Understanding Diversity

Introductory Essay

By Rachele Focardi-Ferri

As the war for top talent heats up, employers all across the world are acquiring new and revised managerial processes for developing a working environment that maximizes the potential of all employees by valuing diversity.

Diversity, including but not limited to age, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, parental status and religious beliefs, is therefore very important when matching top talent with IDEAL Employers™.

"As the workforce demographics shift, the competition to attract diverse candidates substantially increases for those companies wishing to remain competitive in the marketplace," Camille Sautner, Diversity Employer Branding Specialist at Universum, global employer branding leader helping companies build employer brands to capture top talent, said.

Each year in the United States, Universum conducts a survey amongst Undergraduate and MBA students with diverse backgrounds to determine what minority students are looking for in a future employer.

This year, in The Universum IDEAL Employer™ Survey – Diversity Edition, more than 12,800 students at 115 schools across the country ranked their top companies and their top industries and answered questions about career expectations and goals, IDEAL Employer™ characteristics, salary expectations and communication preferences.

The gold medal as IDEAL Employer™ for 2006 diversity MBA and Undergraduate students goes to Google, followed by Walt Disney, Goldman Sachs and McKinsey. According to Claudia Tattanelli, CEO of Universum USA, it is not surprising that these companies are ranked so high. Google, thanks to its innovative, progressive, young and anticonservative culture is this year's new powerhouse all across the world, Goldman Sachs and McKinsey have always been the top players in the investment banking and management consulting industries and Walt Disney - that prior to 2005 has always been at the top of the list - has regained a leading position thanks to its massive recruiting efforts and its strong consumer brand.

"There is a very strong correlation between employer brand and consumer brand," Tracy Lynn Van Es, VP of Marketing and Research at Universum, said. And Walt Disney is not the only company that benefits from a well-renowned name. Microsoft (n.4), Johnson & Johnson (n.5), Apple Computer (n.6), Sony (n.7), IBM (n.8) and BMW (n.11 - despite its reduced recruiting efforts) are all at the top of the list of IDEAL Employers™ for overall diversity students.

"Today, consumer branding efforts of big companies have a very strong impact on students, who often associate a well-known product - seen on commercials following popular TV shows, cited in the news or represented on billboards and magazine ads - to an ideal place to work for," Van Es said.

Millennials Vs Gen-Xers

This year's rankings have been strongly impacted by the difference between generations. For the first time, most undergraduates correspond to the Millennials while most MBAs are part of the Generation X.

The goals, expectations and priorities of the two groups are very distinct and when recruiting an ideal candidate, it is imperative that employers understand these dissimilarities.

"It is very important to consider the difference between the two generations," Tattanelli said. The Millennials are positive, team-oriented and close to their family. They believe in the American Dream and think that it is up to them to make a difference, to give something back to society".

Gen-Xers, on the other hand, are more skeptical, cautious of giving trust and loyalty, have a "me attitude" and feel that the American Dream is long gone.

So, how do these contrasts between the two groups impact their decisionmaking process when considering a future employer?

Global Awareness, for example, is one of the most identifying differences. Amongst Millennials, interest in companies that have a global social impact and solid values has never been as strong. Contribution to society is, for the first time, amongst the top career goals for diverse undergraduates, ranking number four. Only 13% of the diverse MBAs think that contributing to society is somewhat of an important aspect in a career. Most of them selected balance between personal life and career, a strong financial base and the opportunity to reach a managerial level as their top priorities.

In addition, while financial strength remains the top priority for MBAs, for the Millennials it's no longer the most important characteristic of an IDEAL Employer™. Thirty three percent of them chose high ethical standards as the second most significant factor when determining what company to work for.

The number one characteristic of an IDEAL Employer amongst the Millennials this year is Diverse Workplace, especially for African-American students. Fifty-two percent of them chose it as a top priority compared to 18% of American Indian/Alaskan natives and 29% of Latino/Hispanics. For MBAs, the number one characteristic is Industry Leadership.

Healthcare Number 1 Industry

This year, healthcare unseats financial services as the most popular industry among diverse students overall. Healthcare is also the top industry among Undergraduate Students followed by Government/Public Service, Financial Services and Education.

Top pharmaceutical companies including Johnson&Johnson, Pfizer, Mayo Clinic, Glaxo Smith Kline and Merck are all listed by undergraduates in the top 40. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals rose from 186th to 64th, Eli Lilly from 95th to 80th, Novartis from 140th to 130th and Roche from 154th to 140th. In addition, new companies that were not ranked last year such as Hospira, Bayer and Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America all made it in the top 200 list.

Management Consulting - with McKinsey, Bain, BCG and Booz Allen in the top 10 - is the top industry among MBAs followed by financial services, consumer goods, investment banking and venture capital.

Government Agencies do particularly well amongst diverse undergraduates. The CIA, US Department of State and FBI rank in the top 5 with Hispanic-American undergraduates and in the Top 10 with African-Americans and GLBT students.

According to Tattanelli, these results are not unforeseen. "The Millennials have been highly impacted by the political and global turmoil that has characterized the beginning of the new millennium. With everything that has happened since 9-11, the war with its soldiers and its heroes—now more than ever embodied by charming actors in some of the most popular TV shows—they are very eager to make a difference on a global scale."

Defining Diversity

As companies position themselves among diverse students, it's especially important to understand how these students define diversity. According to Tattanelli, this is one of the first things employers must understand in order to present an employer brand that resonates with their target student groups.

When students define diversity in the survey, Ethnicity is the top definition across the board, chosen by an average of 77% of the respondents followed by Gender, Nationality, Age and Personality.

So what do companies have to do in the midst of the war for talent to attract, recruit and retain diverse employees?

According to most students "walking the talk" is the number one way to gain the trust and the interest of a minority student. "So many companies present themselves on campus as a diverse workplace but the speakers are mostly Caucasian males," Marisol, a Hispanic University of Texas undergraduate, said. "They should start by showing me that there are positions filled by minority employers across the board. During presentations and days on the job I want to see and hear from people who look like me."

Companies should, therefore, start by demonstrating and assuring a workplace where diverse values and opinions are accepted and respected.

"Diverse students are looking for employers who are open-minded about other cultures and receptive to learning about those cultures," Sautner said. "They should not get comfortable with tradition, but instead advocate the rights of people with different backgrounds and promote cultural events to increase employee awareness."