MEMORANDUM

Date

To: Monitor Company Directors
From: Consultant
Subject: Coordination of diversity efforts at Monitor Company

BACKGROUND
Recently you informed me that Monitor Company does not have a single vision for diversity and you have asked if this would be either damaging or helpful in the firm’s task of increasing diversity efforts. A few incidents or events triggered Monitor to begin thinking about diversity and inclusion programs. Currently there are three separate initiatives: the Advisor Network, Harassment Training and a series of seminars for women, and the Diversity Network. The purpose of the Advisors Network is to provide an outlet and resource for employees who need advice on issues such as succeeding at Monitor as either a woman, a person of color, or a GLBT employee. That initiative was created after the “Definition of Purpose” exercise done in 1993 surfaced issues related to the homogenous culture of the firm. Sexual Harassment and Sensitivity Training was deemed necessary after a 1991 director’s meeting. In that meeting, CFO David Kaplan stressed the need for “professional courtesy” training, and then the two female directors, Liz Martineau and Caroline Firstbrook disclosed that they had experienced “gender-related insensitivity”. Another thought of Martineau and Firstbrook was that female consultants were in need of role models to help guide them through the barriers of being a female in the consulting industry, which led to a seminar in 1994 geared towards female employees. A third initiative – the Diversity Network – was created in 1993 by Joe Fuller, one of the two founders of Monitor Company. Fuller understood the value that a diversity workforce provides for an organization, and he created the Diversity Network to emphasize recruiting efforts of minorities. As an organization, Monitor needs to determine if progress can be achieved without a single vision for diversity.

ANALYSIS
When looking at an organization, issues typically are related to the organization structure and values. While all three initiatives have the same goal of promoting a more diverse workplace at Monitor, they approach it differently. The Advisor Network and the women’s seminar group are focused on personal development, and they strive to be a resource for Monitor employees. The Diversity Network and the Harassment Training are focused on institutional development; they were implemented to help the organization advance its diversity efforts. However, the Harassment Training can also be seen as personal development for those employees who may have suffered from gender-based insensitivity in the past. Another important factor in relation to the training is that sexual harassment was not just known to occur internally, but also externally by clients.

Monitor Company consists of different types of organizational structures. One apparent type is an informal structure, where “formal roles and relationships are not the only basis of social interaction.” (Nohria, Nitin. Note on Organization Structure. Case Study. Boston. Harvard Business School, 1991. Web. 10 July 2012.) The relationships formed in the Advisor Network and the women seminars develop based on friendship, advice, and shared backgrounds and interests. These are important relations that help an organization’s effectiveness. Management must be mindful of the informal network and all employees should utilize it.

There are both strengths and weaknesses in Monitor’s current initiatives. The current program has brought out cases that would not have become known without it. It has also prevented employees from leaving the firm by giving them an outlet for discussing concerns. However, the weaknesses include both time management for team leaders in the diversity initiative, as well as integrating different diversity definitions into a cohesive strategy.

Values and a vision are crucial to any organization’s success. Organizational values are a firm’s guiding principles. A firm’s vision is based on its long-term goals. Vision provides guidance about what foundation to preserve and what future to stimulate progress toward. (Collins, James C., and Jerry I. Porras. Building Your Company’s Vision. Case Study. Boston. Harvard Business School, 2000. Web. 8 July 2012.) Without a single vision on diversity, Monitor could be hurting its efforts to create a more diverse workforce and inclusive culture.

RECOMMENDATION
I recommend that Monitor Company create a single vision for diversity and then use that vision and an integration of the three diversity initiatives to reach the goal of having a more diverse and inclusive workplace. To create a vision, Monitor will need to determine its core ideology and values. I also believe that Monitor needs to create a Director role to coordinate the efforts. This will lessen the pressure on the consultants that are currently trying to balance their client-work and diversity initiatives.

Once a vision has been determined and a Director has been chosen, the company will need to show support from its senior leadership. Since a main component for measuring compensation and leadership potential is the value added to the organization, Monitor should stress to its employees the need for everyone to support its one vision and goal. One way to do this is to have communications go out to all employees: videos, emails, brochures, posters. All communication should be from senior leadership and define the new vision and list ways that the employees can become involved in all three initiatives. Another proposal is to include mention of the diversity vision and initiatives in Monitor’s New Hire Orientation and Training programs. While this should help support diversity internally, Monitor needs to take action to promote its diversity vision among its clients. A memo should go out to all current clients to introduce the vision. Most clients should be supportive of the new vision, and should understand the value that a diverse workforce could bring to their organizations. To stress cooperation between Monitor and its clients, the client contracts should now include that the clients need to abide by certain Monitor policies, including the guidelines surrounding harassment of consultants.

Finally, Monitor should further encourage collaboration between the three initiatives. For example, the Advisor Network should recommend to employees coming for advice become a part of either the women’s seminars or the Diversity Network. These are both good outlets for employees struggling with inclusiveness. The women’s seminars should also include discussions with all Monitor employees, not just females, to ensure the understanding of the definition of diversity. Another suggestion is that the Diversity Network should include materials promoting Monitor’s diversity vision, goals, and initiatives at their recruiting events.

By implementing this plan, Monitor will see an increase in motivation amongst employees to support its diversity goals. A single vision will help strengthen the initiatives, which should work together so that results can be seen in the near future.