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Diversity Practices at Motorola IWONA TURLIK Corporate Vice President and Director Motorola Advanced Technology Center I would like to share with you my perspective as an engineer and manager at Motorola where we try to go beyond the numbers that represent the traditional definitions of diversity. Our definition takes into account a wide range of human attributes, such as thinking styles, age, experience, education, geographic origin, economic status, language, religion, lifestyles, and sexual orientation, as well as gender, ethnicity, and disability. As the manager of facilities in Brazil, Germany, China, and the United States, I know that perspectives on diversity are very closely related to culture. Today, I will focus on diversity from the perspective of a manager working in the United States for a U.S. corporation. Our goal at Motorola is to create a globally diverse business environment and to be recognized by our customers, shareholders, employees, and communi- ties as the premier company for which to work, from which to buy products, and in which to invest. Having a diverse organization results in a stronger business. Diversity is not about employing more women; it is about being a better com- pany that can find better solutions. At Motorola we appreciate different ways of looking at an issue. Our mission is very simple: to ensure the long-term success of the company by empowering âMotorolansâ with diverse backgrounds, styles, cultures, and abilities to turn global diversity into a competitive advantage. To be a successful company (after all, what really counts is what your stakeholders think about your business), you need experienced employees with diverse backgrounds. What is Motorolaâs alignment and talent strategy? If you look at the list in Table 1, youâll notice that it is not much different from what other companies do. We focus on benefits, awards, and retention. With a diverse workforce, managing employee benefits is not a simple issue because you must offer different packages 24
DIVERSITY PRACTICES AT MOTOROLA 25 TABLE 1 Motorola Alignment and Talent Strategy Framework Global marketplace Advancement of women and minorities (integration at all levels) Diversity of management team Cultural awareness and acceptance Integration of individuals with disabilities Work/life integration Benchmarking Excellence as a measure to evaluate global diversity Equity in expansions or contractions of the workforce Understanding of local markets and quick action in attracting talent (localization of market demand) Mentoring/networking Employee wellness program Measurement and management accountability Talent management Talent pipeline initiative Supplier diversity programs Minority conferences/recruitment Motorola business councils Work policies such as flexible schedules, telecommuting Benefits Awards Retention Training Communication strategy Community involvement Motorola Foundation grants xx to different employee populations. Awards are a way of encouraging people to stay, but if one focuses only on awards, retention can be a very expensive proposi- tion. Today it is very important to ensure equity when business conditions require the expansion or contraction of the workforce. If you think about the challenges technology businesses, such as Motorola, are currently undergoing, it becomes apparent that the makeup of the engineering workforce is a critical factor. Why do we focus on women and minorities? For Motorolaâs engineering community, the answer is very simple. In the next few years, we will need a larger resource pool. Women and minorities are part of the pool from which we will be drawing for the next 10 years to expand our engineering capabilities as a company. We must do the right things in this area to continue to be competitive. A study of Fortune 500 companies by Covenant Investment Management shows that the average annualized return on investment for companies committed to promoting minority and women workers was 18.3 percent over a five-year period, compared with only 7.9 percent for companies with âglass ceilings.â That is the bottom line of the business case.
26 DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING TABLE 2 Greatest Perceived Obstacles to Career Advancement Under 30 Age 30 to 39 Age 40 to 49 Age 50 and over Women 1 Discrimination Balancing Economy Discrimination work/home 2 Unappreciated Economy Discrimination Poor management 3 Economy/poor Discrimination Balancing Economy management work/home Men 1 Economy Economy Economy Economy 2 Poor management Poor management Poor management Poor management 3 Personal skills Personal direction Personal drive Discrimination SOURCE: National Academy of Engineering. 1999. The Summit on Women in Engineering Re- source Book. Washington D.C.: National Academy of Engineering. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2006 the proportion of white males in the workforce will decline to 44 percent, while the proportion of white females will increase to almost 40 percent. The proportion of African-American females will increase to 6.2 percent, which is 35 percent more than it was in 1976. Latino representation in the workforce will increase to 4.8 percent, which is 78 percent greater than it was in 1976. If we look at population growth, we can see that the numbers vary by ethnic background. This leads us to ask what we can do so that Motorola can grow with these growing populations. Table 2 shows the different perceptions of females and males about work. Until you understand the differences, it will be difficult to take action to improve the situation. Women in every age category perceive discrimination as a career obstacle. Men over 50 also perceive discrimination as an obstacle. Regardless of whether or not these perceptions are true, they affect the performance of employees in your company. What do we do at Motorola to improve retention and advancement? First, we try to include diversity in all of our strategic business plans. Catalyst has recognized Motorola for doing a very, very good job in evaluating and promot- ing people to senior management positions. However, before individuals can be promoted, they have to be prepared to succeed. Training is a very important aspect of an employeeâs career path. To help us identify and sponsor candidates for development, Motorola established a special human resources task force to develop systems for selecting and promoting qualified individuals, especially minorities. We have found that there is a fine line between giving individuals an opportunity and promoting them too soon, which can have serious negative con- sequences. Promotions should take place when employees are ready. Promotions
DIVERSITY PRACTICES AT MOTOROLA 27 must be fair, for both majority and minority employees. More time should be spent preparing minorities for senior positions because there are fewer of them and because they sometimes require different experiences. The network may also be slightly different. In short, we must be careful that we do not promote too soon and that we promote fairly. What would we like to accomplish through our diversity efforts? If we are successful, the most qualified women and minority engineers will stay with Mo- torola. Women and minority engineers will rise without barriers through corpo- rate and organizational ranks, based on their personal talents, interests, and eth- ics. Overall, the number of engineers will remain at a healthy level and will reflect a vibrant, multicultural workforce, and Motorola will be recognized as a leader in providing diversity in the engineering workforce. What have we done at Motorola? I would like to share with you one of the insights that occurred to me during the meetings of the NAE Forum on Diversi- ty. Being an engineer and knowing the cycle time for an engineering design, I am used to things changing very rapidly. In contrast, cultural change is a slow process. Trying to change the culture of an organization and making a lasting impact means you really have to view things from a different perspective. You have to focus on something and make a start. We did a focus group study at one of the Motorola labs I manage in the United States. The lab has 75 employees. Thirty-six employees were randomly assigned to be part of five focus groups on diversity-related topics. The first question was: What factors contribute to your overall job satisfaction in the Motorola Advanced Technology Center? The participants had several answers, such as âideas are always welcomeâ and âthere is a lot of freedom and openness for engineersâ creativity.â They also mentioned respect for peers and coworkers, the cultural mix, including women, welcoming and friendly people and interac- tion. Clearly, diversity was important even though no one specifically men- tioned âdiversity.â Being open and including people from different cultures is more important than having specific numbers of women and minorities in your organization. The second question was: Do we recognize people fairly well? I was very pleased with the answer from my team on this point. My senior management is very sensitive to recognizing people when they make an impact. I think that this is the most important kind of recognition. If you recognize contributions at the right time and in the right place, everybody benefits, and the organization be- comes much better. We also spend a lot of time on personal career growth in the organization. This is a simple business case. It can be compared to an engineering design. If you spend a lot of time up front before you move to the final design, your results will be much, much stronger. I believe in sitting down with my employees and talking about what they would like to have and where they want their careers to go. We all know that career plans usually canât be realized exactly as planned,
28 DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING TABLE 3 Motorola Diversity Awards 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers (1992â2000), Working Mother The Best Companies to Work for and Why (1992â2000), National Society of Black Engineers Executive Directorâs Award for Community Partnership (2000), National Society of Black Engineers Bridge Legacy Program Hispanic Corporate 100 List (2000), Hispanic Magazine Pride in Excellence Employer of the Year Award (2000), Project Equality, Inc. Secretary of Laborâs Opportunity 2000 Award, U.S. Department of Labor Top 100 Employers of the Class of 2000, The Black Collegian Top 50 Companies for Diversity (2001), DiversityInc.com Top Gay-Friendly Public Companies in Corporate America for 2001, The Gay Financial Network Americaâs Top 50 Corporations (2001), Div2000.com Corporation of the Year (2001), National Society of Hispanic MBAs 2001 âOutieâ Award for significant achievement, Out and Equal Workplace Advocates NOTE: For more information on Motorolaâs awards related to diversity, see <http:// www.motorolacareers.com/ufsd2/diversity/awards.cfm>. but good dialogue is a good way to keep the organization strong and growing. I really liked the last response, which was that there is something very special about our organization. I think the most important thing is that we are really inclusive and open; at the same time, we complete our milestones and meet the goals the corporation sets for us. We asked the focus groups if they feel that employees, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, are treated fairly by peers, supervisors, and managers. One response was that we have the most diverse organization they have seen. Another response was that we have a good mix of people. We donât favor any special group; we favor very good performance. We are not judgmental, and we have an open-door policy. The lab works well because of the diversity and exposure to different cultures. People are open-minded and treat each other with respect. These are simple, small steps an organization can take to be more successful. There is no magic behind it. Responsiveness and strong leadership involve more than simply measuring the minority numbers. We also asked how they felt about diversity business councils. The response was that they contribute to networking and awareness, but some employees were not sure what the councils do. Employees also wanted to know why only certain groups had business councils. If an employee is already comfortable and func- tioning well in a diverse environment, he or she might not feel the need to
DIVERSITY PRACTICES AT MOTOROLA 29 associate with a special group, might not want to be singled out in that way. Other employees thought that diversity councils were mostly social functions but that the opportunity to hear othersâ perceptions was beneficial. It works both ways. If we didnât have the councils, we wouldnât have the networking. If you look at the end result, it might seem that a small organization that is very diverse might not need the councils. I would say the oppositeâin most organizations, business councils play a very important role, and they should be supported. Finally, we asked our employees for suggestions for improving our diversity programs. Some said we didnât need to do anything more because we are al- ready diverse. In my opinion, however, if you are not moving forward, you are losing ground. The focus groupâs response indicated that they appreciated our very good, diverse organization but that not all groups in Motorola are as diverse as we are. Thus, there is still work to do. People might think there is not much to do, but I agree with one of the employees who said that we should market our diverse group to other Motorola organizations and to our management. In this way, we can promote the benefits of a diverse environment. When it comes to diversity and related issues, Motorola is one of the very best companies for which to work, but we are not perfect. Even though we have won many major awards for diversity (Table 3), we still have plenty to do. Considering the number of women and minorities available in the workforce and the number of technologists Motorola will need in the next 10 years, we face a significant challenge.