Manager and employee education programs remain a key component to diversity & inclusion strategies at most Diversity Best Practices member companies, according to the latest Diversity Best Practices Assessment & Benchmarking Tool results.
More than 70 percent of Diversity Best Practices Assessment companies offer manager training on generational diversity and racial/ethnic communication and leadership styles, while 69 percent offer training on microinequities and/or gender differences in communication styles.
So where does all this training lead? Half of the companies surveyed say they rate managers on how well they handle diversity issues, while 50 percent consider employee satisfaction ratings on diversity issues during manager performance reviews.
Now in its second year, the Diversity Best Practices Assessment & Benchmarking Tool features more than 700 questions on strategic management practices including hiring, retention, training and supplier diversity, as well representation and policies targeting such employee groups as women, multicultural women and men, LGBT, generational groups, and people with disabilities. In its latest assessment period, conducted September 24 to November 19, 2010, the Diversity Best Practices survey collected D&I data from 26 member and nonmember companies, employing more than 2.4 million employees across 12 industries and 38,000 worksites nationwide.
The Diversity Best Practices Assessment found employer commitment to affinity groups continues to grow, with 89 percent of companies surveyed offering groups for women and 73 percent offering ones for LGBT employees. Other employee resource groups commonly offered include:
• Multicultural men: 62%
• Multicultural women: 62%
• Military veterans: 46%
• People with disabilities: 46%
• Generational groups: 42%
• Working parents: 31%
• Religious groups: 23%
• Single parents: 8%
Only 12 percent of respondents reported offering no ERGs at all.
Not surprisingly, African Americans continue to make up the largest non-white employee group, at 16 percent, followed by Latin/Hispanic (12 percent), Asian American (6 percent), and Native American (1 percent). For 2011, the Diversity Best Practices Assessment & Benchmarking Tool added a multiracial option across all job levels and found that while multiracial employees represent 1 percent of the total workforce, their totals increase to 2.1 percent at the manager and higher job levels.
The Diversity Best Practices Assessment also found that 88 percent of assessment companies have a formal supplier diversity program in place, with women-owned (96 percent) and minority-owned (92 percent) business serving as the most common types of businesses tracked. More than 70 percent of Diversity Best Practices Assessment companies reported, however, that they now track whether suppliers are owned by multicultural men or women, while 58 percent track for vendors owned by people with disabilities and 50 percent track for companies owned by lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender men and women.
Open to both Diversity Best Practices members and nonmembers, the next Diversity Best Practices Assessment period will be held May 13 to July 15. All companies that complete a survey receive a scorecard. Diversity Best Practices members also receive a free detailed benchmarking report showing how they compare to the assessment class across all questions. Benchmarking is also available to non-Diversity Best Practices members. Visit our Benchmarking page to learn more.
