of free diversity-expertise advice consulting for this client because
the client had been working with us for over a year and really
liked what we had to share. So did we get this contract because of
diversity and inclusion? Certainly it was a factor like all the other
factors in helping us get the contract. We’re beginning to track
how we’re doing and how successful we are at doing that because
we have been able to really create this sort of leadership in the
industry. Our clients don’t just see us as a food-service provider but
more as a partner.
LESSON 7
CONNECT WITH B-TO-B CLIENTS (CONTINUED)
DIVERSITY METRICS
IS IN EVERY BUSINESS
PLAN
LESSON 6
ANDERSON BANKS: We really want the most diversity that we can
get and it’s going to help us—from client expertise, from industry,
from functional expertise—because when you’re in audit and tax and
consulting and financial-advisory services and you’re doing [mergers
and acquisitions], we need people with those kind of backgrounds.
We know about the shortages, but you know it’s not real to you until
you try and replace somebody who’s got that skill set and they’re gone.
LESSON 5
LESSON 4
LESSON IV
THOMAS: We have expectations
relative to performance, and diversity is one of those areas of performance. So it’s in every leader’s
plan, in line with any business plan
that has targets. Performance is
visited along the diversity metric as
well, and we do leverage Six Sigma
methodology throughout our company, and diversity is no different.
When you look at the performance,
it’s got to be there and it’s got to
be really around the value of the
differences—and in terms of the
business case, it hits the bottom
line because you’re able
to meet the needs of all
your different constituencies in a better way.
MEASURE AND
REWARD SUCCESS
METRICS PROVE THE CASE
Always use solid, quantifiable metrics to show
the impact of diversity.
LESSON 3
ANDERSON BANKS: One of
the things DiversityInc
has helped us do, relative
to the business case, is to
be able to standardize.
Because in so many ways, we were all
out there doing our own thing and
we didn’t have any sense of how
we’re doing against competitors
or people in the industry or any of
that. Being able to have the rigor
behind the work and the results
and the survey that you guys do
1 LOOK AT THE
TOP 50
LESSON 2
LESSON 1
helps us when we go to talk to our
internal clients. That says, “You
know, we’re not doing so well in
this area and here’s a bunch of
others who are, so let me show
you.” Or, “We’re doing better in
this area than others, and let me
talk to you about it.” And it helps
with funding and what we need to
do in order to win the war for talent so we have the talent we need
to meet our clients’ expectations.
It’s a very real issue for us, being
able to say that we’re attracting more than our fair share of
diverse talent and of women.
DAGIT: We have a Chairman’s
Diversity Award where the categories, both individual and team, are
based on competitive advantage
delivered to the business. The judges, a global group of people from all
different levels of the organization,
look at that. Now would I say that
we’re able to pinpoint it to how
many points and targeted market
share or earnings per share? No,
it’s not to that level, but it is a competitive advantage that’s measured
in order to be selected as either a
finalist or an award recipient.
DIRECT IMPACT
ON MARKET SHARE
ANISE WILEY-LITTLE: When we’ve
grown our business, diversity’s
been successful, because what’s
happened is that the people who
