Diversity Executive - September 2008 - (Page 27)

to all the African-American associates in that company,” Holder-Winﬁeld said. “The company didn’t ask her: ‘In what way can we help you understand more about our company?’ She immediately knew this organization would only see her as the African-American candidate.” Wells Fargo: Focusing on Organic Talent Growth Because about 95 percent of executive-level positions are ﬁlled internally, Wells Fargo focuses on diversifying and developing its entire workforce, so when an executive-level position becomes available there’s a ready pool of diverse talent. “We have a very tight talent management and succession planning process that occurs from the bottom up each year,” Barcelos said. “By the time the cycle review process is done, we have documented where our talent is, where gaps may be and where development opportunities [are].” If Wells Fargo searches externally for candidates to ﬁll an executive-level position, the recruiter and hiring manager start the process with an honest, targeted conversation. “Generally, the recruiter sits down with the hiring manager and will ask: ‘What exactly are you looking for, what are the core skills, what is it above and beyond the job description that I need to know as I go “As we should, we focus on into search?’” Barcelos said. overall skill set and ability “Through that conversato do the job. Ultimately, tion, we also engage the hir– Steve Lowisz, we need someone who’s ing manager on, ‘What is President and CEO of Qualigence going to drive business and the diversity of your team, revenue,” said Elcio Barwhat is your afﬁrmative accelos, manager of corporate recruitment and employment. tion plan, and what opportunities exist?’” “But we want to make sure for each position we have open, Once a candidate is on-board, the focus shifts to employee we have a strong diverse candidate pool to pick from.” retention. When Wells Fargo has an open position, it looks ﬁrst to its succession plan that includes the layout of diversity in the organization to canvass for internal talent prepared to take on that job role. “We’re very proud of our retention stats at the executive level, as well as in entry-level [positions],” Barcelos said. “In relation to [the overall] industry, we’re pretty close to benchmark. HavATTRACTION continued on page 62 “If you’re not putting metrics or expectations on your managers and holding them accountable, guess what? Diversity will never increase within your organization. ‘We need more talented African-Americans in our company because we recognize that intellect doesn’t have a color. But we really don’t know what we need to know about recruiting [them], so will you help us?’ Guess what? They’ll say yes.” The best plan for recruitment is one that looks to the future. “I advocate for our industry to adopt a school,” Fernandez said. “Find out which high schools are in and around regions [where] you have operations. Connect with those schools and tell those leaders: ‘We want your best and brightest. If you send them to us, we’re going to try and find internships for them.’ Most companies have a short-term approach; I advocate a long-term strategy.” Getting involved in the local community can help get an organization’s name or brand out there, so when it’s time to recruit, there will be a ready pool of di- verse talent with prior knowledge — and hopefully a desire — to work with the company. “The other way is bloom where you are,” Fernandez said. “Connect with burgeoning groups in those communities. If there’s a local Hispanic organization that serves the community, get one of your senior vice presidents or directors to serve on the board of directors. You’ll meet the other movers and shakers in the community.” Many of these organizations are ready and willing to help corporations find the best and brightest diverse candidates, if recruiters ask. “Get people engaged, find out where they are, talk to those people, communicate to them, invite them to you, and do so with sincerity and with a long-term commitment in mind. You will be light-years ahead of your competition,” Fernandez said. “We’ve been saying these things for 11 years, and still they fall on deaf ears.” « – Lindsay Edmonds Wickman September/October 2008www.diversity-executive.com | September/October 2008 Diversity Executive | | www.diversity-executive.com | Diversity Executive 27 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

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.