making diversity work in your organization - training strategies

Four top HR leaders from EarthLink, Builders FirstSource, TheWeather Channel, and Teacher Retirement System of Texasshare their expertise on:

Making Diversity Work in Your Organization:Training Strategies

Kenneth UhligChief People Officer, EVP of Human Resources, EarthLink

Bobby QuintenDirector of Human Resources, Builders FirstSource

Lisa ChangExecutive Vice President, Human Resources, The Weather Channel

Annette DominguezDirector, Human Resources, Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Effective diversity initiatives begin with self-knowledge: under-standing the company culture, the customers you serve, andthe goals of the executive team. Any diversity policies and train-

ing must emerge from this understanding. The way diversity is definedvaries greatly from organization to organization, and one of HR’smost important tasks is to create a definition and vision of diversitythat is aligned with the vision of the executive team, the demandsof the customer base, and the culture of the organization. In this way,diversity can be more than just a code of conduct; it can become awhole new way of looking at the company’s structure, process, andfuture. It means the creation of a work environment that embracesdifferences as drivers of innovation and discovery. It can motivateemployees to perform more effectively and creatively and positionthe company for long-term success. ■

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Action Points

I. Making Diversity Fit YourOrganizationOne of the best practices for conductingeffective diversity training is to have it be in harmony with your organizationalculture.

II. The Bottom LineAttracting and retaining talented, diverseemployees who interact freely andopenly is critical.

III. Must-Haves for Effective DiversityTrainingUniversal training, a business-focusedcurriculum, and cultural sensitivity are all key.

IV. The Golden Rules for UniversalDiversity Buy-InBegin with a broad but specific definition of diversity. Ensure that seniormanagers participate fully. Focus on the business case for diversity. Makeyour objectives appropriate for the business.

V. Essential Take-AwaysDiversity is no longer optional — it hasbecome a must-have for every organization. Successful diversity programs begin with knowing the audience.

Contents

About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.2

Kenneth Uhlig. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.3

Bobby Quinten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.6

Lisa Chang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.9

Annette Dominguez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.12

Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points . . . p.15

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© Books24x7, 2006 About the Authors ExecBlueprints 2

About the Authors

As EarthLink’s chief people officer, KenUhlig leads the company’s humanresources organization in support of

EarthLink’s goals and priorities. In his more than20 years in the human resources field, Mr. Uhlighas gained extensive corporate experience deal-ing with such complex issues as company start-ups, explosive growth, restructuring, mergers andacquisitions, and their impact on a company’sworkforce.

Prior to joining EarthLink in 2003, Mr. Uhligwas head of human resources for Equant, an

international provider of managed data networkservices, where he managed global recruitment,total rewards, organizational development, andeffectiveness, among other human resource ini-tiatives. In addition, Mr. Uhlig spent more thana decade as a high-ranking international humanresources executive at Nortel Networks, a worldleader in voice, data, wireless, and optical net-works. While at Nortel Networks, Mr. Uhlig livedand worked in Asia Pacific, Europe, and NorthAmerica as Nortel built its international presenceworldwide.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Uhlig held an arrayof progressively more senior human resourcemanagement roles for NCR Corporation, a lead-ing producer of computers, semiconductors, andPOS terminals.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska atOmaha and former high school teacher andwrestling coach, Mr. Uhlig is an avid tennis playerand supporter of youth athletics.


☛ Read Ken’s insights on Page 3

Bobby Quinten manages the training func-tion for Builders FirstSource, a $2.3 billionbuilding materials supplier headquartered

in Dallas, Texas. He supports 6,700 employeesat manufacturing and distribution facilities in 11states through leadership development, sales

coaching, diversity training, and employee communications.

Mr. Quinten has been a corporate perform-ance consultant for over 10 years, including timewith financial services companies Countrywide

and First Horizon. He and his wife, Mary, livein Mansfield, Texas.


☛ Read Bobby’s insights on Page 6

Lisa Chang is executive vice president ofhuman resources for The Weather Channel.In this capacity, she oversees all human

resources functions for the company and is alsoresponsible for developing and executing theorganization’s people initiatives. She is a mem-ber of the company’s executive committee andreports to Debora Wilson, president of TheWeather Channel Inc.

Prior to her current role, Ms. Chang was vicepresident of Desktop Weather for The WeatherChannel Interactive Inc. (TWCi), the interactivebusiness of The Weather Channel Companies Inc.In this position she had overall responsibility forleading and managing the core team responsiblefor developing desktop and other non-browserapplication platform weather products.

Before moving to the interactive side of thebusiness, Ms. Chang was vice president of human

resources for The Weather Channel. Ms. Changjoined The Weather Channel in 1998 as direc-tor of compensation and benefits, where she hadresponsibility for overseeing all compensation andbenefits programs for The Weather Channel and its subsidiaries which, at the time, includedThe Weather Channel cable network,weather.com, and The Weather Channel - LatinAmerica. Ms. Chang and her team were creditedwith implementing competitive and unique ben-efit programs that were designed to promote anemployee and family-friendly work environment.The Weather Channel has been named to theWomen in Cable & Telecommunications’ list of“Best Programmers for Women” for the pastthree years.

Ms. Chang has an M.B.A. from MercerUniversity’s Stetson School of Business and a B.A.in communications from the University of

Virginia. She is currently on the executive boardof the Cable & Telecommunications HumanResources Association (CTHRA), the EmmaBowen Foundation (for Minority Interests inMedia) Board, and on the Board of LEAP(Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics). Shealso previously served on the Board of the Atlanta Chapter of Women in Cable andTelecommunications (WICT).

Ms. Chang recently received the NAMIC(National Association of Multi-ethnicity inCable) Luminary Award for her work and support of diversity in the industry.


☛ Read Lisa’s insights on Page 9

Anative Texan, Annette Dominguez wasborn in Ft. Worth and raised inWashington D.C., Rome, Italy, and

Galveston TX. She is a graduate of TheUniversity of Texas at Austin, where she studiedorganizational psychology and human resourcemanagement. She has served in various profes-sional positions in human resources in Texas gov-ernment. She has also served as an HR consultantto the non-profit sector. Ms. Dominguez has prac-ticed in the HR profession for about 20 years andhas specialized in start-ups for new human

resources programs for much of that time. Sherecently left the Texas Parks and WildlifeDepartment, where she served as humanresources director, to join the executive team at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas asdirector of human resources.

Ms. Dominguez has served in several com-mittee leadership roles in the non-profit sectorwhere workforce diversity is a priority. She haspublished and authored various papers, articles,and reports on future workforce trends, diversity, and human resources issues of the future.

She has spoken and presented on these issues atvarious seminars and conferences across the U.Sand in Canada. Most recently she has served ona panel of experts for a workforce diversity con-ference, hosted by General Colin Powell (Ret.), andsponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Ms. Dominguez is committed to communityvolunteering and has served on the governingboards for a number of non-profit agencies.


☛ Read Annette’s insights on Page 12

Primary ConcernsOur primary concern regardingdiversity in our organization isproviding education for ouremployees. Many people don’tunderstand what diversity truly is.For us, diversity means under-standing differences. It’s a businessimperative.

We have a social responsibility.Our biggest concern is creating acompany that reflects our customerpopulation. Even our slate of vendors is as diverse as possible.

Increasing DiversityWe do a lot of tracking with hir-ing. We try to ensure that ourrecruiting process yields a diverseslate. We never hire to fill quotas;our key strategy is to have a slateof diverse candidates who can com-pete against each other. Some man-agers only interview people wholook like they do. We consider everyqualified candidate that is availableinternally or externally.

We just appointed an individualto be our diversity leader. We’reworking through an educationprocesses and identifying the inclu-sion groups we want to consider.We’re in the midst of formalizingour diversity initiatives, and stepone was appointing leadership inthe form of a project manager.

Diversity TrainingAround 10 to 15 percent of our cur-rent training programs deal withsome aspect of diversity. In the nextsix months, we’re going to do a lotof work with focus groups tounderstand the needs of ouremployees concerning diversity. We have 2,000 employees in majorcenters, so we don’t want to just

throw something out there. Wewant to develop a better under-standing of what our employeesneed and what they understandabout diversity.

Approximately 10 percent of ourtraining and development budget isdevoted to diversity training. Everyemployee has had some diversitytraining. We have talked to ouremployees about our philosophies,strategies, behaviors, and codes, butwe’re still scratching the surface.

Our future training efforts aregoing to be broad-based. We wantto offer an introduction to diversity.We want to enhance the knowledgeand capability of our employees bycommunicating the fact that differ-ences are important and the way wereact to diversity and address prob-lems can affect the way we run ourbusiness.

ChallengesThere are some challengesinvolved in rolling out diversitytraining. Everybody tends to focuson their particular area of diver-sity, so one group wants to talkabout issues in which other groupsaren’t interested. After we conduct broad-based diversitytraining, we can drill down to specific inclusion groups.

There is a lot of emotion behindthe initial implementation of diver-sity programs. We’re trying to geta broader understanding of the

impact of diversity and explain whyawareness is so positive for the peo-ple in the company. People person-alize diversity issues, and we haveto try to detach emotion and focusemployees on the initial businessimperatives.

© Books24x7, 2006 Kenneth Uhlig ExecBlueprints 3

Kenneth UhligChief People Officer,

EVP of Human ResourcesEarthLink

“EarthLink has a very diverse customerbase and we have to represent themosaic of our customers’ cultures,races, sexual orientations, and religiousbeliefs.”

• More than 20 years in the humanresources field

• Experience with NCR Corporation,Equant, and Nortel Networks

• Extensive corporate experience withsuch issues as company start-ups,explosive growth, restructuring, andM&A

Mr. Uhlig can be emailed [email protected]


People personalize diversity issues, and we haveto try to detach emotion and focus employees onthe initial business imperatives.

Kenneth Uhlig

Chief People Officer, EVP of Human Resources

EarthLink

Key ElementsThe executive team has to gothrough diversity training soemployees recognize that the ini-tiatives are coming from a businessperspective. It’s good business prac-tice to avoid making diversity train-ing a sociology exercise. We’reconcerned about the engagement

and productivity of our employees,so we have to approach diversityfrom a business perspective withexecutive buy-in.

It is important to begin diversitytraining efforts with a broad defi-nition that covers many differentareas. This type of approach elim-inates some of the emotions that are

often present in diversity programs.At the end of the day, we are hereto run a business and diversity is abusiness imperative. Happier andmore productive employees willlead to a more successful company.

Analyzing ROIROI for diversity training is difficultto quantify, but it can often be seenin turnover. There are many con-sumer groups out there today thatwill buy from your company. TheHuman Rights Council will do sur-veys on domestic partner benefits,same-sex partner benefits, and other subjects. Publications noteAfrican-American-friendly compa-nies, gay/lesbian-friendly companies,Hispanic-friendly companies, andother ethnic-friendly organizations.

If you really want to trackturnover, buying, and demograph-ics, then it is possible to do so.Consumers are very finicky. If theyknow that you practice diversityand have a mosaic workforce that’srepresentative of your customerbase, it will improve your sales.

Hiring AbroadEarthLink is basically a domesticcompany. We have outsourced callcenters in India, the Philippines, andPanama. We have put together


Kenneth UhligChief People Officer, EVP of Human Resources, EarthLink (continued)

We try to link training to our behaviors, expectations, business ethics, andcode of conduct. We can’t just put a diversity program out there by itself;we need connecting points that are centered around our core values andbeliefs. Training has to be connected to our business ethics program and other key programs as they relate to our total employment brand.

Kenneth Uhlig

Chief People Officer, EVP of Human Resources

EarthLink

Foundations of Effective Training

Broaddefinition

of diversity

Focus onbusiness perspective

Executive participation

More productive company

international partnerships and wehave people traveling to interna-tional locations, but right now we do not have people workinginternationally.

Only 1 percent of our hiring isdone abroad. In the next year, thatfigure may increase to 2 to 3 per-cent because we’re going to putmore resident EarthLink employeesin our international call centers.India and the Philippines have been

our primary areas of focus for inter-national recruiting over the pastthree years. They offer superiorpricing and quality of outsourcedvendors.

There are some challenges in hir-ing employees abroad. People thinkthat just because they speak English, they’re great employees. In reality, they still need to work on understanding the culturalnuances. We do not modify our

company code of ethics for local dif-ferences. We think that we shouldcarry our beliefs and behaviors intoother countries and not waiver fromour ethical standpoint. When acompany is thinking about recruit-ing in a certain region for the firsttime, it needs to thoroughly explorepay practices, taxation laws,employee relations, and culturalmores. ■


Kenneth UhligChief People Officer, EVP of Human Resources, EarthLink (continued)

Examples of DiversityInitiativesWe are an Affirmative Actionemployer. One of the things that wehave done quite well in recent yearsis to put together our AffirmativeAction program throughout theorganization. We are much moreheavily involved in diversity-hiringpublications and diversity-based jobfairs than ever before.

From a training initiative, thereare two important things for us inthe diversity arena. One is that Ihighly value teaching respect for alldifferences. For example, I will takepeople through various questions toillustrate the many differences wehave in the room, but I don’t talkabout race, gender, age, or religion.Instead, I ask about how many peo-ple prefer to have toilet tissue to rollover the top rather than fromunder the bottom, because that isthe kind of thing that can cause riftsin marriages. For some people, howthe tissue rolls out is a big deal. Byspotlighting simple little things likethat, I help people understand thateverybody is different.

The moment someone says tohim- or herself that he or she doesn’t want to work with anyonedifferent, he will be very lonely,because we are all different. Giveme 40 people of the same gender,race, and age, and I will find a hundred differences among them.

The point is that everyone deservesrespect at work for who they are,because everyone is different.

I get 100 percent hands raised inthe air when I ask if people want tobe respected for who they are atwork, and of course everyone does.We do not focus on certain groupsof people, but rather, diversity is allof us. It is about all of us, becausewe all want respect, so we build thetraining initiative around thatrespect. We help people to see it andunderstand the differences in all ofus. We help them realize that thebottom line is that we are here todo a job and work together to getthe job done. I don’t care what peo-ple think on Sunday afternoons, butI do care that when they are herethey are able to work with peopleto be productive. We have builtaround that, and we also demon-strate what happens when it goeswrong, which is the discrimina-tion/harassment area. We help people to understand that it isbecause we don’t respect people anddon’t respect the differences thatthese things happen.

Currently, the diversity trainingis wrapped into our leadershiptraining, so we spend about 50 per-cent of our budget on combinedleadership/diversity training. Wehave done initiatives in the past (andwe will probably do so in the future)with the employee base, the non-supervisory employees, but at themoment the concentration is on ourleaders. I think that will change inthe future; we will try to do morewith our front-line employees.

Right now, primarily because ofturnover, maybe 75 percent ofemployees at the highest level havebeen through some form of ourdiversity training, whether it is

through the leadership program orthe front-line diversity training.

Bringing in outside consultants isdefinitely a possibility for futurediversity training. One of the thingsthat I always look at with outsidevendors for whatever training thatwe are considering is whether whatthey do fits our culture, our mission,and our mission values. I also liketo ensure that it fits what ouremployees expect and are used to.If there is someone out there whocan fill that need and provide us

© Books24x7, 2006 Bobby Quinten ExecBlueprints 6

Bobby QuintenDirector of Human Resources

Builders FirstSource

“One growing challenge for us isensuring that everyone in a national, ethnic, or people group in our company understands the message, feels that their differencesare celebrated, and respects the differences of others.”

• Over ten years of experience as acorporate performance consultant

• $2.3 billion building materials supplier; 6,700 employees in 11 states

• Experience with financial servicescompanies Countrywide and FirstHorizon

Mr. Quinten can be emailed [email protected]


For our business,successful diversityprograms begin withknowing the audience.

Bobby Quinten

Director of Human ResourcesBuilders FirstSource

that kind of expertise and resource,we will certainly examine them.

Challenges of DiversityProgramsFor our business, successful diver-sity programs begin with knowingthe audience. The cardinal rule oftraining is to know your audience,who they are, and how they think.It’s also important to know some-thing about their background andexperiences in order to tailor whatyou are doing — because if youdon’t connect, you haven’t doneanything. All of our diversity mes-sages — in our employee handbook,our brochures, our posters — mustbe geared toward knowing ouraudience. Our goal is to help themto understand from their standpointand from the standpoint of what is in it for them and what we aretrying to accomplish.

A crucial aspect of our diversitytraining has been helping people tothink differently. It is not alwayseasy. I always tell people that we are not here to change people;

we are here to change behavior.Diversity training probably comesclosest to trying to change people,because there is a sense in whichyou are battling against, perhaps,deep-seated prejudices and thingslearned in childhood, plus experi-ences that they had in life. All ofthat affects how people view theirneighbors. Diversity training prob-ably comes as close as I ever get totrying to change a person’s way ofthinking in the workplace, and thatmakes it very challenging. I am nota person who believes that I am here to change you, but this comesclose.

I reconcile this belief by viewingit strictly from a workplace stand-point. I make the point in trainingslike this to say that it is not my placeto tell you who you ought to be and how you ought to think whenyou are not here, but I will tell youthat in this work environment,there are certain things that BuildersFirstSource values. One of those isrespect, and I always try to cap itfrom their standpoint. When I have100 percent agreement in the

room that all of us want to berespected, that is the starting point.Everyone always wants to berespected at work, and here is howwe will achieve that. By couching itfrom their perspective, informingthem of what is in it for them, andensuring that they understand thatwe are not concerned with who theyare on weekends, I can educatethem on what is acceptable while atwork. It is a fine line.

The Core Issue of DiversityWe believe in inclusion and tolerance,but we insist on taking it a stepdeeper — because to me, tolerancejust means that I put up with you.We want our employees to gen-uinely respect one another for whothey are. For me, that is a muchdeeper thing than inclusion and tol-erance, because ultimately if thereis no respect, that will come out atsome point. It is very difficult forpeople to work together withouteventually exposing one person’stotal disrespect for someone else.We want people to understand


Bobby QuintenDirector of Human Resources, Builders FirstSource (continued)

One of the things that we pay quite a bit of attention to is the type ofcomplaints that we receive. We regularly examine the types of complaintsthat come in, such as letters sent to management, or employee hotlinecalls. The second thing we use to benchmark progress is our annualEEO1 report. Senior management has meetings every year revolvingaround that report, because it describes where we are and where we wantto go with diversity hiring in the future. Those are two big things that wemeasure and that get a lot of attention, because they tell us exactly wherewe are today and give us an idea of where we need to go. The feedbacktells us where things may be going wrong at the moment and allows us tofix it.

Bobby Quinten

Director of Human ResourcesBuilders FirstSource

that it is not just about putting upwith each other. It is about ensur-ing that everyone receives the same information and news, andhas the same opportunities foradvancement and promotion.

It is about respect — somethingevery single one of us wants and

deserves — and it is about provid-ing a work environment that is notjust tolerant but is also productive.It is about a work environment thatcelebrates and embraces differ-ences, that understands that differences breed innovative thinking,creativity, and new ways of looking

at things. That is our end goal. If westop at inclusion and tolerance, thatis good, but we have not taken ourwork environment to its most pro-ductive, innovative, and creativelevel. You reach that goal by fostering respect. ■


Bobby QuintenDirector of Human Resources, Builders FirstSource (continued)

Increasing DiversityOne of the areas of current focus forus regarding diversity is ensuringdiverse representation across alldimensions. We want to ensure thatour employee base is representativeof the shifting demographics.Companies that understand andembrace the necessity of diversitywill have the competitive advantage.

In our organization our diversityefforts are referred to as “LeveragingDifference.” The Weather Channeland its parent company LandmarkCommunications are committed to leveraging difference. The key togrowing our company is attractingand retaining talented, diverseemployees who interact freely andopenly with one another in a culturethat reflects our principles and corecharacteristics and behaviors, andwho value the expression of alternative points of view.

One of the ways in which we tryto increase awareness of and lever-age diversity in our organization isthrough our diversity council.Several subcommittees help usincrease our visibility in the organ-ization. The committee is chaired byour president, and other seniorleaders in the organization chaireach of the subcommittees.Subcommittees include events, com-munications, outreach, resources,and strategic projects. Each sub-committee has outlined their keyobjectives: for example, the outreachsubcommittee is responsible for

developing partnerships with organ-izations in the marketplace and theindustry for the purpose of recruit-ing, building awareness, and networking.

We also have an annual leverag-ing difference (diversity) surveythat helps us gauge our organiza-tion’s commitment level andprogress against diversity.

Diversity TrainingAll of our employees are requiredto attend diversity training. The cur-riculum for our diversity training isdeveloped jointly through the helpof our parent company and ourinternal training and developmentstaff. Our leveraging differencecouncil and the various subcom-mittees also help us identify train-ing needs. This is another fluidprocess where needs are identifiedon an ongoing basis.

We try to customize our trainingbased on where we are organiza-tionally. Our parent company alsoplays an active role in helping usgauge our success. We share a lot ofinformation with Landmark andthey share a lot of information withus to make sure we are aligned andon the same page.

For example, we just recentlytrained our entire organization onconflict management — an initiativethat came out of our diversityefforts. All employees attended amanaging conflict training curricu-

lum. Through the course of ourdiversity efforts, we identified thatour organization does not dealwith conflict particularly well.We’re a nice organization, and as aresult, we are not comfortable handling situations of conflict.

We became concerned that ouraversion to dealing with conflictcould become problematic in ourdiversity efforts. The tendency foravoidance, layered with people fromdifferent backgrounds, ethnicities,and value systems could create adivisive and non-collaborative envi-ronment. To address these concernswe developed a training programthat explored various personal styles

© Books24x7, 2006 Lisa Chang ExecBlueprints 9

Lisa ChangExecutive Vice President, Human Resources

The Weather Channel

“Diversity is no longer a nice-to-have —it’s a must-have.”

• Received NAMIC Luminary Awardfor work and support of diversity

• Joined company in 1998

• Sits on executive board of the Cable& Telecommunications HumanResources Association

• Company among Women in Cable & Telecommunications’ “BestProgrammers for Women” for thepast three years

Ms. Chang can be emailed [email protected]


Like all good role models, leaders in theorganization must walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Lisa Chang

Executive Vice President, Human ResourcesThe Weather Channel

of handling conflict. The course wasdesigned to help educate ouremployees about the sensitivitiespeople need to be aware of whenthey enter into a conflict situation.The awareness alone helped us bet-ter equip our employees with toolsto approach conflict in a more positive manner.

Conflict can be positive if chan-neled properly; because out of con-flict can come better ideas. We wantpeople to engage in healthy conflictand challenge each other with thegoal of making it better. Healthy

conflict can also lead to more opencommunications.

ChallengesThe primary challenge in rolling outdiversity training is getting buy-in.It is important that the senior man-agement of the company supportthe training initiative and doesn’tjust give it lip service. Like all goodrole models, leaders in the organi-zation must walk the walk, not justtalk the talk.

You must make sure your organ-ization understands the business

case for diversity training. There arealways cynics who will criticize thereasons for providing diversitytraining, but in the end you need tomake sure employees understandthat there’s a good business reasonas well.

Benchmarking and ROIWe conduct annual surveys to helpgauge our progress against ourdiversity efforts. I believe that thefluency of an organization is indi-vidual to each company, so we lookat our success annually. We want to


Lisa ChangExecutive Vice President, Human Resources, The Weather Channel (continued)

Identify needs on an ongoing basis

Customize training based on organizational goals

Partner with parent organizations to guide direction

Understand goals and company weaknessess

Increase employee awareness through training

Create a more robust organization

Business-Focused Diversity Training

know how many more peopleresponded that they understand ourinitiative and how we will benefitas a result. We need our employeesto understand that diversity train-ing is making a difference and benefiting the company.

It’s hard to do a company-to-company comparison on training,because we’re all in different places.We try to examine our effortsannually to get a sense of where weare compared to the prior year.

We’re still trying to figure outhow to calculate ROI for diversitytraining. We expect that ROI will bemeasured by having a more diverseand representative workforce that isbetter able to create products and services for our consumers. Andalthough an exact formula is diffi-cult to determine, we do know thatit is a business imperative.

The Role of VendorsWe have used vendors to help uswith some of our diversity trainingin the past; however, we are evolv-ing that work and doing more training ourselves. At this point in

our learning curve we need a morecustomized approach. Dependingon what we identify to be our nexthot button in diversity training, wemay seek support from other ven-dors. During the creation of ourconflict management training, weidentified a conflict management

feedback tool that was especiallyuseful in developing our trainingframework. It is helpful to look atthe work of others because thereare experts out there who spend alltheir time focused on best practicesin the areas of diversity training. ■


Lisa ChangExecutive Vice President, Human Resources, The Weather Channel (continued)

Each organization has a unique culture andacceptance level and a one-size-fits-all templatefor diversity training doesn’t work. It is importantto pay attention to where the organization is onthe learning curve when developing your diversitytraining. Some organizations are just gettingstarted and require more emphasis on the basicscomponents such as awareness where otherorganizations may be much more fluent andadvanced and may need training on other areassuch as communications. Diversity training has tobe customized based on the continuum oflearning.

Lisa Chang

Executive Vice President, Human ResourcesThe Weather Channel

Diversity GoalsOur diversity program was a proac-tive initiative, meaning we imple-mented it because it was the rightthing to do and the right time to doit. We had not experienced diversityproblems but we did not want tohave that experience either. We tookan organizational developmentapproach to diversity. We made surewe continued furthering diversityawareness, inclusiveness, andrespectful behavior on the part ofeveryone in the organization. Webegan by building a business casefor diversity to share with theexecutive team. This business casewas founded on the premise that wehad to be prepared for the chang-ing demographics among the mem-bers of our retirement system andthe workforce.

Texas has one of the most rap-idly changing demographics withHispanics now being a majority ofthe population. Most of our mem-bership is comprised of Texas resi-dents who are public educators.However, we also manage a trustfund of approximately $100 billion,which funds member retirement. Wemake investments all over theworld, and we have members of oursystem living on every continent ofthe world, so there is a global aspectto our business. Also, because someof our recruitment markets areglobal, we felt it was appropriate tostrengthen our diversity to providebetter service and to be more com-petitive in recruiting talent bothnationally as well as globally.

Defining DiversityWe researched how organizationsdefine diversity, then sat down withthe executive team and discussedwhat diversity means for our

organization, how they would defineit, what they believe to be the levelof diversity within the organization,and what level of diversity theywould like to see within the organ-ization. A diversity coordinatorposition and a diversity council with members from every area of theorganization were created to findways to increase diversity. Thecouncil determined that puttingdiversity front and center on allinternal and external publicationswas a priority because we need toreflect our diversity to our membersand customers. For example, thecover of our annual report depictedour diverse employee populationand within the pages there were pic-tures reflecting the diversity of ourmembership. The diversity councilalso instituted several different levelsof diversity awareness training.

Management-LevelDiversity TrainingThe first wave of training was formanagers and supervisors. Thisallowed them to explore personalbiases they may not have beenaware of through introspectivereflection. We all have personalbiases, but we teach our supervisorsto become aware of them in order torealize how they may unintention-ally affect behavior, actions, andperceptions. These in turn may

impact others both positively andnegatively. We also asked them toidentify behaviors that demon-strated an intolerance of others as well as behaviors that wereappreciative of others.

For example, a person mightshow intolerance of another byignoring and walking past them ina hallway while a person demon-strating appreciation of anotherwould smile or nod to showacknowledgement of the other per-son’s presence. Using those exam-ples, managers were asked to placethemselves on a continuum fromappreciation to intolerance (basedon how they believed they weretreated at work — they enjoy a veryappreciative environment). Then

© Books24x7, 2006 Annette Dominguez ExecBlueprints 12

Annette DominguezDirector, Human Resources

Teacher Retirement System of Texas

“The more we represent the demographic of our customer base, the better prepared we’ll be to servethem.”

• 20 years of experience in the HRprofession; has specialized in start-ups for new HR programs

• Former HR director for the TexasParks and Wildlife Department

• Served on a panel of experts for aworkforce diversity conference,hosted by Colin Powell

Ms. Dominguez can be emailed [email protected]


I believe inclusiveness is a vital component to adiversity program, and being keenly aware of itwill go a long way in curbing resistance andbacklash from those who might otherwise feelexcluded.

Annette Dominguez

Director, Human ResourcesTeacher Retirement System of Texas

they were asked to identify how anintolerant versus an appreciative cli-mate would affect the morale andproductivity of their team or indi-viduals on a team. It was a processthat gave them powerful insightsabout being respectful and inclusiveof others. Respect and inclusiveness are the cornerstones ofour diversity program.

Becoming a Change AgentBeyond the initial diversity training,we also launched training for man-agers and supervisors that focusedon building change agent skills. Itfocused on how to become a changeagent, how to foster change, andhow to step in and change intoler-ant behavior. We worked on build-ing managers’ confidence and skillson addressing difficult situationsthat arise when someone tells aderogatory joke or makes a deroga-tory comment about another cultureor race. The realities of launchinga diversity program were discussed,including the backlash that mayoccur if people become threatenedby the program, usually becausethey feel excluded. We taught ourmanagers how to listen to thoseconcerns without defensiveness orjudging the person voicing them.

The training program foremployees was similar to the oneprovided to managers, but wefocused the training more on howthe individual affects those aroundthem rather than how a manageraffects those reporting to him or her.The employee training programused different scenarios that focusedon both group and individual inter-actions. By December of last year,100 percent of our employees hadreceived diversity training. A majorcontributor to the success rate of

our training programs was that wehired a consultant to moderate theexercises. This allowed people tospeak freely, and candidly in the safeenvironment of a classroom. Wehad tremendous participation.

Measuring DiversityTraining Diversity accomplishments aremeasured in a number of ways. Oneis including questions as part of anemployee satisfaction survey that isadministered by the University ofTexas School of Social Work. Thesurvey measures many constructsbut also addresses how successfulwe have been in creating a culturethat values diversity, and is inclusiveand respectful of all. We must bepragmatic and determine if trainingadds value to the organization.Also, we prepare an annual diver-sity impact statement that addresseshow diversity training affects organizational change, and identifies

the accomplishment of the diversitycouncil. For example, we try to determine how inviting weappear as an organization to adiverse workforce, and whether weare attracting diverse applicantpools for our vacancies. We getfeedback from outside experts.

Diversity Training BudgetWe look at diversity training as anongoing initiative. The budget forthe initial implementation of ourtraining programs was taken froman agency budget. Now that theprograms are underway, some fundshave been allocated to a separatediversity budget, which is growingwith our needs. However, our aimis to integrate diversity into everyaspect of the organization, therecruitment-advertising budget isaffected since we now advertisepositions on a larger, more diverse,number of Web sites and othersources, but we don’t separate that


Annette DominguezDirector, Human Resources, Teacher Retirement System of Texas (continued)

Measuring Diversity’s Impact

EmployeeSatisfaction

Survey

DiversityImpact

Assessment

Feedbackfrom Outside

Experts

money from the recruitment/staffingbudget.

Best PracticesOne of the best practices for con-ducting effective diversity trainingis to have it be in harmony withinthe organizational culture you haveor the one you desire to achieve. Acompany must determine where itwishes to be in regard to diversityand then translate that goal intoindividual behaviors. Individualskills must reinforce organizationalvalues that support diversity. Thechallenge is figuring out how toactually facilitate the behavioralchanges necessary to create and sus-tain an organizational culture thatsupports diversity. Consultants areincredibly useful in overcomingthat challenge because they are ableto look constructively and impar-tially at the organization and seeareas and practices that wouldbenefit from change, as well as seethrough organizational blind spots.

Fundamentals of BuildingOrganizational Culturesthat Support Diversity There are two kernels of wisdom Ihave come away with from myexperiences in designing and imple-menting diversity initiatives.

First, we should not under-estimate the value of planning, lay-ing a common foundation, andpreparing the environment so thateveryone is working from the samedefinitions about what comprise thecornerstones and values that thediversity program is built upon. Ibelieve that this is fundamental tobuilding a program with integrity(where organizational and individ-ual behavior [what we do] is con-sistent with the diversity message[what we say]). When these ele-ments are in conflict, credibility isundermined. We should not benaive in thinking this can happenovernight.

Second, it is essential to cus-tomize a diversity program, to helpfurther shape or change the orga-nizational culture, depending on theunique needs of the particular envi-ronment we’re working in and theobjectives to which we aspire. Thediversity message should resonatewith the targeted audience. I believeinclusiveness is a vital component toa diversity program, and beingkeenly aware of it, and making surethat it’s integrated into the diversitymessage will go a long way in curb-ing resistance and backlash fromthose who might otherwise feelexcluded. I believe that a diversitycouncil is valuable when initiatinga diversity initiative. A council canadd value in reflecting the culture,assess true organizational needs,and ensure that the diversity mes-sage remains genuine in the eyes ofthe people you want to reach. ■


Annette DominguezDirector, Human Resources, Teacher Retirement System of Texas (continued)

We employ an investment staff that travels all over the world. There is alsoa department of professional experts that manage international equities.They do due diligence on investments in Europe, Asia, South America, andAfrica, etc. We include the international aspect of our work in our diversitytraining. Our staff is not globally situated, so we work hard to facilitateknowledge and wisdom gained by this group of professionals, and they havebeen well represented on the diversity council.

Annette Dominguez

Director, Human ResourcesTeacher Retirement System of Texas

Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points

© Books24x7, 2006 Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points ExecBlueprints 15

I. Making Diversity Fit YourOrganizationOne of the best practices for con-ducting effective diversity training isto have it be in harmony with yourorganizational culture.

• A company must determinewhere it wishes to be in regardto diversity and then translatethat goal into individual behaviors.

• Individual skills must reinforceorganizational values that support diversity.

Never underestimate the value oflaying a common foundation andpreparing the environment.

• Everyone should be workingfrom the same core values.

• Core values are fundamental tobuilding a program withintegrity.

Inclusiveness is a vital componentto a diversity program.

• Always be keenly aware of itand make sure that it’s inte-grated into the diversity message.

• This will help curb resistanceand backlash from those thatmight otherwise feel excluded.

II. The Bottom LineAttracting and retaining talented,diverse employees who interact freelyand openly is critical.

• This can make a big financialdifference in the long-term retention of customers and staff.

• A more diverse and representa-tive workforce is better able tocreate products and services forour consumers.

It is very difficult to calculate ROIfor diversity training. Possible waysof measuring impact include:

• Employee satisfaction surveys

• Business change studies

• Expert outside audits

III. Must-Haves for EffectiveDiversity Training

Universal trainingEveryone, from executives to employ-ees, should be required to attenddiversity training.

Business-focused curriculum

• Identify business needs and how diversity can aid the organization.

• Customize training based onwhere you are organizationally.

• Ensure that you are aligned withbusiness goals.

Cultural sensitivity

• Diversity training has to be customized based on the continuum of learning.

• Each organization has a uniqueculture and acceptance level anda one-size-fits-all template fordiversity training doesn’t work.

IV. The Golden Rules forUniversal Diversity Buy-InBegin with a broad but specific definition of diversity.

• It is important to begin diversitytraining efforts with a broad definition that covers many different areas.

• A robust definition will focusthe diversity training on businessimperatives.

Ensure that senior managers participate fully.

• Senior management must support the training initiativeand not just give it lip service.

• Leaders must walk the walk, notjust talk the talk.

Focus on the business case fordiversity.

Make sure employees understandthat there’s a good business reason topursue diversity training.

Make your objectives appropriatefor the business.

• Discuss what diversity means foryour organization, and how theexecutive team would define it.

• Determine what level of diversity they would like to seewithin the organization.

V. Essential Take-AwaysDiversity is no longer optional — ithas become a must-have for everyorganization.

• Companies that understand andembrace the necessity of diversity will have the competitive advantage.

• The more you represent thedemographic of your customerbase, the better prepared you’llbe to serve them.

Successful diversity programsbegin with knowing the audience.

• The cardinal rule of training isto know your audience, whothey are, and how they think.

• Successful programs grow out ofcompany culture and values. ■

© Books24x7, 2006 Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points ExecBlueprints 16

Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points (continued)

ExecBlueprints is a subscription-based offering from Books24x7, a SkillSoft Company. For more information on subscribing,please visit www.books24x7.com.

10 KEY QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION POINTS

What are the primary concerns regarding diversity in your organization? Increasing diversity? Employee education regarding the benefits of diversity? Increasing managementsupport of diversity? Other? How have you used training to address these concerns?

What initiatives have you implemented in the past five years to increase diversity in yourorganization? What training supported these initiatives?

What percentage of your current training programs deal with diversity? Do you expectthis percentage to increase or decrease in the next 12 months?

What percentage of your training and development budget is devoted to diversity training? Do you expect that amount to increase or decrease in the next 12 months?What is driving these changes?

What percentage of employees at your company has undergone diversity training? Doyou hope to increase this percentage? If yes, what steps will be taken?

At your company, who has primary responsibility for designing and implementing diversity training programs? Who else is involved? What is their role?

What is the most important diversity training you expect to conduct at your company inthe next 12 months? What do you expect will be the effect on your company?

What challenges are involved in rolling out diversity training in an organization? Howhave you addressed these challenges?

What elements should always be present in diversity training? How does training relateto diversity differ from other types of trainings?

What benchmarks are used when implementing diversity training? What is measured?How often?

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making diversity work in your organization - training strategies

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