Of the St. Louis American
With a company that is more than 125 years old, diversification in every aspect of the business, including the workforce, is a must.
When George Warren Brown first started the Brown Shoe Company in 1878, he had a dream of St. Louis growing to be a manufacturing center for the shoe industry. Today, Brown Shoe is a major corporation with annual sales of $2.3 billion, the number one retailer of value-priced shoes like Buster Brown, Naturalizer and LifeStride.
Brown Show has 1,300 retail shoe stores throughout the U.S. and Canada, and the St. Louis headquarters has nearly 700 employees. Geoffrey Green, director of talent acquisitions, said Brown Shoe has a vested interest in making sure its workforce is as varied as the operations housed in the corporate office.
“We have increased the percentage of minority recruitment in St. Louis by 30 percent over the past 2 years,” Green said, adding that the number does not include the company’s retail stores.
He said, “This is a 127-year-old company that has always been in St. Louis. We have people that have been in the shoe industry for a long time, and we have a workforce that is diverse along the lines of ethnicity, gender and background.”
To secure that diverse workforce the recruitment department partners with various organizations such as the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), the Professional Organization of Women (POW) and the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
Last October Brown Shoe, in conjunction with the Black MBAs, hosted its first “Diversity Career Fair” at the corporate office, where they specifically recruited minority professionals. About 8 individuals were hired from the nearly 500 that attended.
“The goal really is to make sure that everyone feels comfortable working for Brown Shoe,” Green said. “Our customers are not homogenous, so our workforce shouldn’t be.”
Green is careful not to toot the horn of the organization on diversity. He said that sometimes the push for diversity can lead organizations into the trap of “trying to get the right number as opposed to trying to get the right talent.”
“Most organizations have a diversity initiative, so I don’t want it to seem like we are on the cutting edge there,” he said. “We still have work to do, but we are always striving to be even better.”
In terms of attracting and maintaining minority talent, Green said, “We’re setting resources towards that. It’s about getting even better.”
In fact, Brown Shoe’s commitment to diversity extends beyond the four walls of the Clayton corporate office and into the community. Last year, the company hosted nine Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars from across the nation.
The students spent a weekend in the Gateway City meeting with local CEOs including Brown Shoe Chairman and CEO Ron Fromm.
Fromm said, “The Jackie Robinson Foundation’s work in raising college funds for students of color complements our initiative to attract more diverse employees to Brown Shoe.”
“It is also important for St. Louis, because as companies like ours support these students, it helps bring the best and brightest to our region,” Fromm added.
The weekend-long event was co-sponsored by the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative. Not only did Brown Shoe fund the students’ stay in St. Louis and connect them with top company executives, but it also partnered with the Jackie Robinson Foundation to help underwrite the tuition for one hometown student, Fred Shelton III, a Florissant resident and John Burroughs High graduate attending Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Because of the company’s generosity, Shelton was able to pursue a degree in business administration. Green said he wants students like Shelton to understand that excellent opportunities to put their skills and degrees to use are available right in their hometown.
“I don’t know if everyone in the African-American community knows who Brown Shoe is,” Green said. “We have an array of departments in this building, from legal to marketing, accounting and financing. You don’t have to have shoe experience or be a cobbler to work in this building.”
“We are a fashion company,” Green added. “Our customers come from every segment of society, and we have to have a diverse workforce to serve those customers.”
Brown Shoe Company, Inc. is headquartered in Clayton, 8300 Maryland Ave. For more information, visit www.brownshoe.com.