Q&A with Bank of America's Geri Thomas, with exclusive audio content

Web exclusive - Building the business case for diversity

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• Valuing cultural and workforce diversity
• Nine myths of diversity and inclusion

In late 2000, seven employees of Georgia Power, a subsidiary of the Southern Company, alleged the company used systematic patterns of racial discrimination, including allegations of unequal pay, unequal access to promotion and unequal job sanctions for African-American employees. A federal judge denied the case's class-action status in 2002 and dismissed the lawsuit on summary judgment.

It would be easy to say the damage already was done. But even before the lawsuit was filed, Georgia Power President and CEO David Ratcliffe recognized the importance of diversity and inclusion, and placed the initiatives at the top of the company's priority list.

There is a moral to the story, one that Georgia Power, as well as companies across the country, hold true – until a company is able to manage and leverage diversity and inclusion into its leadership and organizational culture, there can be no sustainability for its initiatives.

Frank McCloskey knows all about how diversity can impact the way a company approaches its employee and management training techniques. As Georgia Power's VP of diversity, he had a first-hand look at what happens when employees start scrutinizing what they perceive is different than what the company handbook states.

McCloskey says the experience helped Georgia Power solidify its diversity initiative. "If people hold themselves accountable to the principals of diversity initiatives and apply them over time, they can build inclusion and trust," he says. "But remember, you can have fair systems; you can increase representations. But if you don't build a culture of trust and inclusion across all dimensions of a company, an organization will not benefit from having representation of race and gender."

You want diversity? Start from the beginning. In the simplest terms, diversity is variety – different ethnicities, races and genders, and different ways of thinking represented within a workforce at every level (think equality from the mailroom to the boardroom). Diversity experts maintain while representation is the backbone of a strong corporate diversity program, it is not a critical measuring stick. The bottom line is that companies must view diversity and inclusion as something much richer and all encompassing.

Today, many organizations are swimming in a sea of diversity and are just beginning to approach it in that non-representation sense. That means teaching a company's leadership how to manage and leverage diversity through quality decisions and strategic diversity management. To succeed, diversity and inclusion must begin with a clearly stated commitment from senior leadership that involves tangible goals, accountability and oversight by the management group. Success also means maintaining an ongoing commitment to training and education, and consistent communications around the strategy.

In the end, diversity must be institutionalized into everything a company does. "A clear commitment from leadership is the catalyst," says Steve Bucherati, chief diversity officer for The Coca-Cola Co. "Without such a commitment, it's hard to make any real headway. The process is about building a culture where everybody in the organization understands the breadth of diversity, not just race and gender. It's about creating an inclusive environment where nobody feels left out and everybody knows they have a right to contribute."

Bucherati says a company can strategize and measure its diversity and inclusion initiatives through three steps:

1. Recognize differences
2. Represent differences
3. Leverage differences

"A company must look very deeply into all of its programs to ensure it is promoting the fact that everybody is on a level playing field," he says. "You cannot leave any stone uncovered. Sometimes you have to face the music. And let's face it, sometimes that music is not always good."

Coca-Cola recently placed No. 4 on Diversity Inc.'s "Top 50 Companies for Diversity list." The company was cited for its unbiased retention in the work force and management across race, ethnicity and gender. At Coca-Cola, 52 percent of female new hires are women of color, compared with 44 percent for the Top 50. Thirty-two percent of managers are people of color, compared with 25 percent for the Top 50. It ties 20 percent of management bonuses to diversity success and makes diversity training mandatory for everybody, which only 58 percent of Top 50 companies do.

‘Bring your whole self to work'

When it comes to diversity, strategists like to refer to the term, "bring your whole self to work." Simply put, employees will be more productive, more efficient and happier in an environment where they believe they have equal opportunity to achieve personal success and contribute to the growth of the company.

And while that concept may be easier said than done, it does work. Take Bank of America, which was named the No. 1 company for diversity on Diversity Inc.'s list. The bank's diversity efforts include recruitment and retention; charitable giving; supplier selection; and providing products and services that meet the financial needs of its diverse customer and client base.

One of its diversity keys is the corporate Global Diversity and Inclusion Council, which includes senior leaders from the bank's major business and support units. The council is charged with developing and implementing diversity initiatives supporting Bank of America's core values and for actively promoting an inclusive work environment.

The bank also has Diversity Business Councils, which help build skills and address diversity and inclusion issues within their respective businesses; Affinity Groups, which help network, mentor and encourage employee development and success; and the Team Bank of America Diversity Network, a community volunteer organization of current and retired associates.

"It all comes back to the individual," says Geri Thomas, Bank of America's SVP of human resources and global diversity and inclusion executive. "They have to have that feeling of, ‘I get to bring my whole self to work. I get to contribute based on me, who I am. I don't have to be like everybody else.'"

Thomas says that like every company, Bank of America has a fundamental set of values to which every employee adheres. "If you cannot engage around our company values, then you don't have to be here," she says. "One of those values is inclusive meritocracy, which affords our employees the opportunity to come here and be who they are and contribute. That's what we are looking for. We want the value of those differences because we feel it will position us better as a company."

There is another important reason to keep your employees happy and motivated. Winning the talent war in a work force glutted by exiting baby boomers will continue to play a critical role to companies, large and small, over the next decade. "You have to create an environment where people want to work," Bucherati says. "That baby boomer bubble means there is going to be far fewer qualified people. At Coca-Cola, we're serious about our intentions to have an unfair share of the talent pool."

Sharon S. Hall says understanding, managing and leveraging cultural age differences will be a critical factor for companies competing for talent.

There basically are four generations of employees in today's workforce: veterans (age 60 years and above); baby boomers (ages 43-61); Gen Xers (age 25-40); and Gen Yers (age 14-25). Each group carries a set of ideals and beliefs that must be understood before they are managed, especially the last two.

"Diversity is learning to manage these differences," says Hall, a consultant and a member of executive search consulting firm Spencer Stuart's global practices, which includes human resources, consumer goods and services, and co-founder of its Diversity Practice. "It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Today, diversity is about mentality, age, where you live, etc. On the scale of all the issues you have to pick from, at least race and gender are the beasts you know."

Hall says there are not enough Gen Xers and Gen Yers to replace the number of baby boomers who will be retiring. Look at this way: You have 100 baby boomers, with 90 of them retiring. You may only have 45 people to replace the 90. Of the 45, there might be 25 who have the proper training and exposure to fill those slots. Of those 25, you are vying for three who fit in.

"You better learn how to engage these groups or you're going to be in big trouble," Hall says. "They think completely different than anything you and I were ever exposed to. What have they seen? They've seen Dad work for the same company for 25 years and then get put out of his company. They have seen companies take Daddy's and Mommy's pension away. They want to be happy –& #160;period. That way of thinking wasn't in the baby boomers' vocabulary. They did whatever it took to get the job done.

"Our kids have seen that this doesn't work," she continues. "Health wise, they're watching us drop like flies – obesity, heart disease, strokes, heart attacks ... They're saying, ‘I don't think so.' They want to claim back all that the boomers gave. If you don't know how this group thinks, you're done."

Beyond the ‘comfort zone'

The new movement is well underway. You want work forces dynamics. How many of your employees work from home or want to work from home? More of today's companies are changing how they measure performances. "How you use space – hoteling people in offices, setting up people to work from home, trusting they're going to get the job done, will all be critical going forward," Hall says. "You can't clock the hours, let alone clock the measurements. This presents a host of really complex and dynamic issues. Companies have to create real formal policies about this. That's today's diversity."

Sometimes executives support diversity programs if for no other reason they believe it's the right thing to do. There's no question diversity is better rooted at some companies than others. As one consultant says, "Executives aren't always sure there's a concrete, absolute case for diversity, if they're looking for a quid pro quo from a narrow standpoint."

In other cases, it's easier to see why diversity makes good business sense, to tap into certain markets and generate the broadest range of ideas. But even in the absence of an obvious case, there are other reasons for a diversity program.

It's easy for a senior executive to say the company's goal is to hire and retain the best individuals from all backgrounds. But just saying so doesn't get the job done. Ideally, organizations must create relationships that respect mutual interests and maintain a culture of inclusion, expressed internally through workplace diversity and externally through partnerships.

McCloskey says one of the biggest challenges any diversity initiative faces is overcoming a management's "comfort zone." The executives who traditionally have been in leadership roles are white males. Helping them expand their leadership capabilities to manage across all race, gender and ethnicity is key to a successful diversity initiative.

Georgia Power is implementing a set of initiatives to improve management skills, from how to manage conflict and communications abilities, to finding high potentials. The company has made a commitment to doing a better job of teaching how to explain the "here's why" of a decision and/or behavior, and how to give and receive feedback.

"The ultimate level of success of a company's diversity and inclusion initiatives is that relationship between a supervisor and individual employee," McCloskey says. "An employee is always going to find a difference in what the company says and what it does. Ultimately, managers who can manage across those differences will succeed. It's a matter of, ‘I'm going to adapt to you, instead of you adapting to me.'

"If you're going to succeed as a leader, you're going to have to help the people who work for you, regardless of race or gender," he adds. "You must get a sense of what it's like from the other person's perspective to work in your organization. If you don't, you're not fulfilling your responsibility as a supervisor. If you do, that's how you begin to develop a trust factor and strategy for professional development."

Making diversity routine

The key to making diversity works is consistency. The management of workforce diversity should be treated as a business initiative and not a human resource or personnel department initiative. Good managers incorporate diversity management into day-to-day business processes.

Diversity awareness may start with and include management courses. But eventually, it should be incorporated into the company's normal leadership training or mentoring programs. For example, while a company initially may find it necessary to initiate special accountability measures to achieve diversity objectives, eventually accountability should be built into its normal appraisal and reward systems.

If a company is managing by results (as most do these days), it may be advantageous to build diversity and diversity management into its mission statements, business objectives and strategies.

Take UPS, which has a number of training programs, Web sites and internal strategies that keep diversity in the forefront. Every UPS employee knows the term "constructive dissatisfaction," an internal phrase that allows for open discussion of issues and problems with supervisors on a first name basis, devoid of titles and/or positions.

"There's no complaining around here, just a matter of being constructively dissatisfied," muses Linda Adams, VP of operations for UPS in southeast Texas and a chair of the company's customer/supplier subcommittee diversity council. "These types of conversations become more of an active discussion – how do we approach this? – instead of a singular decision. The ability to bring very difficult issues out into the open for discussion is a very healthy attribute in an organization."

At UPS, diversity is an active process. The company views diversity as the cornerstone of the organization thanks to such long-standing company policies as employee ownership, equal opportunity, promotion from within and teamwork. "When we look at how we install a commitment to diversity, we're really looking at the very early stages of someone's employment and their career in management as a building block of who they will be," Adams says.

"We don't wait until they are leaders and talk about valuing diversity and inclusion – it starts in the beginning. And then as we are promoted, we use those building blocks of education and training schools. We have a supervisor's leadership school and a new supervisor's orientation, which are all built into these early programs.

"We have a manager leadership program and a leadership academy," she adds. "They are not all necessarily training courses that deal with or educate about diversity, but they have diversity built into everything that we do. The approach, the language, the communication is very inclusive."

The company's policy book is another educational tool built into the culture. All employees receive training in UPS policies, which encourage an atmosphere of respect.

These policies include: operating on a personal basis founded on teamwork and first-name relationships; promotion from within; practicing objective, careful hiring methods; encouraging and assisting employee development by communicating regularly with employees; providing training opportunities and recognizing accomplishments; compensating employees fairly and maintaining a safe work environment; shunning favoritism; and respecting each employee's point of view.

The strategy of global diversity

Global diversity isn't just a human resources issue, but a business strategy that embraces many elements. It is a mix of people skills and cultures that challenge traditional thinking. The 21st century reality is that businesses are increasingly global, be it their workforce, suppliers or customers.

There is much involved in creating an environment of broader metrics that links a company's diversity program to effective business outcomes, beyond standard HR strategies of training and educational evaluations, customer surveys, accountability assessments, etc.

While the focus must be on building a successful internal diversity practice, companies want diversity to mirror the differences within society.

Effective diversity programs must stay in touch with the outside world and positevely contribute to the economic advancement of the communities the company touches.

UPS has an interesting approach to global diversity. The company doesn't view the world as domestic or non-domestic, but as UPS, which is everywhere. Its commitment to diversity is how and where it does business.

At Coca-Cola, diversity is focused on recognizing and advancing traditional U.S.-based objectives as well as the center for a global operation. It works to ensure its diversity efforts and workforce reflect the global perspective necessary to achieve success in a multicultural world.

Bucherati remembers a trip with Neville Isdell in which the outgoing Coca-Cola chairman and CEO was asked to define the company's diversity strategy. "We want to be as inclusive as our brands," Isdell said. The company's global vision is to leverage the diverse ideas, talents and capabilities of its entire workforce.

This "Diversity as Business" approach strives to connect the company and its brands to its globally diverse consumer and customer base. The company reinforces this philosophy around what it calls the Four C's: commitment, communication, culture and consumption.

Say Bucherati, "Sometimes, the simplest approach speaks volumes to what you are trying to do."