What "Best in Diversity" Companies Do

By Jacqui Love Marshall

Each year, DiversityInc compares and ranks companies that apply for recognition as one of the top companies for diversity. According to DiversityInc, "Companies that earn spots on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list demonstrate consistent strength in the four areas the survey measures: CEO commitment, human capital, corporate and organizational communications, and supplier diversity."

Serious commitment from the CEO and top executives is vital to a company's ability to achieve and sustain tangible diversity results. A company's ability to align diversity goals with business outcomes is essential - it builds confidence among employees that diversity is not simply "lip service," but will hold through market highs and lows. That confidence leads to company-wide actions and outcomes.

Diversity communications are also key. Consistent, recurring messages to employees, customers and the community telegraph that diversity is a core value and an essential business goal. Bank of America, ranked No. 3 on the Top 50 list for 2008, uses its intranet and broadcast network globally to reinforce its diversity commitment. These communications reaffirm diversity goals and hold everyone accountable for their role in diversity success.

Within the four major strategy areas cited by DiversityInc, top companies deploy proven diversity strategies:

Workforce Diversity: Diversity recruitment, retention and promotion build diverse workforces. In-house training and mentoring programs help diversify a company's top ranks. Most ranked companies require diversity training for their employees. Coca-Cola Co., ranked No. 2 on the Top 50 list, has a Working Moms Mentoring Circle, at which members can discuss child-related issues and professional development for working mothers.
Employee Resource/Network/Affinity Groups: These groups leverage the experiences and skills of their respective subgroups to strengthen internal understanding, to offer employee feedback, to reach new recruits and customers and to share market insights and ideas. Thirty-four percent of American Express's workforce belongs to 11 affinity groups, many that have existed for more than 10 years within the company.
Vendor/Supplier Diversity: Ensuring diversity among a company's vendor/supplier pool is an essential diversity strategy and broadens the network for recruitment. Procter & Gamble, ranked No. 5, demonstrates worldwide commitment to diversity by refusing to do business in countries that don't adhere to P&G's human rights values and works to change laws in these countries.

Over years, important lessons have emerged from these top-ranked companies. A core lesson shared by all: the days of total company assimilation - where everyone must think and act the same - are gone. Today's diversity embraces a wide range of differences - racial, cultural, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities and disabilities, and generational - and recognizes these differences among employers, customers, suppliers and the broader marketplace.