“Look carefully at your business partners. Listen to what your managers and employees have to say. They are close to your customers and employees. And always be aware that there is more you can do.”
When Chairman and CEO Michael I. Roth speaks of the value of diversity in his company, his perspective is simple and clear: “We want our workforce to reflect the community in which we serve.”
His overriding message within the company he leads is that “while diversity is good from an ethical point of view, it’s also good for business.” He explains this message further by articulating the business case for The MONY Group: “Our primary market, the U.S., continues to become more and more diverse. And for us to remain competitive in our industry, our organization needs to reflect this diverse community.”
In considering companies who resist prioritizing diversity as a core business value, Mr. Roth reemphasizes that, “diversity is good for business” and urges these companies to rethink their business strategies. “It is wrong and a cop out to not make diversity a business value. You must have your head buried in the sand if you don’t see the changing demographics of your future customers and your future employees. You are doing your company an injustice from a leadership perspective if you’re not paying attention to diversity.”
Although he recognizes the challenge that “people are extremely busy,” he stresses that “we need to make the time to ensure our workforce is as diverse as possible.”
One way to accomplish this is to employ a multitude of strategies ranging from “encouraging diversity as much as possible” to “making it a part of our business plans.”
Moreover, in order to be truly effective, diversity strategies must be communicated from the top. “Diversity is most effective if it comes from the top. It has more credibility and viability, and as a result, local managers become empowered by the message from the top.”
Mr. Roth reasons that, “If a company is not diverse, their talent base is not diverse, and their work product will not be as good. You cannot be myopic and ignore this business fact.”
Return to Diversity in Dollars and $ense: CEOs Speak Out on the Business Case for the 21st Century