Diversity watch: two companies' diversity efforts are screened and evaluated by the experts

[right arrow] By establishing aggressive goals for hiring professional women and minorities.

[right arrow] By developing external mentoring programs that match minorities who aspire to senior management with top-level minority executives from other companies.

[right arrow] By establishing employee resource groups to identify barriers, provide information and develop minority employees.

[right arrow] By providing mandatory diversity awareness training for all salaried and hourly employees. Ford's entire global workforce will have completed this training by year-end.

[right arrow] By sponsoring the Ford Academy of Manufacturing Science, a school-to-work program that helps young people acquire valuable work skills.

Ford's diversity effort also involves suppliers. The company is the first U.S. corporation to achieve minority purchases worth $2 billion, and its goal is to reach $2.5 billion by 2000. Ford also has a strong minority automobile dealer program, providing specialized training, consulting and financial support. Ford's 333 minority leaderships represent 44% of all U.S. minority dealers.

To evaluate its progress, Ford measures representation of women and people of color at all salary levels quarterly. Ford senior executives also conduct face-to-face diversity focus groups worldwide.

* Ford's CEO is chair of its Executive Council on Diversity, which identifies and manages corporate diversity initiatives. The council members report directly to the CEO and conduct yearly focus groups to hear employee concerns firsthand. Furthermore, all members of the council are held accountable for diversity through a performance measurement system.

* Other senior managers are involved in diversity as on-site representatives for universities that are key to its recruitment strategy.

* Ford believes the demographic makeup of its professional workforce should reflect the demographics in the market across all salary groups.

* To measure the success of its diversity effort, the company conducts employee attitude surveys and uses demographic control variables to analyze survey data. Ford views the data as necessary to creating an equitable work environment.

* The company assists women and minorities to rise through the ranks with the help of its external mentoring programs and the Ford Academy of Manufacturing Science (FAMS).

* Ford is ahead of most companies in procuring minority supplier contracts, and is ahead of its competition in minority dealerships.

Although Ford is more progressive than many large companies, there are opportunities for improvement. Ford should begin to view its diversity initiatives as a holistic business strategy that impacts not only its workforce, but its customers and stakeholders.

* All diversity efforts and business plans should focus on employees, customers and stakeholders. For instance, the company should begin to segment its markets by race and gender.

* Ford should increase everyone's accountability, from its board of directors to front-line workers, to create a productive, equitable environment.