HP Germany creates Diversity Council with Business Leaders
One trend has been significant in recent years: Diversity is not only supposed to add value to the business, but it should also be lead and driven by the business (managers). This is much easier said than done. While it is undisputed that the credible commitment of management to tangible and sustainable change is key, a big part of the responsibility for the D&I process and content remains with Human Resources and Diversity managers. Business-lead diversity councils that include senior managers aim at combining both aspects and strengthening the strategic alignment of Diversity at the same time. This was one of the guiding ideas when Hewlett Packard Germany created its new Diversity Council with business leaders.
The task of the newly created council is to define business-related focus areas and initiatives to reach diversity objectives, e.g. the increase of women in management. The council also supports the implementation and monitors the process of Diversity. In order to ensure the group’s influence, each executive board member appointed one senior manager, i.e. direct report, to the council. The council currently focuses on four areas, ‘Binding targets without quotas’, ‘incentives and encouragement’, ‘assuming personal responsibility’ and ‘targeted sponsoring and promotion’. Four working groups were hence created. Their activities include the expansion of the existing Diversity Scorecard by working with business managers to set diversity objectives for their entities and develop action plans accordingly. In addition, individual diversity shall have a more deliberate positive impact in the future selection of internal or external candidates. The working group for ‘incentives and encouragement’ creates ways to encourage women on their ways to managerial positions. The executives at HP Germany have made themselves accountable for Diversity so as to help ensure women will not find their career development blocked by a glass ceiling.
The Diversity Council also supports the communication of Diversity – and specially gender diversity – to the management teams and employees in the various business areas. Another focus lies on increasing the female pipeline. HP Germany has already been supporting female oriented university programmes as well as its own employees through a variety of programmes including women’s networks, mentoring and the HP Women’s Summit. The effectiveness of the company’s sustained comprehensive efforts can be seen, in part, from in the percentage of women in management, which ranges by business area and gets as high as 30 percent.
