Mr. Poirot

Diversity Issues

A Comprehensive Diversity Program Keeps Company Goals on Track

By Olivier Poirot, CEO, Accor North America

In today's economy, budgets are especially tight, and diversity initiatives might not be getting the funding they received in days past. Therefore, it is more important than ever to be committed to the initiative, to have a plan in place, and to work that plan. A good strategic plan will have key measurements of success along the way. You cannot simply erect a program structure, ignore it, and hope for great results.

Why a comprehensive diversity program is important

A truly comprehensive diversity program improves an organization by strengthening ethics and values, and encouraging teamwork and bonding. The business world today is a global community, and diversity is a big part of how business is done. Globalization has made diversity an increasingly important topic of business conversation as organizations struggle to deal with local cultures. This is why diversity is an important strategic part of any business model. Ignoring diversity issues can put your company at a disadvantage when it comes to competing in our global market.

On a local level, it's about addressing more that just the demographics of your organization, it's also about addressing the makeup of your community. If your workforce makeup is the complete opposite of the community in which you do business - that sends the wrong message.

Unfortunately, diversity is sometimes just a reactionary policy. Many companies find themselves faced with employee relations issues and implement a policy as a bandage. And while employee relations is a fair reason to consider diversity in a company, it is a much bigger issue than that, and it should be looked at from all possible perspectives.

The characteristics of a comprehensive program

A truly comprehensive diversity program is defined by a few important factors: involved and committed leadership, careful examination and consideration of company culture, education, and implementing the program as a genuine and valued part of the business model.

Leadership

It is essential that the executive suite demonstrate solid leadership by making it clear that they are on board. This is not to say that diversity initiatives at the grassroots level do not work or are of no value, but you must have commitment from the top to have a truly comprehensive, company-wide diversity program. Without real teeth in the program and commitment from the senior level, a diversity program is likely to fizzle out.

A CEO demonstrates leadership by having a voice in the program. Many companies employ a diversity manager, and they certainly play a vital role in the program, but employees must hear from their leader that he/she is behind this initiative 100 percent. It's important to hear the CEO speaking about the commitment, and to see the executive team exhibiting behavior in support of the policy. Leadership must commit to the policy and be engaged - actively engaged.

Leadership must have a vision of where the diversity initiative will take the organization, with well-defined goals and priorities. A program that is implemented simply as a knee-jerk reaction, or just an attempt to court a particular customer, or done simply for the sake of doing diversity because it is popular, is a poorly-designed initiative that is doomed to failure.

Culture

It is vital that those responsible for the program understand how their own organization is arranged from a cultural perspective. A company's culture includes the workforce, the workplace and the marketplace. All of these have to be taken into account if we are to define a program as "comprehensive."

You must consider the demographics of the organization, hiring practices, the communities in which your employees work and serve and how they intertwine, the products and services they make and provide, and even things like franchising. Every conceivable dimension where diversity plays a part must be studied and understood.

This does not necessarily mean that your program will touch each and every component, but it is vital to know and understand what impact diversity issues have on your people at each level of the organization. To do this, you must have open dialogue and conversations with key people in your organization about the many different components.

Look at the overall culture of the organization, and take into consideration the key components to be affected. It requires looking throughout the workplace and prioritizing what your organization is willing and capable of doing.

Education

It is important to start with the basics, and a basic component of preparing any comprehensive diversity program is education. That starts with educating yourself and the company leadership.

After educating yourself, the next step is to educate your workforce - from the top down. Many times, executives, employees, and the communities in which you do business all have a different definition of what diversity is. From the start, it is important to have a solid foundation and organization-wide understanding of what diversity really means and what, exactly, you are trying to do.

Changes in behavior take time. Diversity may be a completely new strategy you are introducing to your company. It might mean completely new processes in dealing with vendors, franchisees, employment candidates, and the community as a whole - and it can be a culture shock for some. Different companies will implement diversity in different ways, but everyone must be on the same page as far as the final goal.

The Business Model

Diversity should be given a meaningful place in the business model, and be intertwined in each and every business decision. Many times, decisions are made at different levels of an organization without consideration of the company's diversity policies. In order for an initiative to be truly comprehensive, it must be reflexively included in each important decision at every organizational level.

A company is kept healthy by meeting its financial goals; likewise, your diversity program will maintain its effectiveness when it becomes a vital part of your business model. Scorecards and measurements can be useful in guiding the process, but it must first be viewed as an integral part of the business - the real business, and not just something that is kept in reserve until a problem arises.

It is the responsibility of the CEO and leadership to make sure that diversity becomes a part of every decision they make, whether it's in hiring, finance, marketing, or other areas. It should be on the agenda at every executive meeting and viewed as a real business initiative.

Conclusion

Implementing a comprehensive diversity program and reaping the benefits takes time, a clear vision, and strategic planning. These components, along with education, are a recipe for success.

In today's world, we tend to want instant gratification, but diversity is a journey. When you start that journey, you may or may not have a map, but you must understand that it takes time to meet your diversity goals. It will not happen all at once. Once key areas that need improvement are identified, you must make the investment, in both manpower and money, and be committed to the initiative. Again, leadership must be passionate about the commitment to diversity - there is nothing more useless and transparent than leadership that is impassionate about a particular policy.

A truly comprehensive and well-implemented diversity program will incur a return on your investment. You will build a workforce that is more productive and innovative, with ideas for the new methods and processes that will expand your company and take it into the future.

Olivier Poirot is CEO of Accor North America, Motel 6 and Studio 6. Accor North America's portfolio includes Sofitel, Novotel, Studio 6 and Motel 6 properties. Poirot was a driving force behind Accor North America's Pinnacle Program, its company-wide diversity program. Poirot joined Accor as Senior Vice-President in charge of finance for the Accor Business and Leisure (ABL) division in June 2001. Prior to that, he was CFO of Accor UK Ltd, in charge of finance, IT, procurement and legal for Accor hotels in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where he began his career with Accor in 1992. Mr. Poirot can be contacted at 972-360-2528 or anaceo@accor-na.com Extended Bio...

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