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Diversity Matters
is edited by
Annette Merritt Cummings
Vice President, Diversity Services

800.438.9911

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 17

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
- Martin Luther King Jr., accepting Nobel Peace Prize, Dec. 10, 1964

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Birds of a Feather

In recent years, businesses across the country have become savvy to the fact that their brands are enhanced in the minds of both consumers and potential employees when they lend support to various humanitarian charitable efforts. By contributing funds thusly, these companies are in effect saying, “I care about you and your community.” Read More >

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 17 (continued)

On the heels of the passing of the great humanitarian Rosa Parks, this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day’s celebrations are sure to be especially poignant. Together, Parks and King helped spark the Civil Rights Movement, which remains alive today because of their enduring, reverberating messages about equality and human rights.

Plans for a memorial honoring Dr. King are in the works as of this writing. This monument is scheduled to be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., adjacent to the F.D.R. Memorial. Construction is scheduled for late 2006 and is expected to be completed in 2008. It is hoped that this architectural undertaking will offer a physical home for Dr. King’s legacy, a place where those of like minds can congregate, celebrate his contributions, and teach others about his chief themes: democracy, justice and hope. Among those organizations who have contributed funds to the memorial are: General Motors, In Kind Productions, Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, Procter & Gamble and the NBA.

Birds of a Feather (continued)

Employers know that it is no longer sufficient to simply say they share the values of the talent they seek to hire. Nowadays, job-hunters are looking for the organization that overtly demonstrates a dedication to choice charities and non-profit ventures. Call it a birds-of-a-feather effect—employers that attach themselves to important charitable work improve the value of their employer brand in the process.

There are a variety of ways a company may build community ties and establish itself credibly with target audiences. Alexandra Bassil, vice president, manager of public relations, Bernard Hodes Group, has noted in her work the benefits of community relations and public relations efforts to employers.

“We've learned about the higher level of credibility to be gained,” says Bassil, “by communicating messages using a variety of channels with advertising and public relations tactics.” Bassil says research has indicated that most audiences no longer believe in and/or pay attention to messages paid for by the sender. “We want to learn more about the company sending the message,” adds Bassil, “and we would prefer a third-party endorsement to filter that message.”

Bassil says that consumers and potential employees place greater value on a message that is filtered and distilled by a reputable objective observer, such as a journalist, another employee, or a customer. She says these third-party endorsers serve to level the playing field and allow the paid message to be clarified.

To that end, says Bassil, news coverage that conveys the story of the employer's workplace and values, through quotes from their employees, is priceless.

“When jobseekers want to learn more about the employer's values, they search online to find anything besides content on the company's ‘official’ website,” says Bassil. She cautions, however, that public relations and community relations messaging must align with a company's employer branding messages to make it easier for third-party endorsers to be heard.

Bassil points out that diverse candidates are savvy job-hunters who won’t accept an employer at face value. “They want to ascertain that the organization courting them ‘walks the walk and talks the talk’ before accepting a job offer.” She says that organizations need to prove to diverse candidates through their websites and community relations activities that they've contributed to non-profit organizations that support their stated values. 

For example, says, Bassil, “If the organization supports a community-related non-profit doing work in the African-American/Hispanic/Asian community, do they only financially support it or do members of their top management team participate as board members?” Bassil says such are the nuances with which top diverse talent will concern themselves.

All organizations want their brand to be recognized as a good corporate citizen. That reputation, however, is communicated not only in corporate-sanctioned messaging but also by employees. Bassil points out that it is often too late to claim good corporate citizenship during times of crises such as unexpected law suits or product failure. “The messages of good work,” says Bassil, “must have preceded the current crisis so that potential candidates can draw their own positive conclusions based on the community relations already in place.”

So what should employers keep in mind during their quest to foster positive employer branding?

“Teach employees how to live the brand,” says Bassil, “and constantly communicate the brand attributes to all employees.” Bassil says those employees will then know “how to characterize their work/life experience when asked by diverse candidates, the media, or members of their community outside of the workplace.