Diversity: Now is the time for action

By Marti Benedetti
Special to Ford World
(reprinted from November 1997 issue)

Ford may be in the middle stages on corporate diversity efforts, but it is on track to hit the top 10 if it continues to progress with the diversity initiatives and programs now under way, say company leaders.

"We're benchmarking the 10 or 12 companies that are leading in diversity and work/life initiatives," says Bob Kramer, vice president of Human Resources and a member of Ford's Executive Council on Diversity. "We're trying to learn from them. We're not bashful. If we find better ways to make our workplace more attractive to the people we are recruiting, we'll use them."

Ford executives agree with Chairman Alex Trotman, who has said, "it's the right thing to do." Moreover, embracing diversity makes good business sense. Led by its three-year-old Executive Council on Diversity – comprised of Trotman and senior company executives – Ford is doing much more than paying lip service to diversity and work/life issues.

Increased communication

Divisions and subsidiaries throughout the company – from Vehicle Operations to Purchasing to Ford Credit – have started diversity councils with dedicated members who meet regularly, talk candidly and have specific diversity goals. Four-hour diversity awareness training sessions are complete or in progress on a worldwide basis. Some high-level managers have trained their employees who, in turn, continue training others in a process called "train the trainer."

Employee resource groups, such as the Ford African American Network (FAAN), Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees (GLOBE), the Ford Chinese Association, the Asian-Indian Network, Women in Finance, and the Hispanic Network – organized to meet their individual needs and Ford's goals – have expanded from one to six.

Global efforts

Recently, diversity councils have been started in plants throughout the world, explained Romeo McNairy, Diversity and Work/Life Planning manager. In Britain, many plants and locations have joint hourly-salaried management Equal Opportunity Committees providing diversity awareness training. Canada, Germany, Taiwan and South Africa have had awareness training and have created diversity councils. Australia and New Zealand have established councils and are beginning training.

"No doubt, the diversity leader globally is Ford Credit," McNairy says.

More than 90,000 Ford-UAW hourly employees participated in 1995 in the diversity awareness program called "A Matter of Respect," which included a video illustrating sex, age and other forms of discrimination. Further training programs are under development, says Tony Procter, co-chairman of the UAW-Ford and National Equal Application of Agreement Committee. Pulse Surveys and focus groups are done more frequently, so the company better understands what employees think about its programs and policies.

Zero tolerance

Recently, Trotman sent employees a letter reiterating the company's – and his own – commitment to zero tolerance of harassment.

"All of us have a role to play in creating and sustaining a work environment which is inclusive and which allows all people to fully contribute to the business success of Ford Motor Company," he stated in the letter. "The use of ethnic slurs, racial epithets or sexually demeaning or other provocative language clearly violates the policy."

In one of his weekly PROFs chat notes to employees, FAO President Jac Nasser noted his concern that all Ford personnel may not be conducting themselves with the highest standards of professional behavior and ethics. He stressed that discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated, instructing employees to report any such incident immediately.

"Zero tolerance is a pretty clear standard, and we must all work together to end any hint of inappropriate behavior," said Nasser.

Striking a balance

All of these efforts also tie into Ford's broad Work/Life programs. Rosalind Cox, Work/Life planning manager, says diversity goes beyond culture, ethnicity, race, gender, age, religion, disability or sexual orientation. There's also the diversity in people's personal lives.

"There are increased complexities in balancing work and personal responsibilities, and the company realizes how hard it is to strike a balance," Cox says. "By giving employees programs that allow them to better balance their lives, they can more fully contribute to their jobs."

Work/Life programs that help with the balance include the Transitional Work Arrangement, allowing employees for family care or educational reasons to work a reduced schedule of 40 to 90 percent, with pay and benefits reduced proportionately; Safe-at-Home, which offers an 80 percent discount of the cost for a care giver to come into a Southeast Michigan salaried employee's home to care for a sick child; and an Elder Care Consultation and Referral Program – a joint program with the UAW.

"We've got to create flexibility in our processes to allow us to deal with the new issues that arise," Kramer says. "This is what the best-in-class companies (such as Xerox and IBM) do." McNairy says some companies had the foresight to start diversity initiatives in the mid-to-late 1980s. "If you want to be successful, you have to foster diversity because the competition has been doing it for years."

Executive involvement

Executive Committee members, including Alex Trotman, and group vice presidents gave the diversity process a boost by conducting focus groups with employees in August and September. Trotman met with a group of African-American men in Human Resources; and Kramer met with women in Process Leadership.

The executives "vested themselves in the process," says McNairy, who coordinated the sessions. In fact, the focus groups, which were scheduled for an hour, ran an average of an hour and 45 minutes.

"This was significant for our senior executives," he added. "Significant from the perspective that in order to value diversity, you've got to have an emotional component. It's one thing for executives to read what I present, but it's another issue for them to do it. So they are getting first-hand experience of what individuals are saying about this diversity initiative."

The meetings focused on three of the five diversity questions from the 1996 Pulse survey. The responses ranged from 42 to 73 percent favorable, with the lowest score coming from ratings for the statement, "Diversity issues are a priority for top management." Ford is aiming for a 75 percent favorable response for all its questions. "And we want to have a year-over-year improvement of five percentage points. This will make Ford a best-in-class company," McNairy says.

Company leaders realize their close involvement is mandatory. "We're going to conduct focus groups each year. We need to hear it, see it, and feel the emotion as people describe issues of diversity, both good and bad," Kramer says.

Added Ron Goldsberry, global vice president of Ford Customer Service Division: "For our company to be a role model in the area of diversity, it needs to implement the plans we've been discussing."

The Executive Council on Diversity's role is to set the strategic path for this initiative, even if it means breaking ground on new issues or using innovative training methods.

"The world outside our doors is changing dramatically," Kramer says. We need to understand that this truly is a business issue in addition to a significant social issue. We need to know our customers better. We need to know our potential employees better and, once they are on board, we have to know what our employees want – what will fulfill their professional and personal lives."

Diversity councils make their mark

Here's a snapshot of what some of Ford's divisions are doing to promote diversity awareness:

Ford Customer Service Division: Its diversity council was formed in 1996, meets monthly and has four task forces working on a five-year plan developed with a professional consultant. Part of the plan is an interactive Web site, diversity awareness training sessions and meeting with minority groups to understand their issues and concerns. FCSD global vice president Ron Goldsberry is actively involved in the council and mentors members of the Ford African American Network (FAAN).
Purchasing: Its two-year-old diversity council is in a partnership with the Ford Academy of Manufacturing Science (FAMS) program, Detroit's Cody High School and Purdue University, enabling one of this year's 10 interns to be awarded a fully paid scholarship to Purdue and its Krannert Graduate School of Management in May 1998. Interns also can call mentors if they have questions or concerns during the internship. Other interaction includes helping students develop a resource library at the high school and maintaining a speaker's bureau that sends Ford employees to the school to give tips on getting started in a career.
Ford Credit: Its 17-member global diversity council represents all four of Ford Credit's regions – North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. The council meets monthly to discuss Ford Credit's various diversity initiatives and processes – including training, recruiting, survey data, focus group feedback and the development of mentoring programs. Ford Credit's diversity awareness training is being conducted around the globe with North American operations scheduled to be complete by year-end. A survey entitled "Employer of Choice"is being conducted among college seniors to determine what they look for in an employer. Ford Credit also is analyzing feedback from employee focus groups, composed of all cultural demographics, and creating an improvement action plan.

Vehicle Operations: Its diversity council has 18 members and meets monthly. It has conducted focus groups at its U.S. locations. As a result, each plant has developed an action plan designed to ensure diversity is fully understood and supported. Vehicle Operations recently completed a diversity council resource guide to help employees establish diversity councils in each plant in the U.S. and Canada. It also has created a poster to communicate diversity principles, and is working on a diversity Web site.
Product Development: Its diversity council meets monthly, and works closely with its Diversity Advisory Teams and Personnel Development Committees. Joint efforts include a mentoring program, relaying their diversity initiatives to other Product Development employees, coordinating Web sites, and conducting focus groups and successful "brown bag lunches," when a Ford executive visits with employees during an informal lunch to talk about diversity.