Diversity Executive - September 2008 - (Page 23)

30 Projected percentage of the U.S. population that will be Hispanic in 2050. 294 166 Percentage increase in Asian buying power between 1990 and 2007. Source: U.S. Census Bureau and Selig Center for Economic Growth, University of Georgia. Percentage increase in AfricanAmerican buying power between 1990 and 2007. Taking a hands-off approach to employee resource groups (ERGs), also called afﬁnity groups, does just that. “We didn’t come down from on high and say, ‘We will now have a Black Champions Network,’” Baker said. “[It was] driven by our employees.” However, the relationship between ERGs and the organization ultimately must be a partnership. General Mills actively supports its ERGs by assigning senior executives as champions and advisers. In some cases, groups are supported ﬁnancially, as well. On the ﬂip side, the company also leverages its ERGs to market to diverse customers, attract and retain diverse candidates and hold focus groups to probe for insight and suggestions. The Right Metrics Though the impacts of diversity and inclusion are tangible, measuring them poses a subtler problem. You can measure diversity in terms of representation and inclusion in terms of productivity or engagement, but you can’t tie either of those numbers to the bottom line — nor do they accurately represent what you’re trying to achieve. “A signiﬁcant part of the difﬁculty we have with managing workforce diversity is related to the difﬁculty we have with managing people, period,” Thomas said. Thurman added: “The challenge you get to is ﬁnding a metric that doesn’t isolate one difference of the person and assume that all of the success was connected to that one difference.” That said, evidence of the strategic value of diversity and inclusion initiatives is essential to secure the funding diversity executives need. Tapia said the possible metrics diversity executives can use to help build their case fall into three broad categories. The ﬁrst involves talent. Organizations can measure a wide variety of statistics, including race, gender, disability, sexual orientation and immigrant status. The promotion rate of diverse candidates is another important talent metric. The second area of measurable content relates to products and services. Organizations can measure how diversity and inclusion help sell more products and services or help launch new ones, Tapia said. Third, as organizations become more global and undergo resulting operational changes, they can measure the impact of diversity and inclusion on these changes. Since their inception, diversity and inclusion have continued to evolve. The next frontier of diversity and inclusion management involves tailoring strategies to suit unique organizational needs on a global basis, recognizing that diversity is not a U.S.-only issue. “It’s not a ‘one size ﬁts all,’” Whiting said. “We’re out working with our organizations globally to understand their speciﬁc issues and address their speciﬁc issues in the way they need to be addressed.” After all, while diversity and inclusion can mean different things to different people, they universally drive good business. « IBM revenue from women and minority customers grew to $800 million in 2006. September/October 2008 | www.diversity-executive.com | Diversity Executive 23 http://www.diversity-executive.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Diversity Executive - September 2008

Diversity Executive - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Leadership Connections Guest Editorial Diversity Executive Online 2042: A New Business Era Begins The Rules of Attraction Where to Look for Diverse Talent Like Minds Think Great Culture Teams Target Business Opportunities at Luxottica Retail Special Section Rebalancing Gender At ING Americas, the Color of Diversity Is Orange Profile Business Intelligence Case Study Strategies Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources

Diversity Executive - September 2008

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