The Finer Details of Diversity
Why wooing diverse staff takes more than hanging a shingle at the local job fair.
V
isitors to the office of Erby Foster at mentoring and coaching, provide input to
The Clorox Company are wont to note senior leaders and work with Human
that his desk calendar is a veritable rainbow Resources and Community Relations on
of colors and an alphabet of acronyms. It’s a diversity-related outreach. ERGs also
sign that Foster is doing his job well there as support our recruiting and retention efforts.
director, Diversity & Inclusion. ERG members attend college job fairs and
Foster’s modus operandi at Clorox professional organization events with
includes nurturing the diversity talent company recruiters to connect with diverse
pipeline. “We used to be tactical and a bit candidates.
reactionary,” he says. “We would pick a Back in 2004, Human Resources
diversity group and go to a banquet or set up chartered a Diversity & Inclusion Task Force
a booth at a job fair. Now we’re looking at it to explore better ways to foster diversity at
more strategically. We’re building Clorox. This task force increased our focus
relationships with different diversity groups on diversity initiatives the past two years. In
because we want to be out there where good addition, diversity is a key component in all
candidates are.” of our leadership development and training
management positions. programs.
How Erby Foster helps Clorox Many organizations still fail to see the So for us, there’s clearly a business case
diversify its ranks. business case for diversity. For Clorox, it for diversity. We believe that we can
Clorox now has a host of burgeoning seems, the evidence is obvious and improve business results through growing
diversity initiatives. What led to their quantifiable. Exactly right. Our focus is to minority market share. In addition, we can
genesis? We want to attract and retain a connect consumer insights to innovation, and improve the quality and effectiveness of the
diverse workforce, not just because it’s the these markets represent a huge opportunity organization by developing a more diverse
right thing to do, but also because employees for consumer packaged goods companies. workforce and inclusive environment. Our
who mirror the marketplace put us at a This is particularly true for employees who diversity vision is to move from simply
competitive advantage. While other can relate to diverse consumers on a meeting requirements to being a diversity
consumer packaged goods companies are personal level. leader benchmarked by other companies.
getting recognition, we’re not on any top Consider the Hispanic segment where the When senior management crafted our
diversity lists. That needs to change. It’s predominant language is Spanish. Currently, 2008 strategy, they made a very conscious
important that we’re recognized and score when we do in-home interviews with these decision to set the company up for success
highly on external measures. A lot of consumers they need to be done in Spanish, by ensuring diversity was a core part of the
diversity candidates pay attention to these which, for many of us, requires a translator. people equation. This includes our
measurements, and we want to make sure Even with a great translator, some really employees, suppliers and consumers. You
we’re on their short list. powerful insights may be hard to pick up on look at the changing demographics and it
So how does Clorox get on the short if you’re not fluent in the language or the becomes clear that the only way we will
list? Clorox is doing this through outreach culture. The more people we have with succeed as a company is if we embrace
efforts to the many communities we’d like to Hispanic backgrounds at Clorox, the better diversity at all levels.
mirror in our workforce. In addition to we’re likely to be at serving this growing
Erby L. Foster, Jr. is director, Diversity &
attending receptions and job fairs, we segment.
Inclusion, for The Clorox Company, where he
recently made a $100,000, three-year How does Clorox go about recruiting advises senior management and the board of
commitment to the National Association of in diverse communities? And, once you
directors on the Company’s diversity strategy,
Black Accountants and expanded our
employment-branding initiatives, and manages
have those workers, how do you keep
employee resource groups. Foster is a CPA with
involvement with the Association of Latino them in the fold? One of our key choices
15 years of experience creating and implementing
Professionals in Finance & Accounting. We in our People Strategy is to create an business strategies that increase customer
support the National Asian American Society inspired work force that is rich in diversity.
satisfaction, drive profitable growth, and expand
of Accountants and also partner with the
market share. A native of San Francisco,
So we have introduced five employee
California, Foster has been featured in Black
National Society of Black Engineers and the resource groups (ERG): African American,
Enterprise magazine and Illinois CPA Society, and
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Asian/Pacific, Hispanic, Women, and worked with CFO magazine on the May 2001
On the global front, one of the International GLBT—gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender.
cover story – The Illusion of Inclusion.
division’s goals for FY’07 is to build a
Interview conducted by: Bernard Hodes
These groups are intended to help employees
Group
strong pipeline of talent that will lead to connect with one another and collectively
Copyright © 2008 – Bernard Hodes Group -
greater female representation in senior with Clorox. ERGs will help with informal All Rights Reserved
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