a massive, 10-year expansion plan that will grow the college by 30 percent. And the college has committed to spending 15 percent of its construction budget with minority-owned business. Tri-C is on target to reach that goal thanks to a series of networking programs including a Construction Diversity Outreach event.

“Despite the economic downturn, the college has been committed to providing equitable and fair procurement and construction opportunities to a broadly diverse group of suppliers,” says Tri-C’s McMullen. “They bring a variety of backgrounds, styles, perspectives, values, and beliefs as assets to the college’s commitment to serve its community.”

Tri-C also has contracted with Minority Business Solutions to track supplier diversity, recruit new vendors and verify MWBE certifications. And a newly formed Supplier Diversity Advisory Committee is helping the college to tap vendors for advice on how to improve its outreach efforts.

Cleveland State University’s goal is to spend 15 percent of its annual procurement budget with minority-owned businesses. “For the first time,” says Dr. Nuru-Holm, “we have a percentage of our investment portfolio managed by an MBE.” Dr. Nuru-Holm credits this to Stephanie McHenry, the university’s new vice president for business affairs and finance. “As a Black female, she brings a special perspective and voice to the table.”

KeyBank also has worked to diversify its supply chain. The company has met its supplier-diversity goals for six years in a row and has exceeded its goals of 15 percent spent with MWBEs for the last two years. That’s more than twice the amount the average company spends with traditionally underrepresented vendors. As the first female executive at a top-20 bank, Mooney is committed to women’s promotions through the Key4Women program, which offers resources and networking opportunities for women in business.

Since the program began in 2005, Key has lent more than $6 billion to women business owners. Read Diversity Management: When Will There Be More Women CEOs? for more on women in management.

After launching an ambitious supplier-diversity program in 2009, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland increased its annual spend with MWBEs from less than 2 percent to 11 percent in 2011 (8.6 percent with women-owned businesses and 2.4 percent with minority-owned businesses). The bank also changed its procurement policy to require that at least one MWBE be considered for all contracts greater than $10,000. “A lot of growth in the economy comes from small businesses, and minority small businesses are an important part of that fabric,” says Sandra Pianalto, president and CEO at the Cleveland Federal Reserve.

In 2009, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) spent 12 percent of its regional budget with MWBEs, also more than double the amount spent by its peer organizations, according to the GCP. Its $8-million investment included roughly $30,000 in advertising specifically designed to recruit MWBEs. After investing half a million dollars in a comprehensive disparity study in 2009, the district launched the Business Opportunity Program to make improvements in strategic sourcing. Today, 26 percent of the District’s 827 certified firms are women-owned enterprises and 30 percent are minority-owned enterprises.

NEORSD has steadily increased its spend with such firms over the past few years. The district spent $13.3 million with MBEs last year, up 25 percent from 2010, and $12.2 million with women-owned business enterprises, up 72 percent from 2010. NEORSD’s Jones notes that these suppliers mirror the district’s client base. “The business case is addressed by including the perspectives and opinions of all of our employees so we are better able to communicate with our customers,” she says.

For more on supplier diversity best practices, read DiversityInc Innovation Fest! Presentation by AT&T: Power Up! Training for Suppliers.

Healthcare Industry’s Importance in Cleveland’s Economic Development

Recognizing the impact the healthcare industry has on the local economy, the Greater Cleveland Partnership is working with the Center for Health Affairs, the largest group-purchasing organization in the region. “The commission is currently collaborating on a single-source listing of local and minority vendors to be accessed by all of their hospital members in the region,” says Jackson. MWBEs have a lot to gain from contracts with the area’s healthcare operators. University Hospitals recently completed a $1.2-billion strategic plan with an eye toward boosting the local economy and working with firms that reflect the region’s diverse demographics.

“A first in Northeast Ohio, two of the top positions in construction services at UH were held by African-American female architects,” says Donnie Perkins, vice president for diversity and inclusion at University Hospitals. Roughly 90 percent of the companies that received contracts were based locally and more than 30 percent are minority- or women-owned businesses. “The impact is huge,” says Steven D. Standley, University Hospitals’ chief administrative officer. “Every dollar we spend with a local firm gets spent again and again in Cleveland.”

Last year, 21 percent of the Cleveland Clinic’s construction dollars went to MWBE contractors, and the sourcing department is using a new online system to track and communicate with vendors from various backgrounds. “We recognize that incorporating diversity reinforces our commitment to the community and strengthens our position as a good community citizen,” says Le Joyce Naylor, the clinic’s executive director of diversity and inclusion. “This work is core to Cleveland Clinic’s commitment to the economic vitality of Northeast Ohio.”

Similarly, Mercy Health Partners has committed to spending 10 percent to 15 percent of its annual budget with MWBEs by 2014. They’ve also set a goal to spend 25 percent of their construction budget with women- and minority-owned firms. In April, Humility of Mary Health Partners and Mercy-Lorain Hospital planned to host the Northeast Ohio Healthcare Supplier Diversity Event to reach out to local suppliers and build new partnerships. “Our primary goal is to identify companies that can support our efforts in increasing our diverse spend,” says Mercy’s Chatman. “We believe that being inclusive will lead to more productive partnerships in the community and help grow our local economy.”

These companies aren’t alone in their dedication to supplier diversity. Overall, companies in Northeast Ohio increased their spend with MBEs by 33 percent between 2010 and 2011 (from $339 million to $450 million); nationally, supplier-diversity spend increased by 21 percent during the same period, from $2.23 billion to $2.71 billion. “The inclusion of MWBEs is vital to the future of the region,” says Perkins. “It’s an investment in taking care of the community you serve.”

Read: Roadmap for Hospitals: Culturally Competent Patient Care

Cultivating an Inclusive Workforce With Diversity & Inclusion

Part of championing diversity and inclusion in Cleveland means developing an inclusive workforce by emphasizing cultural competence. “Building cultural-competency skills in business leaders, managers and supervisors directly supports the attraction and retention of diverse talent,” says Bridwell.

Job recruitment is picking up in Cleveland and is stronger than it was pre-recession. In February, the city posted a 16 percent jump in managerial hiring activity, according to the JobSerf Employment Index. And the GCP’s members are working to ensure that their employees reflect the demographics of the community. Blacks, Latinos, Asians and American Indians make up 30 percent of Tri-C’s employees and are 36 percent of the college’s new hires.

Watch: Diversity Web Seminar: Recruitment/Hiring Gaps

“The more diverse the faculty and staff of Tri-C, the more likely all students will be exposed to a wider range of scholarly perspectives drawn from a variety of life experience,” says Andre Burton, the college’s director of diversity and inclusion. “This better prepares students to succeed in an increasingly global marketplace.”

Fifteen percent of Forest City Enterprises’ employees in the region come from traditionally underrepresented groups. The real-estate company worked hard to bring a training program for Black professionals to Cleveland. Beginning this fall, the Real Estate Associate Program (REAP) will present a 13-week curriculum taught by industry leaders. “It’s consistently opening up those doors that quite truthfully have not been as readily available to minority professionals in the commercial real-estate industry,” says Forest City Enterprises’ Brown. She adds that in addition to building skills, the potential for networking and business contacts is promising.

At MetroHealth, 29 percent of the employees and 19 percent of physicians are Black, Latino, Asian or American Indian. Since 2009, MetroHealth has partnered with El Barrio, a workforce-development center run by the West Side Ecumenical Ministry to provide a monthly seminar on healthcare careers. “El Barrio provides a great pipeline of talent at MetroHealth,” says Mason.

Read: Increasing Diversity in Talent Development

A unique series of pipeline programs helps the Cleveland Clinic recruit talent from underrepresented groups. The Charles R. Drew Saturday Academy is a 12-week program designed to empower traditionally underrepresented high-school students to pursue careers in the sciences. In its fifth year, the program provides mentorship, hands-on learning and career advice for Black, Latino and Asian students. Other programs, including the Northeast Ohio Research Education Medicine Alliance and the Young Business Leaders Internship Program, provide similar resources for minorities who may not otherwise have access to healthcare careers.

“The programs offer structured educational enrichment experiences and mentoring designed to foster student achievement in higher education,” says Rosalind Strickland, senior director of the clinic’s Office of Civic Education Initiatives.

At Cleveland State University, diversity is a way of life: 40 percent of students are Black, Latino, Asian or American Indian, nearly 60 percent are female and 20 percent of the faculty is Black, Latino, Asian or American Indian—the largest percentage in the state. The university has been named a top producer of Black master’s graduates by Diverse Issues in Higher Education for 20 consecutive years. Students’ exposure to the university melting pot is an asset in the working world.

“Employers are seeking individuals who can work on and lead a diverse team,” says Dr. Nuru-Holm. “You can’t attend CSU and be successful without engaging with diverse individuals.” Last year, the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) increased the percentage of Blacks, Asians and Latinos in its summer internship program by 73 percent (from 11 percent in 2010 to 19 percent in 2011).

Overall, 23 percent of the bank’s new hires in 2011 were from traditionally underrepresented groups, up from 18 percent in 2009. In 2011, FRB Cleveland wrapped up a three-year diversity-awareness training for all employees. The same year, the Federal Reserve announced the creation of diversity and inclusion offices in each of its 12 branches.

According to the bank’s annual report to Congress, “the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion is poised to develop, implement and monitor standards related to workforce diversity and the inclusion and utilization of minority- and women-owned businesses in FRB Cleveland programs and contracts.”

About 27 percent of employees at the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District are Black, Latino or Asian. After an extensive in-house diversity and inclusion survey, the district has established goals to build cultural competency through diversity management. They’ve expanded their nondiscrimination statement to include LGBT people, hosted a series of diversity dialogue sessions, launched resource groups and implemented mandatory diversity training. So far, more than 70 percent of employees have been trained.

Cleveland: Diversity & Inclusion From the Top Down

Companies also are keeping an eye on the makeup of their senior leadership. The Commission on Economic Inclusion teamed up with Business Volunteers Unlimited to create a Board Minority Pipeline Initiative focused on increasing the number of Black, Latino and American Indian professionals on corporate boards.

KeyCorp also has committed to diversity in the C-suite. In 2010, 15 percent of the company’s upper management was Black, Latino or Asian, nearly double the rate of its peer groups. “We actively recruit new employees from historically Black colleges and universities, as well as from schools with highly diverse student populations,” says Johnni Beckel, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Key. “We also network in our communities to identify diverse new talent.”

Mercy Health Partners has more than doubled the percentage of Blacks, Latinos and Asians on its senior leadership team (from 4.2 percent to 9.3 percent) in the last year. In an effort to promote diversity management in senior leadership, Mercy’s goal is to have a candidate from a traditionally underrepresented group in at least 60 percent of its executive searches. This year marked the launch of the Mercy Minority Mentoring Program, which offers access to training and networking opportunities for employees to move ahead in the company. “We firmly believe that we need to grow our own people in order to continue to retain them,” says Chatman.

Read: Mentoring Roundtable: How Mentoring Improves Retention, Engagement & Promotions

When companies support diversity financially and through their hiring practices and corporate culture, the results reverberate throughout the regional economy. Women- and minority-owned enterprises are an important part of the community, and their economic vitality contributes to Cleveland’s impressive turnaround. It’s a matter of seeing the region’s changing demographics as an asset and a tool for economic renewal.

“Leveraging the power of our differences serves as a catalyst for delivering value and quality in all we do,” says Cleveland Public Library’s Corchado. “Leveraging our differences is our way of doing business.” And business is booming, thanks to diversity management and the efforts of the Greater Cleveland Partnership and its members to include all groups in the region’s revitalization.

“Whether it’s healthcare or higher education, the objective is to have an environment that leverages all of the organization’s talents,” says Perkins of University Hospitals. “It promotes innovation, creativity and equity for everyone, particularly those that have been underrepresented for so long.”

The post Cleveland’s Economic Development: Investment in Diversity & Inclusion Pays Dividends appeared first on DiversityInc.

Monsanto, No. 44 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50, is one of nine leading companies that presented at our Innovation Fest! diversity event held in New York City.

For closed captions, press the CC button in the YouTube player.

Video Minutes
0:00:00 About Monsanto
0:02:32 Monsanto’s Recruiting Challenges
0:05:36 A New “People Strategy”
0:07:38 Three-Part Talent Acquisition Model
0:09:05 Integrating Talent Acquisition and Diversity
0:13:43 Leadership Liasons
0:15:17 Nine Employee Networks
0:16:19 Diversity Action Plan
0:17:57 Talent Development Scorecard
0:19:02 Quarterly Diversity Calendar
0:19:57 Success Stories

The post How to Find, Hire & Integrate Global Talent Into Your Workforce appeared first on DiversityInc.

Dana Green, national manager, Corporate Diversity & Inclusion, and Nikki Nance, corporate manager administration, discuss at our diversity event how the car manufacturer’s innovative approach to diversity-management and HR enables the entire company to find, recruit, engage and retain the best talent, especially from underrepresented groups. Watch the video below.

Toyota Motor North America, No. 41 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50, is one of eight leading companies that presented at “Managing Relationships Between HR & Diversity Departments” held in New York City.  Visit DiversityInc.com/events for a schedule of our upcoming learning sessions. Also, register today for our  diversity web seminar on diversity councils on Oct. 16, where executives from Kellogg Company and Comcast will provide case study examples to help you  implement a successful diversity council–or better utilize the one you have–to drive measurable results.

For more on Toyota’s innovative recruitment and talent-development strategies, watch this Innovation Fest! presentation–How Recruiting People With Disabilities Solved Toyota’s Costly Problem–where executives detail how the company leveraged its employees with unique talents to speed up its production line, improve public relations and diversify its workforce.

Video Minutes:

0:00:00 How Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing & Finance Collaborate

0:01:15 Senior Execs Lead as Diversity Champions

0:02:14 Building Accountability for Diversity

0:03:30 Recruitment: Launching Mentoring Programs

0:04:25 Diversity Training for Diversity Champions

0:05:00 Diversity Benchmarking & Measuring Data

0:06:33 Executive Diversity Advisory Board

0:07:34 Recruitment: Work/Life Benefits, Messaging & Job Postings

0:10:52 College Recruiting

0:12:20 Talent Development & Measuring Employee Engagement

0:19:29 Toyota’s Two Pillars: Continuous Improvement & Respect for People

The post Working Collaboratively With HR: Recruitment & Talent Development appeared first on DiversityInc.

In 1983, the company I was working for at the time of my accident, IBM, asked me to come back to work in a wheelchair. I was relocated to White Plains, N.Y., from 205 East 42nd Street in Manhattan, which was down the street from the United Nations building and across the street from the “Daily News.” (IBM is No. 8 in The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity.)

I married the love of my life, Maggie, in 1988. Since then, we have raised two children, both now living in Boston: our daughter, who is now an attorney, and our son, who is finishing up college at Northeastern University.

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law. During the 20 years since the ADA was enacted, I have seen positive steps taken on many levels when it comes to changing attitudes regarding people with disabilities.

The ADA put the spotlight on a severely underrepresented group in our nation. Because of the ADA, people with disabilities are a group with a voice; we are now a legitimate constituency that has come of age. The disability community is a constituency that votes, that works, and that pays taxes. Human beings, who were once invisible, are now visible and can no longer be ignored.

The second prominent change I’ve seen in the last 20 years centers around the attitude of the American people and how our nation now perceives leaders. For example, the glass ceiling was symbolically and continually broken when women began to take on numerous leadership roles previously held by men.

You know these women as well as I do. In politics, regardless of political orientation, they include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, holding powerful jobs previously held by men.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention another change in attitude we were all witness to: the historic election of our first Black president, Barack Obama. This attitude change in America bodes well for people with disabilities as we, as a community, aspire to similar leadership positions.

A New World

The third change I’d like to mention has to do with technology. For the first time in history, everything is connected—businesses, workflows and transactions.

There are 1.2 billion people, millions of businesses and perhaps a trillion devices connected to the World Wide Web today. In 2011, the Internet reached two billion people—nearly one-third of the world’s population.

Given the proliferation of technology, it shouldn’t be surprising that 70 percent of the computer chips produced today do not go into “computers.” They go into cars and planes, appliances, roadways, shipping containers, pacemakers, emergency rooms and every product with a radio-frequency identification tag … all “intelligent” and all connected.

With this technology revolution emerges a key point: Technology is the great equalizer for people with disabilities and will continue to play a major role in enabling people with disabilities to reach their full potential.

Between now and 2015, as the baby boomers retire, America will need between 10 and 15 million new workers. Add to that the demand for skills we see around the world and it becomes clear that businesses cannot afford to exclude any one constituency group from the talent pool.

This is especially true when it comes to people with disabilities, a large and under-utilized workforce that is employed at dramatically lower rates than the population of people with no disabilities, both in the United States and around the world. In August 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate of people with disabilities was 14.5 percent, higher than the rate for those with no disability, which was 9 percent.

Looked at another way, the employment-population ratio—the proportion of the population that is employed—was 19 percent for people with disabilities. Among those with no disability, the ratio was much higher: 64 percent.

The U.S. Census Bureau has previously reported that 51 million people, or 18 percent of the population, have some form of disability. Globally, the World Health Organization reports that between 750 million and 1 billion people have a disability. In addition, this constituency group controls $1 trillion in aggregate income and more than $220 billion in disposable income annually.

This data suggests that we should be able to leverage more of this under-utilized talent than we do today, if for no other reason than because it is good business—and people with disabilities are both customers and part of our talent base.

Global Challenges for People With Disabilities

The global environment argues against the exclusion of talent of any kind. Globalization, in my view, actually favors people with disabilities in the workforce, more than at any other time in history.

This is the new world of work, a world I believe is extending a hand to people with disabilities to not only participate but to lead. This is a time of great opportunity for people with disabilities to be a leader in business, government or other areas of employment. But more must be done to close critical gaps that will allow people with disabilities to become more fully integrated in society and the workplace.

To achieve this, we must strengthen partnerships with government and non-governmental organizations to help people with disabilities get to work as well as earn enough to wean themselves off our well-intentioned social programs. To accomplish this, three areas require attention: transportation, technology and inclusion.

First, transportation: According to a National Organization on Disability/Harris survey, people with disabilities are twice as likely to have inadequate transportation when compared with the mainstream population (31 percent versus 13 percent).

Lack of mobility is a major inhibitor if one aspires to a leadership role. The inability to travel, or the perception that one cannot travel easily, may even remove people with disabilities from consideration for a variety of jobs, making career advancement more difficult. Is this perception right? The answer is no. Does it exist? The answer is yes.

Government and business must continue to partner and look at transportation from the perspective of people with disabilities. A holistic approach must be taken, beginning with a person with a disability at home and mapping a route from home to work and back. The basic elements include: education and training, healthcare needs to get up and leave the house, appropriate transportation (public or private), and a workplace that is accessible, flexible and inclusive.

Second, technology: The Harris survey also reported that Americans with disabilities not only rely on assistive technology but a third reported they would lose their independence without technology.

Many assistive-technology accommodations cost as little as $500.00. The investment in technology to employ a professional with a disability may be less than the price a business pays for repeated costs of attrition, recruiting and hiring. Investments in technology can help make all employees more productive.

Finally, we can all do more when it comes to inclusion—that is, being comfortable with people who are different than we are.

Integral, Not Isolated

For some employers today, the inclination is to think that if an employee has a disability, the employment issue can be handled by just providing technology that enables an employee to work from home. In some cases that may be true or even necessary. But I think it’s critical for people with disabilities to be visible and in the workplace. To overcome basic misconceptions, a professional with a disability must be fully integrated into the workplace, not isolated.

I’m sure there are many organizations that will hire a person with a disability with the right skills for a job, but how many have the vision to consider that same person to run their company or organization? Take a look at people with disabilities who are professionals in your own organizations; they may just be the leaders you are looking for—right under your nose and ready to lead. I ask that you employ people with disabilities not just for a job but for a leadership career in your organization.

Although we have seen significant changes in the world, we still have a long way to go. As you reflect on this topic, consider these questions: What do you see when you look at a person with a disability? Do you see just a blind person, a person who is deaf, or a person who uses a wheelchair?

The next time you meet a person with a disability, I would like you to see a business colleague … possibly a person who could be your next manager or even the next CEO of your organization.

Until we change our perceptions and paradigms, we will never see what is possible. Until we see and act upon what is possible, we will never change the present.

– Jim Sinocchi, Director for Workforce Communications, IBM Corp.

The post What Is Possible for People With Disabilities? appeared first on DiversityInc.

It took 18–24 months to create a safe work environment and educate existing employees about working with the new crew. The results:

• Overall employee engagement increased, as did awareness of people with disabilities
• The new employees reported great pride in their jobs
• Two seconds were shaved off the production process
• Community and public relations were improved

Presented by: Dave Orrender, Assembly Manager, and Tim Turner, Assembly Safety Team Leader, Toyota Motor North America.

The post How Recruiting People With Disabilities Solved Toyota’s Costly Problem appeared first on DiversityInc.

Now 23 years old, Soetan is a product manager with a large retail pharmacy chain in the Chicago area. She credits her current position to a multi-year business-management internship she received through INROADS.

“I stumbled upon it while looking for college scholarships on Fastweb online,” she recalls. Soetan notes that it’s pretty rare for a 16-year-old girl to find a paid internship, let alone one that provides such in-depth talent development.

Soetan started the internship during her first summer after high school and continued the program throughout her four years of college. After graduation, she was offered a full-time position with the company as an assistant manager.

“INROADS taught me how to network with the people I worked with, to dress for work and be professional so I could succeed in the real world,” says Soetan. “The program fostered me a lot in career development and getting necessary tools for the program.” These include both hard and soft business skills through training, networking opportunities, mock interviews, tutoring and mentoring.

A Mission in Talent Development

INROADS, founded by Frank C. Carr in Chicago in 1970, is a nonprofit organization that aims to develop talented underserved youth for success in business, providing them the necessary skills and opportunities to gain valuable internships, and eventually positions, with companies.

There is also an INROADS alumni network that provides current and former interns with an online and national community, offering a continued support system throughout their careers.

“It’s a strong leadership and development program focused on growing the competencies of these young people with a rigorous coaching process,” explains Maria Morris, executive vice president of global employee benefits for MetLife and chairman of the board for INROADS. MetLife is No. 50 in the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 and has been a top 10 INROADS-sponsoring company since 2004. 

Currently under the executive leadership of president and CEO Forest T. Harper, who had humble beginnings himself as the son of migrant farmers in Florida, INROADS offers high-potential Black, Latino and American Indian students the tools they need to aspire and achieve leadership roles that otherwise would be unobtainable. Read Talent Development: From Migrant Workers’ Son to CEO for his story.

Talent Development Creates Opportunity

Cerileene Menendez Mendoza, who moved from her home in Puerto Rico to attend Assumption College, a small school in Massachusetts, says she never would have gotten her accounting internship at KPMG (No. 22) without INROADS. She says internships were typically reserved for students at much larger colleges.

“Specifically, INROADS prepared me for the interview and to develop cultural awareness and understanding for a corporate culture. They helped me become sure about myself and I was able to meet other students going through the same process,” she says. “INROADS’ network and peer-to-peer reviews provided really good feedback.”

Thanks to INROADS, Mendoza’s career took off after she graduated in 2011: After graduation, she was chosen as a Fulbright Scholar. Fulbright is a grant-based work-abroad exchange program from the Council for International Exchange of Scholars on behalf of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Mendoza is now is the director of platonic venture capitalists for Toniic Mexico at New Ventures Mexico.

She also was featured in an edition of CNN’s Expansion, a business magazine targeting professionals in Mexico and Latin America, for her accomplishments when she was 22 years old, she says.

“INROADS helped me … to think about my skills,” says Mendoza. “I was able to gain exposure culturally to other parts of the world and in the United States. They showed me new experiences and career options I never considered.”

See also: Rutgers Future Scholars Enhances Talent Pipelines With Corporate-Student Outreach

Investing in Talent Development

The mission of INROADS is as relevant today as it ever was, according to INROADS alumnus Jeffrey S. Perry, whose initial internship with INROADS has come full circle.

Perry, who started as an intern for two years at an oil company and moved on to work at companies including Booz Allen Hamilton (No. 36) and another management consultancy, now serves as a board member for INROADS. In his current position as transaction integration practice leader for Ernst & Young (No. 6), Perry keeps the benefits of INROADS close at hand. There is a war for talent, and “INROADS helps us at Ernst & Young stay competitive,” he says.

The company places heavy emphasis on diverse recruiting and has multiple partnerships with colleges and organizations. It also hosts its own Discover Ernst & Young events to generate interest in the accounting profession among students. Learn more about the company’s recruiting strategies in Diversity Web Seminar on Recruitment: 5 Workforce-Diversity Strategies to Find, Engage & Retain Talent.

“It about developing very specific, targeted programs for the interns and leveraging INROADS access to alumni. It’s so we can progress talent to that next level,” says Perry.

For more information on INROADS and for a list of sponsoring companies, visit www.inroads.org.

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An Ambitious Proposal

When the vice president for enrollment management at Rutgers University first presented his proposal for the Rutgers Future Scholars program to Rutgers Chairman Rev. Dr. M. William Howard Jr. and President Richard McCormick, he didn’t think it would ever get approved. “It was so expensive and ambitious,” recalls McAnuff. (Costs approached $2 million in 2011.) “But it only took them 15 minutes to review it and give the go-ahead.”

The Rutgers Future Scholars program, now in its fourth year, was designed to resolve an existing lack of urban-based students from lower-income families from Rutgers’ surrounding locales. Each year, 200 seventh-grade students are selected into the five-year college-prep program from the New Brunswick, Piscataway, Newark and Camden communities.

The students are supported with tutoring and mentoring and are given opportunities to attend educational events on campus to increase their exposure to the opportunities a college education can deliver. Graduating scholars who are accepted to Rutgers University are granted a full scholarship.

The program receives funding from multiple partners, which include DiversityInc and Merck & Co. (No. 16 in The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity), AT&T (No. 4), Target (No. 30) and Ernst & Young (No. 6). Additionally, DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti is co-chair of the Rutgers Future Scholars fundraising committee.

Watch our diversity web seminar on recruitment and read Rutgers Future Scholars Enhances Talent Pipelines With Corporate-Student Outreach for more on Ernst & Young’s partnership with Rutgers Future Scholars. Also read How to Get 150 Top-Performing Black and Latino Candidates Now for more more on recruitment.

Talent Development: A Blueprint for the Future

The ultimate goal, says McAnuff, is to increase graduation rates, which in turn will foster improvements within state and local governments. He cites that about half the Black and Latino boys in urban areas who drop out of high school often end up in the correctional system; an economic study on Rutgers Future Scholars estimates that every group of scholars that completes the program will save the state $40 million over the course of the students’ lifetime. Read the study at www.DiversityInc.com/RFSvalue.

“I do hope that one day we can make the argument to state and federal governments that we can demonstrate with results,” McAnuff says. “Because of our experience, we can actually write a national blueprint that is relatively inexpensive, where we can spend $2,000 a year per kid rather than $45,000 for someone in prison.”

Even though the oldest group of students is still in the junior year of high school, the program has already had amazing results: Of the more than 800 students in the program, 80 percent have maintained a B or better grade average, and 180 students report that they plan to apply to Rutgers in September.

“One argument in higher education is if you are open to more low-income or more diverse students, you are lowering academic standards,” says McAnuff. “At Rutgers, we’ve proven that incorrect.” He adds, “I’m happy to say after four years that none of the kids in the program has dropped out of high school.”

Nurturing Intellect Through Talent Development

While an interest in higher education and helping students realize success is something McAnuff fell in love with during his early career as a teacher, his passion for providing those opportunities for low-income students stems from his childhood growing up in Queens, N.Y.

“There was no middle ground: You went to college or you went to jail,” says McAnuff. “My next-door neighbor was my best friend until the third year of high school. He became a drug addict.”

He adds, “If you have intellect, you have a chance here. I want to make sure as many kids as possible have the opportunity to try.”

Competing against tough neighborhood environments proves to be one of the programs’ and scholars’ greatest challenges, says McAnuff. “I was really surprised how the deans jumped on board so wholeheartedly,” he says. “Many students are now graduating high school, many with college credit, which was unheard of before. The kids believe they can do it now.”

For more on talent development and diversity in education, read Talent Development: From Migrant Workers’ Son to CEO and Sam’s Club Gives Latino Students $100,000 in Scholarships.

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