Diversity Executive - September 2008 - (Page 47)

The company’s revenue exceeds $7 billion in North America. Further, the commitment to D&I comes straight from the top, and Group Chief Diversity Ofﬁcer Rohini Anand reports directly to Chavel. Similarly, each of the organization’s senior directors of diversity reports directly to market presidents for each business line. “Diversity and inclusion [are] a competitive advantage in our business growth strategy, assisting us in growing our client base and in retaining clients,” Chavel said. “Our diversity leadership [has] given us the opportunity to enhance the overall value we deliver to our clients by helping them address boardroom issues.” Because D&I is one of Sodexo’s six strategic imperatives, the organization uses its Diversity Scorecard Index to measure progress in terms of hiring, promoting and retaining women and minorities. “We believe in true accountability,” Chavel said. “A signiﬁcant portion of management bonuses — 10 to 15 percent for managers and 25 percent for the executive team — is tied to diversity. I might add, a key distinguishing factor at Sodexo [is that] diversity bonuses are paid out regardless of our ﬁnancial performance.” Sodexo also has developed a Diversity Leadership Council that sets the organization’s overall strategy and direction. At the operational level, Sodexo hired senior directors of diversity in each market segment and established diversity councils in each of the business lines. At the grassroots level, six employee network groups bring diversity strategy “to life in the work that they do, providing personal and professional growth opportunities for their members,” Chavel said. “Having a commitment to diversity and inclusion allows Sodexo to differentiate ourselves as a leader, and this is valuable in bringing clients to the table,” he explained. “It is already apparent that Sodexo’s strategic emphasis on diversity is positively affecting our bottom line. Our diversity efforts have resulted in new business opportunities, helped us retain existing clients and opened the door for us to pursue innovative product offerings that add value for our clients.” – Lindsay Edmonds Wickman “At Sprint, we know that diversity makes business sense,” said President and CEO Dan Hesse. “Our customer base is diverse, and providing a superior customer experience for all customers is critical. That’s why we’ve put in place employee programs to encourage diversity and the sharing of many cultural viewpoints and experiences.” Creating an inclusive workplace is imperative to the way Sprint does business. Rather than seeing inclusion as a stand-alone business practice, the company works to ensure it is integrated into all areas of the business. Further, Sprint takes a holistic approach to all areas of diversity, which allows it to take advantage of the opportunities offered by inclusive business practices. These include hiring and retaining a diverse workforce; marketing products to customers from a variety of cultures; leveraging the many outsidethe-box solutions provided through minority-, women- and veteran-owned suppliers; and giving back to the diverse communities in which Sprint employees work and live. To help develop and promote inclusion, Sprint has implemented a number of internal and external programs, including six employee resource groups that are open to all employees. They are the Diamond Network (AfricanAmerican focused), Enlace (Hispanic focused), OASIS (Asian focused), Sprint Pride (LGBT focused), V.E.T.S. (veteran focused) and a relatively new women’s group. The groups provide employees with opportunities to develop leadership skills, network with diverse groups of people inside and outside the company, get insights into new areas of the business and increase their cultural awareness. The programs established by these groups also give employees exposure to mentoring opportunities and group-sponsored training. Employee resource groups are just one example of how Sprint enhances diversity in the workplace. Other programs ensure women and minority candidates are given equal consideration for promotion opportunities and access to Sprint’s diversity training course, All-Inclusive Workforce, that focuses on the importance of incorporating inclusion into business practices and ways employees can help make this happen. Externally, Sprint has teams dedicated to supplier diversity, multicultural marketing and community relations, which help the company utilize diverse ways of thinking and solutions from vendor partners, develop the products and services Sprint markets to its customers and gauge the efﬁcacy of philanthropic activities the company supports. Sprint also produces a quarterly scorecard to track areas such as female and minority representation, placements for new hires and promotions, executive engagement, multicultural marketing, supplier diversity and corporate philanthropy. The scorecard helps the company focus on these key areas to drive initiatives and strategies for diversity and incluSeptember/October 2008 | www.diversity-executive.com | Diversity Executive 47 Dan Hesse Sprint At Sprint, customer service is the No. 1 priority, and because the company serves a diverse customer base, it is staffed with employees representing a variety of cultures and backgrounds. This enables the company to create products and services relevant to all customers. http://www.diversity-executive.com

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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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