Special to the American
One of the principles of the Monsanto Pledge, the philosophy that guides the company’s operations, is “creating a great place to work.” An element of creating this great place to work is ensuring a diverse work force.
Monsanto’s dedication to diversity begins at the top, with the company’s executive team, which has stated the following commitment: “To build an inclusive and diverse organization, which values and engages all of our people’s talents and perspectives. To leverage our diversity, to achieve outstanding business success overall, and to ensure the growth and acceptance of biotechnology.”
This commitment has launched a number of actions and achievements for Monsanto:
– A series of daylong diversity-awareness and strategy sessions held for all US employees to attend, focusing on local goal setting, accountability, organizational barriers to achieving/sustaining diversity growth, and the skills of inclusive leadership. To date, more than 3,000 people have attended all or part of this training.
– The creation and launch of the Monsanto Learning Partners Program and Web mentoring program -initiatives designed to build leadership skills and expand diversity in the company’s pool of leadership talent.
– A series of communications to help employees understand the increasingly critical relationship between a diverse workforce and business success
– Successful sponsorship of seven Monsanto People Networks, designed to further the professional development of its members. The networks sponsor efforts that will support career development, networking, recruitment, the promotion of cultural awareness and the creation of an inclusive environment.
In particular, the African Americans in Monsanto (AAIM) network, launched in 2002, has a mission of creating and sustaining a workplace environment in which African Americans can reach their full potential. Through programs and activities, the network encourages professional development and partnerships to help Monsanto achieve its business goals.
At Monsanto, diversity and business goals are closely linked. Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Steve Mizell summarizes diversity as the key in helping Monsanto to achieve its business objectives, particularly in the ability to attract, retain and motivate the best talent Monsanto can find. “It’s clear that the only way to compete successfully is to hire a workforce with the best minds you can possibly find and diverse perspectives.” Mizell added that diversity and inclusion absolutely help drive business objectives, especially since Monsanto competes in a dynamic and competitive environment that touches people from all walks of life. “As we look forward, the buying influences, talent pools and ultimate consumers of our products will continue to be more diverse. That requires that we have the right people in the right roles with the broadest perspective possible in order to be successful.”
Some examples of diversity in action at Monsanto include:
– Monsanto has established the role of Global Diversity Lead.
– The company has formalized diversity throughout the organization by incorporating it into staffing, people processes and development. Recruiting at historically black colleges and universities is just one example.
Monsanto’s diversity efforts extend beyond the workforce to suppliers, as well.
Monsanto’s Supplier Diversity Program aims to increase the number of business partnerships with minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises (M/W/DBE), since new and diverse perspectives for conducting business support Monsanto’s efforts to build a highly effective global company.