May/June 2007

May: Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month is a national celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, held during the month of May to mark the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to the United States on May 7, 1843. Since its introduction as a congressional bill in 1977, the commemoration has grown to a month-long celebration of community festivals, government-sponsored activities and educational events.

Make sure your company recognizes the heritage and contributions of Asian/Pacific Americans in the workplace. Visit the Asian/American Heritage Association for ideas.

May: Older Americans Month

Did you know that one in every eight, or 12.4%, of the US population is an older American? Or that the number of Americans aged 45-64 – who will reach 65 over the next two decades – increased by 40% during this decade alone?

For these and other reasons, even more attention has been given to older Americans and their place in our community, workplaces and society at large, than when Older Americans Month was first established in 1963. This year’s theme is “Making Choices for a Healthier Future.”

Learn more at the Administration on Aging website.

June: Gay and Lesbian Pride Month

Since its declaration in June 2000 as a time to “recognize the gay and lesbian Americans whose many and varied contributions have enriched our life,” Gay and Lesbian Pride Month has featured programs, ceremonies and other events that celebrate the diversity of the nation.

Need some help learning how to treat employees in the workplace, regardless of sexual orientation? Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) equality, publishes an annual State of the Workplace report that provides “information to assist employees and employers in implementing polices and procedures aimed at treating [GLBT] workers equally.”

You can read the report on the Human Rights Campaign website.

Employee Affinity Groups: A Diversity Branding Opportunity

Today’s workforce is made up of several different groups along gender, generational, racial, ethnic and other lines – just take a look at this issue’s upcoming diversity celebrations. And because people are drawn to similarity and can sometimes self-segregate, you might think employee affinity groups reward exclusionary behavior and directly oppose your company’s commitment to diversity.

Not so.

Best practice employers know that they must reach out to diverse employees (retention) as well as passive candidates (recruitment). Employee affinity groups do both. The discussion on whether or not these groups divide and conquer or unite and build can be shifted to a more, business-savvy tone: Employee affinity groups are a branding and outreach effort. Most common affinity groups are: African American, Hispanic, Asian, women and GLBT. However, some companies have as many as twelve different groups based on race, gender, ethnicity and nationality.

Following are some ways to shift your thinking toward the business purpose benefits of employee affinity groups:

Marketing and Outreach

External communications. Tell the public that you back up your “commitment to diversity” statement with groups that foster diverse employee growth and company enculturation.

Diversity “Ambassadors”. Know that the members of employee affinity groups become informal ambassadors of your company’s diversity – and treat them accordingly.

Branded events/networking. Use affinity group-sponsored events as a chance to align your company brand with diversity and as opportunities to network with both active and passive candidates.

Recruitment and Retention

Testimonials. When you’re looking to develop recruitment campaigns that include the perspectives of all of your employees, affinity group members can be tapped for testimonials.

Career and diversity websites. Since reflecting diversity on websites has the potential to attract applicants, your employee affinity group should be highlighted on both career and diversity sites.

Referrals. Employee referrals are an effective way to recruit, but can potentially hinder EEOC compliance if your workplace lacks diversity and employees associate with – and thus, refer - people only like them. Tapping into your affinity groups can help balance this trend and bring in more diverse talent.

College recruiting. Since diverse college graduates sometimes seek mentors at their new jobs, let them know that your company has networks of support for employees.

Internal communications. Your current employees can engage with the organization through your employee affinity group – and engagement is a key to retention.

Career development. Lastly, don’t forget the career development benefits of affinity groups. They’re sometimes the only opportunity for employees to interact with colleagues across silos with all levels of management, a great career development tool for employees.

In the same way that diversity branding requires planning, resources and an internal focus, creating effective employee affinity groups can take considerable time and effort. Done right, they can serve as groups that meet marketing, outreach, recruitment and retention goals of your company.