DIVERSITY AND DOLLARS
"The companies that are most successful in their upper-echelon diversity are those that tie incentives to recruiting and promotion," says Mr. Arias. He cites PepsiCo as one company that rewards managers for progress on diversity.
Only 35 percent of companies responding to the survey offer diversity incentives of this type, but more than 90 percent sponsor diversity training for their managers. Ford holds an annual Diversity and Worklife Summit, at which it recognizes 100 employees for their inclusion efforts. Philip Morris leads with a two-day diversity seminar. More than 70 percent of survey participants have Hispanic employee groups, some of which take an advisory role in diversity efforts (see related story, "Spotlight: Philip Morris").
Industrial sectors best represented by survey respondents skew toward consumer-oriented companies, since the survey targets top advertisers in the Hispanic markets. Food, beverage, and telecommunications firms rise to the top of the diversity list on employment (see table, "Leaders in Payroll Diversity"), while in procurement, telecommunications providers, auto makers, and retailers dominate.
| LEADERS IN PAYROLL DIVERSITY | ||
| Percentage of Hispanics Among: | ||
Corporation
|
Total Personnel
18.0% 13.0% 11.5% 10.6% 10.3% 10.0% 9.2% 9.1% 7.1% 6.1% |
Management
NA 8.7% 8.8% 0.2% NA 9.0% 4.9% 2.2% 4.3% 5.4% |
| Note: Not all survey respondents answered all categories. NA = Not Available.
Source: Hispanic Business Corporate Diversity Survey, 2002. | ||
| © 2003 Hispanic Business Inc. Reprinting, copying, or transmitting all or part of this information requires written permission. | ||
If viewed as an investment in minority markets, diversity programs appear to be money well spent, since the sums look paltry compared to minority marketing expenditures. Domino's and Avon spent around $200,000 each annually for "diversity outreach," although they spent $7.25 million and $5.6 million, respectively, to reach Hispanic consumers. On the high end, cereal maker General Mills spent $2.5 million for total diversity efforts, Ford spent $4 million, and Coca-Cola $5.1 million – all less than a third of the money spent on the Hispanic market alone, not counting advertising campaigns targeting the African-American and other minority segments.
While keeping the market connection uppermost, many survey respondents frame their diversity efforts in language reflecting the federal government's historic role in encouraging work force inclusion. For example, both Southwest Airlines and PepsiCo maintain affirmative action programs. General Mills and PepsiCo hold periodic compliance reviews, while Domino's, Philip Morris, and PepsiCo employ diversity consultants to design their programs. Ford and Coca-Cola support education, recognizing the obvious tie-in to recruitment and marketing (see related story, "Spotlight: Higher Education").
