FEATURES
|
|
Posted Mar 13, 2009
 IBM is a company that embodies values, and no one does that better globally than this corporate giant. Its mentoring and training program as well as its employee groups increasingly reach across all borders to ensure inclusivity and the ability to reach and connect with all employees, clients and communities. |
 Under the stewardship of Ron Glover, vice president of Diversity and Work Force Programs, IBM has increased its emphasis on substantive cross-cultural training and talent development with the definite global emphasis. Chairman, President and CEO Samuel Palmisano is directly involved in diversity. The company insists that all people managers can only receive a top performance evaluation if they are fostering "teamwork and inclusion among all employees--across locations, cultures and geographies--and promote IBM's diversity values," according to the company.
IBM's board reflects its diversity: The 12-member board has two Black members, one Latino member, one Asian member and three women members.
The corporation's retention rates are completely unbiased, meaning both workers and managers are retained at equal levels, regardless of race, ethnicity and gender. That can be attributed to IBM's extremely well-developed work/life benefits and mentoring program. The work/life benefits include onsite religious accommodations, such as prayer rooms; retirement transition, such as part-time and virtual work; and the LifeWorks program to help employees "handle the demand of daily life at work and at home through a wide array of innovative features. Through LifeWorks they have access to trained specialists who are qualified to answer questions and provide information regarding dependent care issues, adoption, adult disabilities, parenting school achievement planning for college (College Coach Program), or caring for themselves." IBM also has excellent benefits for same-sex domestic partners of employees.
The mentoring program is used globally to build skills and transfer knowledge despite massive geographical boundaries. The three types of mentoring that are used in IBM are Expert Mentoring, intended to transfer critical knowledge, particularly in the areas of technology and other highly specialized expertise, to the next generation; Long-Term Career Development and Succession Mentoring, which helps employees acquire strong leadership and business skills; and Socialization Mentoring, which targets new hires to help them make a quick adjustment. A focus area in 2008 was to use mentoring to increase skill levels of employees in emerging countries. IBM established an international mentoring program in which subject-matter experts from the United States were matched with leaders from such countries as South Africa, India and China in a mentoring relationship. This program will be expanded in 2009 to other countries. More than one-third of the employee population has been voluntarily participating in mentoring, and just less than a third has been using mentoring as a critical component of their development planning to acquire new skills. |
|
 |
Ron Glover, Vice President, Diversity and Work Force Programs
"Global work-force diversity is a cornerstone of IBM's strategy to differentiate itself as one of the world's great companies, and that's especially important during challenging economic times. IBM remains fully committed to a culture of diversity and inclusiveness as an essential part of how we attract and retain the best people around the world. That means we extend beyond the traditional subjects of diversity--race, gender, genetics, religion, disability or sexual orientation--so that it becomes a natural extension of our company's strategy and culture of innovation. It also requires cultural adaptability and the ability to work with colleagues who are diverse, because that's necessary for a work force that operates in global teams. An inclusive workplace makes for a creative environment; IBM believes this and will continue to promote global work-force diversity regardless of the economic climate." |
|
Specialty Lists
- No. 1 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for People With Disabilities
- No. 2 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for Supplier Diversity
- No. 4 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for Asian Americans
- No. 4 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for LGBT Employees
- No. 2 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Global Diversity Companies
|
Industry
Technology
Main Competitors
Accenture, HP, Microsoft Corp.
U.S. Headquarters
Armonk, N.Y. |
Number of U.S. Employees
116,737
Annual Revenue
$103.6 billion
% of Operations Outside U.S.
71 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
