"Continuing the diversity journey: business benefits, perspectives and practices, December 2008, Brussels, Belgium

Transcription

1 "Continuing the diversity journey: business benefits, perspectives and practices, December 2008, Brussels, Belgium Conference report The programme for the one-and-a-half day conference was structured around two overarching themes: Towards Talent and Competitiveness in the European Market and Creating Advantage in a Competitive Economy through Diversity & Inclusion. DAY ONE Introduction The introductory session The Business Case for Diversity in Europe was presented by Mr Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, who highlighted the changing reality of the concept of diversity in Europe, in terms of its role not only as a precondition for the guaranteeing of equal opportunities but also as a key to successful participation in the global economy. He also acknowledged that many companies of various sizes and in various locations still had a long way to go. In her introductory speech, Ms Belinda Pyke, Director, European Commission, Directorate- General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, accentuated the changing nature of Europe s population and the role of diversity as a possible catalyst for increased innovation and productivity. She stressed the importance of the project and its themes, and expressed her hope that the conference report and, of course, the conference itself would help to place diversity management more firmly on the strategic business agenda of large and small companies and business schools across Europe. Mr Gilles de Robien, the French Ambassador for Promoting Social Cohesion, then sketched in the contours of a diverse Europe and the opportunities and challenges it provided. The essence of diversity, he stated, is rooted in the democracy of Europe, and the proper management of diversity is an important element in the vibrancy of European culture. The last speaker in the introductory session was Novartis International AG s Head of Global HR Standards, Matt Sutter, who provided the audience with a concrete example of his company s approach to the diversity journey. Ms Barbara Roche, as moderator, closed the session by providing a short overview of the morning and the programme to follow.

2 Session One: Why and how to go on the diversity journey The first afternoon session of Day 1 was presented by Dr Peter Garside, an independent SME expert from Kingston University, who shared with the conference the results of the survey on the perspectives of SMEs and intermediary support organisations on diversity issues. While the majority of SMEs that took part in the survey recognise the business benefits of diversity, one of the greatest challenges perceived by SMEs is the recruiting of the right people. The perspective of one of the key representatives of SME organisations, UEAPME (the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) was delivered by Mr Gerhard Huemer, Director for Economic and Fiscal Policy, who replaced Andre Benassi, Secretary General of UEAPME, who was unfortunately unable to attend the conference. Mr Huemer acknowledged the value of diversity in SMEs as well as in the European economy and employment market. The first part of this session again concluded with a concrete example of the business benefits of incorporating diversity in a SME. Mr Ignace D Hooghe, Managing Director of Fischbach Belgium, presented a strong case for the approach taken by Fischbach and the way it had added concrete value to the bottom line and improved career options for all employees in essence, a win-win scenario. The last part of the session focused on the role of Diversity Charters and how, as an example of a voluntary diversity initiative, they can function as support instruments at the beginning of the diversity journey. Chairing this part of the session, Mr Henri de Reboul, Executive Director of Entreprendre pour la Cite, shared his expertise on the development of Diversity Charters in France. Ms Isabelle Pujol, independent diversity expert with Focus Consultancy, then drew the audience s attention to some of the highlights of the project s survey results, after which Mr Hans Jablonski shared the German experience of Diversity Charters. Although there are obvious similarities between the different existing charters (currently French, German and Brussels Capital Region), the German Charter has tended to evolve more from a business and corporate perspective, whilst the French and Brussels Charters developed also out of a political process. The concluding part of this session was again provided by a company in this case, a large enterprise, Telefonica SA, represented by Lilia Hernandez-Garcia, Compensations, Benefits & Development Director, which is involved in the development of a new Diversity Charter in Spain.

3 Evening Programme The evening provided excellent networking opportunities for the conference participants. During dinner, Lord Hastings, Global Head of Citizenship at KPMG, gave an inspiring and thought-provoking speech on the importance of diversity in a global marketplace. DAY TWO Introduction The moderator for the second day of the conference, on the theme of Creating Advantage in a Competitive Economy through Diversity & Innovation, was Mr Ognian Zlatev, Managing Director of the Media Development Centre in Bulgaria, and was introduced by Ms Mike Elmont, Project Director and Executive Director of Focus Consultancy (the lead partner). After thanking everyone for their contributions to the project, she highlighted how crucial the concept and management of diversity were, particularly in the current economic crisis, and expressed her hope that the forthcoming discussions would contribute to sustainable business opportunities and a more inclusive work environment. Session Two: Global Diversity Leadership: Perspectives and Practices Mr Neil Carberry, Head of Pensions & Employment at the Confederation of British Industry, opened up the debate as Chair by highlighting the theme of the first part of the session: diversity and innovation. He acknowledged the importance of leadership in successful enterprises and expressed his hope that the opportunities diversity can create would be embraced by the business community. Dr Paul Campayne then went on to present the survey results in his aptly named presentation, Joining the dots between diversity, creativity and productivity, pointing out that innovation depends very much upon the ways the creative thinking both of individuals and of groups can be harnessed and linked together, and the degree to which a company has incorporated an inclusive organisational culture. 85% of companies surveyed, Dr Campayne stated, view the benefits of increased innovation as a key argument for the promotion of workplace diversity. The central challenge, however, is still the consistent capturing of data on the direct relationship between diversity and innovation. Ms Wendy Papworth, Workforce Diversity Manager, Europe Middle East and Africa, at the IBM Corporation, then went on to explain how IBM has levered diversity to create innovative and creative teams. The second part of the session, chaired by Ms Susana Domingo, Regional Director, Southern

4 Europe, Centre for Creative Leadership (EMEA), focused on business schools, the important role they play in educating and training the business leaders of the future and how a business-academic network on diversity management could be developed. Mr Esben Pedersen, Postdoc at Copenhagen Business School, provided his perspective on Diversity Management & Business Schools: Current Practice and Future Partnerships, after which Professor Junko Takagi of the ESSEC Business School informed the conference of the current state of affairs regarding the challenges and opportunities for business schools. Session Three: Diversity Benefits, Perspectives & Practices The final session of the morning was given over to four concurrent workshops on the themes of The Business Case for Diversity in SMEs - How SMEs can benefit from diversity (chaired by Dr Peter Garside and facilitated by Ms Jacqueline Snijders of EIM); Tools for a Successful Diversity Journey - Charters, labels, indexes and how to make them work (chaired by Ms Gesa Böckermann, Policy Officer, European Commission, and facilitated by Ms Isabelle Pujol); The Competitive Edge: Diversity & Innovation - Creating advantage in a competitive economy (chaired by Dr Paul Campayne and facilitated by Dr Myrtha Casanova, President of IEGD); and Diversity Leadership: The Role of Business Schools - Training managers for tomorrow s opportunities (chaired by Simon Pickard, Director General of EABIS, and facilitated by Bart Neerscholten, EABIS s Research & EU Affairs Manager). Following presentations from a variety of speakers (see list of Presentations), workshop participants enjoyed a series of stimulating debates and exchanges of pertinent information, such as examples of good practices and policies, after which the workshop chairs/facilitators reported back to the conference as a whole. Session Four: Continuing the Diversity Journey The final session of the conference featured a presentation by Celica Thellier d Auzers, European Co-ordinator of Management Programmes, L Oreal, who explained to the audience how L Oreal had incorporated the essence of its company mantra the beauty of difference: sharing a spirit through learning in their management programme as well as in the roll-out throughout 28 European countries of their Diversity at L Oreal programme. Closing of Conference The conference was closed at 4.00pm by Mr Stefan Olsson, the European Commission s Head of Unit, Action against Discrimination, Civil Society. Thanking all the speakers and participants and, particularly, Focus Consultancy, the lead partner, the consortium members (EIM, EABIS and IEGD) and their support partners, he accentuated the importance of the promotion and management of workplace diversity as a vital strategic resource for competitive advantage, not only for multinationals but also for SMEs, intermediary support

5 organisations and bodies concerned with business education and promotion. Mr Olsson congratulated the audience on the success of the conference and expressed his hope that the debates would continue on and would lead to yet more positive and concrete policies and practices.