Incentive - March 2008 - (Page 21)

COVER STORY knows that they have a lot of opportunity. So just continuous communication, to me, is the biggest challenge, and that’s a positive thing. We have Webcasts, our managers hold meetings and discussions with employees; we’re just constantly wanting to communicate the fact that our diversity imperatives are a part of any relationship we have with our employees, clients and customers.” Boehringer Ingelheim, A Collaborative Culture “The more diverse the workforce, the more creative and innovative our solutions for our patients become, the better outcomes we yield in terms of teams,” says Nancy Di Dia, director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., in Ridgefield, Conn. At Boehringer Ingelheim, ranked as one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, diversity and inclusion is looked at from a multidimensional perspective. In addition to building diverse teams of people, the company strives to create an inclusive environment for all. BI is the recipient of several top employer rewards, most recently, the 2008 Best Places to Work Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. “The award from the Human Rights Campaign really just reinforced and emphasized our commitment to equality,” says Di Dia. The prestigious national award measures how large U.S. companies treat gay, lesbian, bisexual and “The more diverse the workforce, the more creative and innovative our solutions for our patients become.” transgender (GLBT) employees. She adds that like most companies, Boehringer Ingelheim is challenged overall by the need for diverse talent and has “tremendous practices in place in terms of relationships that we’re building with various affinity organizations such as the National Black MBA and the National Organization [for the Professional Advancement] of Black Chemists and [Chemical] Engitraining sessions that took place last year.” neers.” By deepening its relationships with One of those training sessions included a affinity groups, BI is striving to have more group activity created by FutureWork Instiaccess to diverse talent and to get people tute called interactive theater. In this activito want to learn more about the company. ty, designed to increase a company’s Yael Sivi, based in Brooklyn, is a conself-awareness of its own diversity issues, sultant and coach with the FutureWork interviews are conducted with people in the Institute Inc., www.futurecompany ahead of time workinstitute.com, a conand then, “the very issues sulting team with over 15 that come up in the workyears’ experience working place at that company” are with clients on inclusion acted out on stage, says Sivi. and increasing talent con“Interactive theater is a tribution. For the past seven very exciting way to get a years, the FutureWork Instipoint across to a large tute has worked with group of people using Boehringer Ingelheim to actor/trainers,” says Di propel it diversity and Dia. She collaborated with inclusion initiative by FutureWork Institute to Nancy Di Dia, director, Office of providing best practices design the script, based on Diversity and Inclusion, at Boehringer information and acting as a typical challenges that BI Ingelheim consultative partner that Di leaders and sales reps were Dia and others can turn to and bounce off facing in the field. Says Di Dia, “We new ideas for advancing their initiative. brought the sales folks and their managing Over the years, Boehringer Ingelheim team together, and the actors played out the has also given best practices ideas to The scene, and we paused and had an opportuFutureWork Institute they could share nity for the audience to interact with the with other clients. Sivi says that the one actors while they were still in character.” thing that companies like Boehringer Interactive theater is a safe way to get at Ingelheim—employers that really take the the items that are harder to discuss, a diversity topic and initiative seriously— valuable vehicle, considering the discomhave in common is a lot of championship fort level that conversations on diversity and support from the top. and inclusion can bring. Says Di Dia, “It’s Echoing this statement, Di Dia says, a way to put it very safely out in the fore“From CEO down to our senior leaderfront and allow people, in a safe environship team, they reinforce us, they encourment, to challenge the status quo and to age.” The CEO, Marty Carroll, is also walk away with skills on delivering feedthe chair of the BI DIAC, BI’s National back and skills on coaching. So, it’s a great skill-building experience and very interactive and entertaining, but more importantly, it gets at the crux of some of the issues and encourages people to coach and immediately address situations head-on.” –Nancy Di Dia, Boehringer Ingelheim Beyond diversity and inclusion, the culture at Boehringer Ingelheim is described Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council. by Di Dia as collaborative, a culture Several senior leaders sit on his managewhere innovation is achieved by working ment committee and are sponsors of in diverse teams. Says Di Dia, “In everyemployee resource groups—affinity thing that we do, we’re always working together, challenging each other, taking groups representing the Latino, black, the initiative, cross-collaborating different Asian, GLBT, people with disabilities and functions, those types of things. In doing women populations. Says Sivi, “I think that, we really find that we get innovation because leadership was so supportive, through this collaboration.” [the company] had a series of really great incentivemag.com | March 2008 | Incentive | 21 http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - March 2008

Incentive - March 2008 Contents Editor’s Note: Delivering on Diversity In The News Cover Story: Leveraging Diversity in the Workplace Incentive Interview: Paul Levesque on Why Awards Fail Case Study: AEIS’ Max!-imum Incentive Program Mine Employees’ Creativity with Innovation Incentives Incentive Must-Reads The Third Annual Gift Card Roundtable My Turn: Motivation or Bribery? Everybody Get Together In Her Shoes: Why Bosses Should Be Flexible Incentive Primer: Passport Problem-Solving potentials Here and Now Is CES Electronics Heaven? China and Crystal: More Than a Pretty Face Travel News Florida: What’s New on the Beach? Smooth Sailing for Incentive Cruising Come To Hawaii And Take It Fast Last Word: But Enough About You

Incentive - March 2008

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