D

Diversity Analysis of Wells Fargo
MGMT 360-51
Team - Multiplicity
Shannon Willy
Darren Cattnach
Jeannine Petersen
Edward Davis
Cindy Sellner
Metropolitan State University
Summer 2010

Executive Background

Introduction Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 10,000 stores and 12,000 ATMs and the Internet across North America and internationally. They are headquartered in San Francisco; however, they’re decentralized so every local Wells Fargo store is a headquarters for satisfying all their customers’ financial needs. This has led to a large customer base, which Wells estimates that one in three households in America does business with them. Wells Fargo has $1.2 trillion in assets and more than 278,000 team members across their 80+ businesses. They ranked fourth in assets, and third in market value of their stock among their U.S. peers as of March 31, 2010 ("Wellsfargo.com," 2010). Wells Fargo’s company vision is stated as, “We want to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs, help them succeed financially, be the premier provider of financial services in every one of our markets, and be known as one of America’s great companies.” This statement has led them to have an outstanding reputation in the community. They have been recognized in the following publications: FORTUNE 19th in Revenue among All Companies in All Industries (2010), World’s 39th Most Admired Company (2010), Forbes One of America’s Best Big Companies (2008), Top 100 Best Companies in the World (2010), Barron’s World’s 50 Most Respected Companies (2010), BusinessWeek Best Places to Launch a Career (2009), America’s #2 Most Generous Corporate Foundations (2010), Newsweek America’s #1 Green Bank and #13 Greenest Big Company (2009), Human Rights Campaign Perfect Score of 100 on Corporate Equality Index (2009),U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Top 20 Green Power Partner Companies (2009), Diversity Inc. Top 50 Companies for Diversity (2010), Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans, Top 10 Companies for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Employees, LATINA Style Top 50 U.S. Companies for Latinas (2009) , and numerous others not mentioned ("Wells fargo team," 2010). Wells Fargo states its diversity mission as, “Wells Fargo Team Members should expect to work in an environment where each person feels valued for individual traits, skills and talents, and has the opportunity to fulfill ambitions and contribute to the success of the company.” From senior managers to tellers, 60% of their Team Members are women, and 34% of their Team Members are minorities. While these numbers are positive, they are always working to increase our diversity. To create an inclusive environment, Wells Fargo hires and retains team members who are diverse in age, education, ethnic origin, lifestyle, ability, race, religion, and sexual orientation. In addition, they advise managers on policy, program, culture, and leadership best practices, which are devoted to professional growth and education, community outreach, recruiting and retention, and customer insight ("Wells fargo team," 2010). This analysis paper will cover these topics and more, in an in-depth diversity analysis of the Wells Fargo organization.
Corporate Website Analysis
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality in the United States. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. HRC ranked Wells Fargo as number 41 in their 2009 list of Best Places to Work. They also gave Wells Fargo a score of 100 out of 100 in their Corporate Equality Index. DiversityInc.com also listed Wells Fargo in their Top 50. In fact, Wells Fargo has placed in the DiversityInc.com top 50 every year since the survey started. They conclude that the bank has a “well-deserved reputation for an inclusive workforce and one of the best multicultural customer-outreach programs anywhere.” Wells Fargo themselves report that 49% of their officers and managers are women, and 23% are minority. The corporation has a group they call their Enterprise Diversity Council, a cross-section of Wells Fargo Team members, which makes recommendations to Wells Fargo’s executive management team and helps ensure that they are making measurable progress in; diversity education, recruiting and placement efforts of diverse team members, as well as building a senior management team inclusive of people of color, women, and other diverse groups. Chairman and CEO John G. Stumpf is quoted “By making diversity a competitive advantage, we can; make Wells Fargo a better place to work, better understand our diverse customers’ needs, give customer and communities outstanding service, and deliver more value to our stockholders. To further their commitment to diversity, Wells Fargo has Team Member Networks which are devoted to the professional growth and education, community outreach, recruiting and retention, and customer insight. These groups are; Asian, Black and African American, Disabilities Awareness, GLBT, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern, Native American, Veterans, and Women. Wells Fargo maintains a public webpage listing the names of each of these Team Member Networks, as well as providing a quote from a member for each group. The page describes these networks as “organized by individuals connected by a shared background, experience, or other affinity. According to the various public websites I was able to research, as well as their ranking by HRC, it appears that Wells Fargo believes in diversity, as evidenced by their diverse workforce and by the team networks for minority employees.
Secondary Research
After doing some external research about Wells Fargo’s commitment to diversity the overall consensus is that Wells Fargo is a diverse company and shows it in a multitude of ways. They want to make sure that they keep up to date on diversity education, recruiting and placement of diverse Team Members, and that they build a senior management team that is inclusive of people of color, women and other diverse groups. Mark Oman a 2006 a partnership chair for Wells Fargo states in a Business Record article that “recognizing and promoting diversity means having an appreciation for difference. It’s part of Wells Fargo’s Vision and Values, and applies not only to the communities where we do business and the people we hire—it means encouraging and recognizing diversity in everything we do” (Oman). Diversity is a big part of what makes Wells Fargo a great and successful company. Along with being diverse Wells Fargo also emphasizes great social responsibility. In a report by Business Wire in 2009 it records that “despite the down economy, Wells Fargo & Company giving to nonprofits-combined with Wachovia Corporation-increased 5 percent to $226 million in 2008. Wells Fargo’s stand alone 2008 giving rose 11 percent from the previous year to $102 million” (Business Wire). Along with giving, their employees are also willing to help out in the community. In 2008 they had a total of 1.4 million Team Member volunteer hours. Those Team Members also served on 16,000 nonprofit boards and raised a record $39.3 million during the Community Support/United Way campaign (Business Wire). We could not find any information on the Corporate Register or Eldis about Wells Fargo. The Corporate Register is a primary reference point for corporate responsibility reports and resources worldwide. Eldis did not have any information about Wells Fargo. Eldis’s “aim is to share the best in development policy, practices and research (Eldis). Wells Fargo is a large company and maybe why there information is not listed on these websites is because Wells Fargo has such an extraordinary amount of information already within their own website about their policies, procedures etc. The Human Rights Compliance Assessment is a tool that can be used by companies or employees to evaluate how their company is doing in areas such as diversity. You are to rate the company on if the statement that is asked is either true, false, future action is require, not applicable, or no information available. Such questions that are asked in the non-discrimination section are as follows. “The company has a method for ensuring that company benefits and services, such as sick leave, holiday pay, housing, and healthcare…are provided in a non-discriminatory manner.” Also included is “hiring managers receive training regarding the company’s non-discrimination polices” (HRCA). After looking over these questions we do believe that Wells Fargo as a company could answer most if not all of these statements as true about their company since they do have such a strong sense of diversity company. After searching the Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire archives I found an article pertaining to Wells Fargo. It was talking about how the Wachovia Wells Fargo’s foundation gives out a NEXT award for financial institutions that responsibly serve low-income and low-wealth people and communities. This award is the nation's largest and most prestigious awards program for community development financial institutions (CDFIs) (Corporate Responsibility). Two of the finalist will compete for $5.5 million and two will compete for $2.75 million. When searching the Responsible shopper website we did encounter some negative topics related to Wells Fargo. Most of them pertained to the financial side of the company and not so much from a diversity point of view. However, I did encounter that “Wells Fargo received a C+ grade on the 2007 NAACP Economic Reciprocity Initiative report. The grade reflects a measurement of corporate America’s commitment to African Americans and other people of color. This article was written in 2007 and there was not any new articles pertaining to this, which probably means that Wells Fargo corrected this issue. When searching for EEOC Litigations brought upon Wells Fargo all I could find was that on March 11, 2010 a man with disabilities got the Disabled Rights Action Committee (DRAC) to file a complaint against Wells Fargo stating that he went to use a night depository and that it was difficult for him to access it because it was too high for his wheelchair. It was stated that the man or the DRAC did not want any monetary relief, but simply for the bank to comply with the law (Drake). After viewing all of these external sources and articles we do believe that this research has supported that the company is focused on diversity. The Wells Fargo website has the most information about the company’s policies, procedures, news and topics related to diversity, social responsibility and more. In the external research there was not much negative information pertaining to diversity at Wells Fargo. Most of the negative information mostly pertained to business practices such as financials related to the company. Overall, if you are looking for a diverse company to work for Wells Fargo would be a good choice.
Analysis of commitment to Diversity
"Diversity is one of our core values and is vital to our long-term success. We can't be one of the world's great companies unless we become more diverse. By making diversity a competitive advantage, we can make our company a better place to work, ensure we have the very best team of people at the company, better understand our diverse customers' needs, and deliver more value to our communities and stockholders" as said by Chairman, President and CEO of Wells Fargo, John Stumpf. Wells Fargo demonstrates this key value very intently. In fact, Wells Fargo has been a leader in diversity for more than 150 years, earning the company close to 65 diversity awards and recognitions just within the last 9 years (2000-2009). As of March 2010, DiversityInc listed Wells Fargo in the top 50 list for most diverse companies, stating "This bank has a well-deserved reputation as a leader in multicultural marketing". The company also ranked 43 in 2010 by Fortune 500. With these few statistics in mind, are these rankings valid and does Wells Fargo really deserve to hold such high recognition for diversity leadership? Two executives of Wells Fargo, Bob Bertges and Sonya Dukes, director of corporate supplier diversity at Wells Fargo, are responsible for building diversity to improve the banks effort's to hire women and minority owned businesses. Corporate supplier diversity is another diversity aspect to the Wells Fargo Corporation. Their mission is "to build relationships within the communities we serve through the development, inclusion, and utilization of certified minority, women, and disadvantaged-owned business enterprises (MWDBEs)" (Diversity and Accessibility). This story is just one of many examples where corporate supplier diversity has made an impact on the community. This project that started over ten years ago in Charlotte is almost complete, while practically doubling their goal for the project from 20% to 38% of the entire budget solely being spent on women owned and ethnically diverse companies (O'Daniel, 2009, par.2). This project has also given two construction companies the opportunity work again. Leeper, the African-American president of Leeper Construction Inc. states, "If it wasn’t for Wells-Wachovia’s emphasis on diversity, we wouldn’t have been able to get involved on such a huge project. […] If we hadn’t had this work, we’d have been in real trouble.” He continues to show gratitude for how committed Wells Fargo and its two executives were to the project. Bertges and Dukes established specific goals for minority involvement and scheduled monthly meetings to make sure they were met. Other diversity programs often set goals but reach the target with only one big contract, not concentrated efforts to involve multiple small businesses, he says. “This is the most committed effort I’ve seen in a long time […]" (O'Daniel, 2009, par.19). This example not only reflects how the company prides itself on diversity, but they also find it important to build diversity in the communities as well. One group member of Team Multiplicity is a former employee of Wells Fargo and stated, "I can confidently say that Wells Fargo prides themselves on their mission to diversity. It is one of the most diverse companies I have worked for." According to the company website, their Diversity Mission reads, "Wells Fargo Team Members should expect to work in an environment where each person feels valued for individual traits, skills and talents, and has the opportunity to fulfill ambitions and contribute to the success of the company”. With this mission in mind, our group member continues to describe her experience with the company. "I am Caucasian and there were times where I felt like the minority because we had such a diverse work team. In fact, my first interview with the company was at branch where more than half their clientele was Hispanic. The first question I was asked was 'can you speak Spanish and if so, how fluent are you?' My response was 'yes, but not very much'. Needless to say I wasn't hired at that specific location because it would have been too difficult to be productive there, but this showed me how much diversity meant to this company. They hire and locate team members where they can best contribute to their customers". In fact, Wells Fargo quotes, "We hire and retain team members who are diverse in age, education, ethnic origin, lifestyle, ability, race, religion, and sexual orientation" (Diversity and Accessibility). By implementing strong diverse values amongst team members, Wells Fargo is able to contribute valuable service to a variety of clientele, thus making them one of the largest banks in the country and number 19 on the FORTUNE 500 for America's largest corporations in 2010 (Fortune, 2010). Additionally, 34% of Wells Fargo Team Members are minorities and 60% women. Compared to most companies, these percentages are very high. "While these numbers are positive, we are always working to increase our diversity" quotes the company website. According to their definition and core values when hiring Team Members, they have covered almost all diversity topics and issues based on what we have learned in class. The only one that was not mentioned was disabilities. As we learned in Module 10 and as defined by the American's with Disabilities Act, "the largest group in the U.S. consists of persons with a disability". By Wells Fargo not emphasizing disability diversity, does this mean it is not acknowledge by the company? The answer: not completely. Wells Fargo offers Team Member networks that are devoted to growth and education in the workplace, community outreach, recruiting and retention, supporting business development and customer insight. Within these networks, individuals who share similar backgrounds and/or experiences come together as one group. One of these networks consists of 'employees with disabilities'. Their purpose is building a better place to work. For example, this group sponsors sign language classes for all team members. This gives the employees opportunities to grow and, provide addition service to their customers who may be hearing impaired. They also hold a Disability Awareness Day for all team members. The leader of Employees with Disabilities explains, "Our goal is to increase team member awareness of disabilities issues through education and communication […] the ultimate goal is to promote career advancement and equal participation for all team members" (Diversity and Accessibility). We would then assume that a corporation that prides themselves on their diversified culture holds special training on diversity for their employees. We learn in module 14 there are beneficial tactics that should be used when performing diversity training programs. One of the key components is 'mandatory participation and accountability for learning and application'. "Excusing employee groups (especially top management) sends the wrong signal to the organization" (module 14 lecture). As a company and a management team, you want to ensure that your employees obtain extensive knowledge on company values in relation to diversity. Because diversity is such a sensitive, yet critical aspect of every organization today, it is important to train employees in diversity to avoid future complications and company downfall. Since 1852 when one of the first branches opened, Wells Fargo has understood the importance of retaining a diverse workforce as well as serving a diverse community. According to the group member that was once employed with Wells Fargo, once a person is hired at Wells Fargo, they go through a two week training period. In the two weeks, the newly hired Team Members learn the history of the company, their mission/vision statements and what the company stands for, reviews policies and procedures, and then jumps into hands on training for the remainder of the time. This training period does not emphasize on any diversity aspect. However, they do offer training in diversity classes for all employees. While it is encouraged to "help participants understand why diversity and creating an inclusive environment are important to Wells Fargo's success" (Diversity and Accessibility), these classes are not required. This method of training conflicts with one of the key factors of training diversity in the workforce. While we cannot discriminate against the fact that it is incorrectly applied according to class discussion, we must acknowledge the fact that it is offered and recognized within the company. If it isn't required for all employees, it should be required for all managers and team leads. Employees learn from their superiors, therefore managers need to lead by example. We do not feel that Wells Fargo is inconsistent between espoused and enacted values of the company. This corporation goes above and beyond what most companies do in terms of managing a diverse workforce as well as to the outside community. While we feel there are areas of improvement (mainly diversity training mechanisms), they still do a suburb job at acknowledging and enforcing diversity in the company. This company has a strong commitment to diversity, which is growing on a daily basis. They enable a variety of diverse groups to extend knowledge and execute business strategies. In fact, they even have an Enterprise Diversity Council that makes recommendations to the executive management team to ensure the company is making measurable progress in three areas which include: diversity education, recruiting and placement efforts of diverse Team Members, and building a senior management team inclusive of people of color, women, and other diverse groups (Diversity and Accessibility). As you can see, Wells Fargo continually works to advance in current and future diverse strategies. By the countless awards and recognition the company has already received, it is evident that this company enacts on their values and leads in diversity.
Recommended Action Plan Our recommended action plan is to for Wells Fargo to follow its plan, which creates a multi-layered Diversity network to understand its day-to-day challenges and opportunities. The company’s Corporate Diversity Council has members from each business unit, who each serve a rotational three year term. They convene the group six times a year, three meetings in person, and interacting with all the affected human resources groups and management groups. This group is charged with spearheading Wells Fargo’s direction with their diversity programming and driving the message of inclusion to leadership and all employees ("Wells fargo diversity," 2010). To complement the program, the Corporate Diversity Council has also developed the following “Six Steps to Diversity,” which all employees within the organization are educated on and held to. The six steps are as follows: (1) Executive management team takes responsibility for diversity. They hold themselves and others accountable. (2) People from diverse backgrounds are in all levels of management. Managers are accountable for attracting diverse candidates and for developing and retaining a diverse leadership pipeline. They want managers to consider diverse candidates for every open position at Wells Fargo. Therefore, Wells Fargo has a plan for increasing diversity in senior management. (3) They have long-term relationships with diverse communities. They use targeted marketing and advertising to build awareness of the products and services they tailor to respond to their needs. (4) They contribute to the diverse communities in which they live and work. They have a supplier diversity program, which includes corporate giving to diverse communities, and they partner with many national and community-based groups. (5) Diversity pervades all company communications. Their websites, company magazine, annual report, and marketing materials are aimed at all audiences. (6) They are known as a diverse company. Job candidates, customers, vendors and stockholders seek out Wells Fargo because of their diverse reputation ("Wells fargo diversity," 2010). Wells Fargo’s Team Members have avenues to voice their opinions on how Wells Fargo can be more inclusive. Feeding into the Corporate Diversity group are 75 separate Business Diversity Councils, which are formed within each different business units. These Business Diversity Councils are charged with implementing the programs within each business and providing a channel for employees to become a part of overall diversity initiatives. Another channel that enables employees to get involved is the Team Member Resource groups. With over 95 different groups, each with two members of local leadership, these affinity type networks are driven by over seven to eight thousand active members whose goal is to be inclusive to everyone across business lines and provide value to the organization ("Wells fargo diversity," 2010). With well defined programs like their Team Member Resource groups and Corporate and Business Diversity councils, they have been able to achieve a positive change in culture in a relatively short period of time. The challenge for many organizations is quantifying those changes in a measurable way. To do this, Wells Fargo has instituted surveying their employees every two years in order to appropriately set their goals as well as get an understanding of the prevailing culture. Within the survey they ask the employee to rate them on the six steps to diversity, their manager’s/management’s support of diversity and inclusion and the company’s overall performance in these areas. They are able to break down the blind results by business unit, tenure, level, gender, and ethnic demographic ("Wells fargo importance," 2010). The overall goal at Wells Fargo is to not make diversity and inclusion something extra that people have to work on, but to integrate it into everyday business for all employees.
Conclusion

References
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