DiversityInc - November/December 2008

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ally need to examine expectations.” We found that the connection to keeping them is technology, which is driving greater engagement of our key talent.

ness, and when we’ve done our work around corporate responsibility, we’ve really been very intentional about how it does benefit the business.

Yrizarry: The four generations inside the workplace are looking for very different types of employment experiences and workplace envi-

Thomas: Right now at Deloitte,
about 22 percent of our work force
is foreign nationals in the United
States. One of the critical issues
facing me is how do we ensure we
keep that supply of talent coming
to us and that the supply of talent
doesn’t leave. They are beginning
to look at wherever they called
home and realizing there are busi-
ness opportunities
there that 10 years
ago didn’t exist.

Magda Yrizarry, Verizon

ronments. Are we truly ready to begin to think about the customi-zation that our employees with such varied backgrounds need?

Anand: We really don’t discuss it much, but the reverse immigration that’s happening now with folks going back to India and China now

that their economies are booming is important. What does this global movement of people do to our businesses, and where is the changing focus in our business?

“Show me the numbers.”

Jimmie Paschall of Marriott International: I view them to be inextricably linked. They have different dedicated resource systems to advance the key priorities and initiatives in each area but are done in a thoughtful way to achieve similar sets of outcomes. When we look at our philanthropic bucket, it’s all under the corporate social-responsibility area. The funds that I expend from the diversity perspective actually sit with the social-responsibility executive. We don’t see it as mutually exclusive because we see them focused on building reputation for Marriott in the communities we serve.

Taylor-Nash: We get [from millennials] these very casual abbreviated responses with incorrect spelling. I have to stop and translate and say, “OK, consider the source.” There are all kinds of things that are going to come out from the different attitudes about communication and styles and what is appropriate in the workplace.

Mark: For our business, it’s having more virtual global teams. But relationships are so critical, so how do you replace that? Take the struggle for women and minorities who don’t have the same access to mentoring and day-to-day coaching.

Glover: Building an organization where the culture and practices

Ron Glover of IBM: They’re both tied to the values of the company and they drive and protect the values and culture of the company and make those visible to the external world. We are funded separately but we still sit down with our CSR group annually and then every quarter to look at our activities to see what we can do jointly from our respective perspectives to drive activity. Example: There is going to be a significant shortfall in the number of people graduating from American universities with degrees in engineering, science