Diversity Executive - September 2008 - (Page 33)

Kenneth I. Chenault | American Express When it was founded in 1850, American Express placed a strong emphasis on respecting people, and that is still true in 2008. Diversity is part of the recipe for success at the global payments company, and related initiatives are seen as business imperatives that help generate new ideas and offer better service to global customers. “At American Express, we have a strong and ongoing commitment to attracting, retaining and promoting diverse talent from the ﬁrst point of entry through all levels of leadership,” said Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and CEO. “Building a diverse and inclusive organization strengthens our competitive advantage and is crucial to achieving our vision and becoming the world’s most respected service brand.” The organization uses a multifaceted diversity and inclusion strategy that focuses on ways to attract and hire diverse talent at senior levels, develops a highly diverse workforce, provides all employees with the tools and skills to grow professionally and allows managers to analyze the traditional work model to develop more ﬂexible solutions that allow employees to deﬁne their own schedules. American Express uses diversity councils comprised of senior leaders from across the company to help set the overall company strategy and policy, manage and leverage best practices and chart progress against other leading companies. Currently, there also are 11 employee networks in the United States, each with a senior-level executive sponsor, and 49 chapters that provide employees with mentoring and networking opportunities. Networks underpin the company’s business objectives by supporting employee recruitment and retention through participation in job fairs; contributing to educational cultural events; acting as liaisons to management and the community; participating in outreach and volunteer programs; and helping enhance marketing efforts in targeted communities. In 2007, the company rolled out a mandatory diversity curriculum called “Valuing Diversity/Practicing Inclusion and Cultures at Work.” Its lessons were designed to help leaders lead in a global environment. During the training, they learn about the business case for diversity, how to recognize the effects of bias on employee interaction, how to understand the components of culture and how to dialogue in a cultural but inclusive environment. To hold leaders and managers accountable, their ability to value and support diversity is assessed as part of the annual performance review. Managers are rated on how well they have addressed diversity issues in all business processes, decisions and actions; how they sustain an environment in which people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives succeed; and how they confront prejudice and intolerant behavior in the workplace. Diversity also is a component measured during American Express’ annual employee survey. – Lindsay Edmonds Wickman September/October 2008 | www.diversity-executive.com | Diversity Executive 33 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.