ILMA Compoundings - April 2021 - 23

Different Is Good
Building a more diverse, inclusive workforce
By Robert Bittner

iversity and inclusion (D&I) have become watchwords
for modern manufacturers. It is easy to understand
why. " When you have a diverse team, you gain
different perspectives and different considerations, " noted
Terre Christensen, president of HR consultancy FindLine
Connections. " That's a good thing. "
Achieving the " good thing " of D&I, though, is not easy.
It requires mindfulness and a commitment that extends to
every part of the organization. But Christensen believes the
benefits of building a diverse, inclusive workforce are clear.
" Different points of view make an organization stronger, "
she said. " Diversity models to the community that this is a
good place to work for everyone. "
While many companies share that goal, they don't always
agree on the best ways to achieve it.

A Companywide Commitment
Diversity, as a rule, does not " just happen. " Most manufacturers will need to be proactive if they want the benefits
diversity provides.
Bruce Chinn, former president of Chevron Oronite,
notes that his company actively seeks out diverse workers
- " people with different ways of thinking, different life
experiences and different backgrounds. " To ensure that those
individuals have the support needed to perform at their best,
the company fosters an environment where everyone's voice
can be heard.
Chevron Oronite's approach to D&I is based on four key
elements: accountability, communications, training and
" selections. " Accountability involves setting D&I objectives,
reviewing data and leveraging third-party assessments of the
company's policies, procedures and behaviors. Communications includes establishing employee forums and councils,
promoting a D&I recognition program and disseminating
regular companywide messages that highlight D&I topics.
Training in D&I is targeted to both employees and leaders
to ensure a consistent level of knowledge and awareness.
" Selections " is Chevron Oronite's overarching term for making sure it has diverse candidate slates and selection teams.

The company incorporates unconscious-bias training for
those involved in selections to help ensure that all candidates
are considered based solely on the experience and skills they
bring to the table.
" For smaller companies, even taking one or two actions in
each of these areas can go a long way in helping to advance
your D&I efforts, " Chinn said.
Some companies might believe the best solution is to
relegate all responsibility for D&I to a dedicated D&I committee. Others might rely on checklists or quotas to provide
a layer of bureaucratic oversight. But Christensen believes
there are potential pitfalls in these approaches, largely
because they force companies to look even more closely at
skin color, race, ethnicity, religious belief, etc., rather than
be blind to everything but a candidate's qualifications.
" I think that you hire the best person for the job. Period, "
she said. " You don't see gender. You don't see skin color
or religion or ethnicity. You hire the person who's the best
credentialed and the best fit for the demands of the job.
And if you have questions or concerns about a candidate,
have a conversation about that. Seek to improve your hiring
skills, not as a knee-jerk reaction to current events but in a
way that really does bring your team the best, most qualified
talent and erases irrelevant variables. "
ILMA CEO Holly Alfano agrees. " In our industry,
smaller companies have challenges with finding any
qualified employees, " she said. " So it doesn't make good
business sense to turn away a qualified candidate no matter
the person's gender, race or background. Implementing a
diversity program is a good idea in concept, but it's important to acknowledge that doing so may be difficult, especially
for smaller manufacturers. "
" D&I needs to be managed at a much broader level than
just having a standing committee, " Chinn pointed out.
" It's a shared responsibility across the workforce and must
become part of a company's culture. "
That doesn't mean there isn't value in dedicated committees and advisory groups within the company. " We
recognize that D&I challenges will vary by location and that

ILMA Compoundings - April 2021

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