NELSTAR LEADERSHIP & DIVERSITY CONSULTING

CHALLENGE: Start-up of the General Electric Medical Systems (GEMS) Cultural Diversity Department.

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The General Electric Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jack Welch announced the following to all Business Presidents in 1989: “If GE is to compete in global markets and if it is to draw on the best talent from an increasing diverse workplace, we must break down the cultural barriers which impede the hiring, development, promotion and retention of women, minorities, non-U.S. citizens and others with diverse backgrounds.”  Each was directed to create a Cultural Diversity department.  Upon return from the annual meeting in Boca Raton, FL, the GEMS President John Trani set out to do just that.  As the newly appointed Cultural Diversity Manager within the Human Resources Department, it became my challenge to turn our work environment of barriers into an environment of inclusion.  This action was further complicated by the fact the Division had recently settled a major lawsuit with a salaried manager of color for disparate treatment.  Complaints prevailed from other individuals who also hoped to prevail in their lawsuits. This time, the company did not want to take the risk.  We needed to create a new environment that would not adversely impact the same or other groups again.  The need for innovation and a cost-savings strategy was compounded by the fact that the HR Department was in the process of considering budget reductions.

 

ACTIONS: I took the following actions to address this challenge:

• Led the development of a 15-Element cultural diversity strategy to establish a total business integration model and created a tool-kit for managers and supervisors that would be used for reinforcement and reference in performance management, conflict management, and standard operating procedures to enhance and support a diverse workforce.

• Led multiple stakeholder meetings that included Business Unit managers and impacted employees to set the strategic vision, solicit support, and build trust.

• Hired and worked closely with an award winning diversity training consultant to customize training curriculum for delivery to over 10,000 employees, front line supervisors, and senior leaders –starting with the CEO and his direct reports.

• Brought staff together within HR and facilitated “work-out” sessions with them and the administrative team members. In these sessions, we developed operational and tactical plans that would guide the transition and implementation of the cultural diversity model.

• Directed the effort to create a 15 member Corporate Diversity Council which was a “Z” slice of the organization from senior executives to hourly employees to ensure all viewpoints were included as we set out on the mission of providing overall direction of the diversity initiatives.

• Co-authored a revised Affirmative Action Planning Guide for internal corporate use to help reduce the number of OFCCP audits.

• Co-founded two affinity groups.  First to be created was the African-American Forum (AAF), initially named GEMLUP (GE Minority Leaders United for Progress) followed by the creation of the Professional Women's Group (PWG).

• Expanded the recruitment effort to include HBCU’s and initiated attendance at diverse conferences to create the opportunity for the company to ‘fish in many pools’ to find the best talent.

• To ensure women and people of color are not overlooked in promotional opportunities, I introduced a diversity element of succession planning requiring every effort be made to present a diverse slate of candidates before advancement decisions are made. 

• To communicate organizational goals, I established a strategy that was a mix of training, group and one-on-one meetings, verbal, written and electronic communications to ensure employee communication at all layers of the organization and consistent with the business messages of valuing diversity.  A Cultural Assessment survey was conducted to measure how the work climate may be perceived differently across demographics groups.

 

Result: As a result of my leadership of this major change initiative, General Electric Medical Systems received approval of the integrated concept of diversity operations (across all lines of business in an integrated business model) and a budget of $250,000 and a staff of 5 was approved for the following fiscal year.  As the company continued to work on serious morale issues as a result of the lawsuit referenced previously, we became painfully aware that we had far to go which resulted in giving us a laser-like focus on the issues. By creating this ground-up approach to inclusion in addition to the top down commitment, EEO complaints were reduced by a factor of 80%.

 

In March 1992, this initiative was recognized by the GEMS President for my commitment to the strategic imperatives of the company, dedication to outstanding customer service, accountability for consistent process execution, and innovation.  The National AAF just celebrated it's 25th anniversary in 2016.  It gives me great pleasure to have been apart of the impetus of this long lasting change!