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Changing Faces,
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Business New Haven
5/31/1999
By: BNH
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Back in the mid-1980s the Hudson Institute issued a report entitled “Workforce 2000,” the chief point of which was that the demographics of the American workforce would change dramatically by turn of the Millennium. By the year 2000 the fastest growing segments of the working population would be women and minorities rather than white males.
Sparked by that report, the BHC Co. of Bridgeport (then known as Bridgeport Hydraulic) formed a Workforce 2000 committee. One of the first actions taken by the committee was to call in the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of Greater New Haven to consult about setting up diversity training for employees.
The ADL and BHC worked together to bring employees six hours of sensitivity training focused on becoming aware of the differences between and among people of varying backgrounds. This initial training has been followed up by the creation and ongoing work of a new committee called the Diversity in Action committee.
The committee meets bimonthly to discuss diversity-related issues within the company. Meanwhile, new employees continue to be offered basic diversity training - which has evolved some to stress more a celebration, rather than just awareness, of differences.
The story of BHC's investment in diversity training is similar to that of many other area corporations and organizations in the area. Norm Davis, professor of organizational behavior at New Haven's Albertus Magnus College, underscores the important catalytic role played by the “Workforce 2000” report in jump-starting the diversity training movement.
Davis is a former director of human resources at Aetna, where he first was exposed to diversity training. While at Aetna, he says, he “became aware of the incredible impact it can have.” He left Aetna to earn his doctorate in organizational behavior - with a specialty in managing diversity.
Another local institution which became involved in diversity training in part in response to the Hudson Institute report is Yale-New Haven Hospital. “The changing demographics of the workplace is what motivated us,” says Pat Murphy, director of the hospital's Workforce Diversity Office.
“We wanted to have the workplace be a more congenial place to work,” says Murphy. “In this part of the country you're going to be involved with people who are different. As our work environment began to change, we needed training to help people deal with it.”
It is fairly commonplace for companies and institutions to contract with outside firms or organizations to bring in diversity training. Different programs have different elements, but there are common threads binding most successful efforts.
BHC, for example, is just one of many companies in the area who have been assisted by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL, which pioneered diversity training for schools back in the late '80s, unveiled its corporate program, “A Workplace of Difference,” in Connecticut in 1990.
“The goals of the program are to critically examine stereotypes and assumptions, to discuss the negative effects of prejudice, and to turn the knowledge you get from the program into skills [such as communication skills],” explains Margie Lipshez-Shapiro, director of the “A World of Difference” program.
Generally, programs are one day long and are offered for groups of between 20 and 50. “We do some self-exploration, talk about changing demographics and workforce trends; we do some problem-solving about difficult potential issues (for example if someone makes an insensitive joke); sometimes we do case studies,” Lipshez-Shapiro explains.
Yale-New Haven brought in a firm called Pope & Associates to conduct its program. At first Pope held workshops for senior administrators. Later, training commenced for employees of all levels. “It's introspective work done over several days - 13 days all told [with breaks],” explains Worthy.
At Sikorsky Aircraft, a nationwide program called “Life Designs” has been in place for the past two years. Life Designs runs for two days. The first day, according to Debra Johnson, an employee who has been through the program, is spent “identifying what is limiting you and developing different visions for yourself, whether work-based or personally-based.” On the second day attendees “work on discovering what provides you with a sense of fulfillment, and making a plan for how to achieve that,” Johnson adds.
As in the case of BHC, many companies have found that simply offering employees an initial training session is insufficient. Some ongoing, follow-up component - preferably of which the company itself takes charge - is also necessary.
“Many organizations don't know what to do next. Many think that's all there is,” says Norm Davis. “You have to build a coalition throughout the entire organization.”
At Yale-New Haven, a program is now in place that uses what Murphy calls “internal diversity consultants.” These men and women receive the standard initial training, then are used to provide programs and services throughout Yale-New Haven. Many of these consultants work in pairs (“We try to have the pairs demonstrate diversity of gender and race,” notes Murphy) in an Issues Resolution Program. Its purpose is to facilitate dialogue. “You have someone on staff - not a manager - to help you work through issues,” Worthy explains.
At Sikorsky, each division of the company has a Diversity Action Team (DAT) which meets every other week. In addition to working to find ways to bring diversity training to all employees, the teams sponsor speakers and use Information Boards to publicize such things as Black History Month and the Cinqo de Mayo celebration.
At most companies, the stated goals of diversity training have evolved over the past decade. Most administrators involved with them are quick to say they have moved beyond merely encouraging employees to become aware of differences.
“Now we're looking beyond diversity training as awareness of how you value and leverage diversity,” says Jean Zanella-Dyer, director of human resources and administration at BHC. “Our program now consists of celebrating our differences, education and training, and communication.”
“I see the diversity effort moving forward,” says Marcia Ellis, manager of Sikorsky's Life Designs program. “The '80s was awareness of differences; the early '90s was celebration of differences; now we're aligning on the commonality of our being human.”
Ellis acknowledges that the Life Designs program is now focused on personal and professional development - “but it gets to the heart of diversity,” she adds.
“We put [participants] all in this room,” she explains. “They come out so bonded. It's starting to break down barriers. These groups stay together, have lunch together.”
For Deb Johnson, who has been an hourly employee at Sikorsky for more than two decades, bringing both hourly and salaried employees - not to mention workers of different races and religions - together in the same room was particularly meaningful. “I found women's issues were women's issues, whether hourly or salaried,” she explains.
Davis points out that everyone “must start out with awareness training, then move to issues and systems.” One of the skills he sees as most important in more advanced diversity training is what he terms “discussing the undiscussable” - learning how to talk about assumptions most people don't even dare to vocalize.
The most important question to ask about all this, of course, is “Does diversity training make a difference?”
“It impacts all people, impacts us in very subtle ways,” says Davis. He adds, “I have heard very high-ranking people, CEOs, say it was their No. 1 issue, or that it was an extremely important issue.”
Adds Yale-New Haven's Pat Worthy of Yale-New Haven, “If I didn't believe that it was making a difference, I wouldn't have taken the job [of managing the hospital's Workforce Diversity Office.]”
Sikorsky's Johnson believes she and others have gained tremendous benefits from the Sikorsky program. These include “understanding how to listen, what to listen for, keeping an open mind, being able to accept change in myself and others. [As] barriers are broken down in the workshop, it's the beginning of change in how you perceive people.”
Davis enumerates a number of benefits he believes derive from diversity training. The first of these is the opening up of new markets. “You talk to women about products for women; go to your Hispanic employees to approach the Hispanic market.”
Margie Lipshez-Shapiro underscores the importance of the direct financial benefits that come from diversity training. “It's a bottom-line issue in companies. It's not a moral issue,” she says.
“Diversity training is a part of customer service, a huge part of marketing - companies want access to different markets.”
Another benefit that will plainly impact a company's bottom line: enabling it to recruit and attract the best diverse talent. “Many organizations don't know how to hire talented women and minorities,” Davis points out.
Finally, companies which have been through diversity training are better able to make the employees they have as productive as they can be.
“Many women and minorities suffer from protective hesitancy,” Davis points out. “You have to have an environment such that's comfortable for them, so that you'll get information out of all your people.” Companies that have been through diversity training also tend to exhibit better teamwork among employees. “Diverse people take longer to bond,” Davis says, “but their problem-solving ability is better.”
Not everyone, of course, has noticed such a far-reaching impact from the training. Sharon Bradford, manager of community relations and energy outreach for the Southern Connecticut Gas Co., has worked for the company for 28 years. Bradford is half African-American, half Native American.
Two and a half years ago she and Romilda Anderson helped the Anti-Defamation League offer a half-day of diversity training for all SCG employees. Bradford liked the workshop. However, she says she didn't really see that it made much change in the company. “I've always seen people in the company give each other respect,” she says.
What will be the future of diversity training? It's hard to say. At many corporations it appears to have become an entrenched part of the corporate culture. Still, even Davis, a strong proponent of the training, says, “I see peaks and valleys ahead.” BNH
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