MY CAREER HAS BEEN FUELED BY PEOPLE WHO INVESTED IN ME AND GAVE ME OPPORTUNITIES .
companies make it a policy to interview at least one person of color for any open executive position . Not doing so , he adds , is potentially a sign of unintentional bias or exclusionary hiring practices .
Hale agrees . “ You have to start with the leadership teams if you want to promote diversity and are serious about it ,” she says . But the commitment goes beyond hiring . “ I would like to see organizations get serious about providing opportunities and support along the way ,” she says . “ My career has been fueled by people who invested in me and gave me opportunities .” One formal approach to mentoring has yielded results . Marriott ’ s Emerging Leader Program provides a year of training and development for high-performing front-line leaders and managers . The company says the program has been instrumental in increasing the number of people of color and women in leadership roles . Recently , Marriott announced it would be expanding the program .
SERIOUS CHANGE Building diversity hires into goals signals that a company is serious about making change . “ You can ’ t just talk about it . You have to say that by the end of the year you are going to recruit X number of people and fast-track them to become GMs in two years , then monitor that progress ,” Jenkins says .
Accountability shows an even stronger commitment . Hilton , for example , started tying diversity goals to compensation and bonuses for senior leaders in 2016 . Those goals include recruitment , retention and development of diverse teams . “ When executive compensation is tied to specific results , it will absolutely happen ,” Jenkins says . “ If it ’ s aspirational — something that would be nice to do — it has a 50 / 50 chance of happening .”
Focusing recruiting efforts outside the
MY CAREER HAS BEEN FUELED BY PEOPLE WHO INVESTED IN ME AND GAVE ME OPPORTUNITIES .
LESLIE HALE
industry is another potential solution that addresses the perceived lack of qualified candidates . “ We have to sprinkle in some senior executives from other industries and teach them the business ,” Jenkins suggests , “ then give them the support and mentoring they will need to succeed .”
Berg says the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrations have created an opening for dialog on the subject and revealed the elephant in the room .
“ It ’ s been politically incorrect and embarrassing for a white person and a black person to speak to each other about matters of race ,” she says . “ We can ’ t talk about what we want for people to be successful .” Now , she adds , “ it ’ s kind of risky , and we might say something stupid , but I think the opportunity to improve the situation is much better if we can actually talk about it .”
WHEN EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION IS TIED TO SPECIFIC RESULTS , IT WILL ABSOLUTELY HAPPEN .
NORMAN JENKINS
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