People love their pets.
Nestle Purina PetCare’s mission is to enrich the lives of pets and the people who love them. Yet the company can’t do that without a richly diverse and innovative workforce that reflects its consumer base, said Patrick McGinnis, CEO of Nestle Purina PetCare for all of North and South America.
“Diversity is very much a business imperative at Purina,” McGinnis said.
“Beyond that, we are working to prepare the next generation to continue our mission into the future. To get that done, we need to ensure all of our people processes, from talent acquisition through development and leadership succession, have diversity embedded into them.”
Nestle Purina will receive the 2012 Corporate Diversity award on Thursday, Nov. 15 at the 13th annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. The networking reception begins at 11 a.m., and the luncheon and program start at noon.
The event is jointly hosted by the St. Louis American Foundation, St. Louis RCGA and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.
Diversity boom
When employees arrive at Purina, they tend to stay for a while. Presently, the company has a high average length of service and average age, with a high percentage eligible for retirement.
“We have a lot of people getting ready to leave, and we need every single source available to us to replenish our boomers,” said Steve Degnan, VP and head of human resources.
Company leaders realize that this is an opportunity to grow strong diverse leaders and to rethink their recruitment process, Degnan said. About six years ago, most college recruits would come from less than 10 universities. This year’s class is coming from 72 universities.
“We’ve gone away from the traditional way of going to recruit,” Degnan said. “We’ve gone after everybody.”
Within the last three years, the company has increased the number of minorities among its new recruits from 15 percent to 25 percent.
At the same time, the company has also embarked on a journey to strengthen and develop its minority leaders who have been with the company for many years. About five years ago, Purina connected with the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative’s Fellows Program, led by Valerie Patton.
The program is a leadership curriculum for mid- to senior-level multicultural talent. The vision is to create a more inclusive, welcoming and successful environment for multicultural talent at all levels of regional business.
“We take as many slots in the program as we can get,” Degnan said. “It ends up benefiting us in multiple ways.”
The program not only helps to build a network and community among minority professionals in the city, he said, but it also helps to create stronger processes for inclusion within all areas of the company.
Crystal Hardiman, a team leader in the order revenue management department at Nestle Purina PetCare, went through the program in 2010.
“I feel privileged to have gone through the program,” she said. “It has helped me become a better leader and coach. I have also become a better employee to my boss. I’ve changed the way I interact with my boss to make sure she knows I am for her and with her, no matter what is going on.”
Hardiman has been with the company for 15 years, and when she first arrived, she was often the only African-American woman in the room.
“For the past 10 years, we have taken a step into inclusion,” she said. “Inclusion means not only having representation, but also having those leaders feel comfortable.”
She said if representation were the only goal, company leaders could check that off their list when more minorities enter the workforce. But because inclusion is the end goal, the company strives to have conversations that make those employees feel welcome and empowered.
Every employee is also required to take a diversity course. The classes are challenging, Hardiman said, because they are not only about race but also about diversity of thought.
“It challenges our assumptions,” she said.
To further support this conversation, as well as professional development, the company has developed an online mentoring system (like an Eharmony for mentees), where mentees can select their mentors. The mentorships last for eight months.
In addition, the company also hosts a number of speakers during Black History Month, which have included gospel singer Wintley Phipps and local legend and civil rights attorney Frankie Freeman.
“When I walk the halls, there is a diverse mix of races, gender, ideas and ages,” Hardiman said. “Purina is leading the pack.”
“We see this as a journey that we have started and we are far from finished,” said CEO Patrick McGinnis.
Tickets to the 13th annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon are $75 each for general seating, tables of 10 available for $750; $100 each for Preferred/VIP seating, tables of 10 available for $1,000. Call 314-533-8000 or visit stlamerican.com.
