Forum - September 2008

TREND WATCH

Shatter the ‘Sameness’ Barrier

BY JENNIFER D. JACKSON

PepsiCo has a long history of fostering diversity in its workforce. Pamela Culpepper, vice president of human resources for PepsiCo Chicago, outlined some of the initiatives at the Association Forum Diversity Summit in May 2007. Recently, Culpepper spoke with FORUM about some of those initiatives and how those same lessons can be applied to associations.

FORUM: You were a speaker at last year’s Forum Diversity Summit, and discussed PepsiCo’s long history of fostering an environment of diversity and inclusion. Can you give us a synopsis of those efforts?

Culpepper: PepsiCo’s philosophy has matured over time from having some significant “firsts.” PepsiCo was the first to grant a franchise to a minority family, first to include minorities in advertising and first to promote a black man to vice president in the sales organization. We have been very aggressive at building representation and creating an inclusive environment. A part of building a successful workforce is attracting and retaining the best and the brightest, which includes various generations, ethnicities and genders. We believe that our future depends on having a workforce that mirrors the consumer base and is a formidable foe in the

war for fewer qualified candidates. Our track record has been double digit growth in representation of both women and people of color.

FORUM: You have mentioned two PepsiCo goals: 1) Shaping PepsiCo to look like the customer base we serve and 2) Creating an inclusive environment. How are you going about reaching those goals?

Culpepper: Our workforce demographics should be as diverse as our products. Also, our employee base should represent our consumer base. We have chips that have a region-specific Asian flare; we’re also developing products that cross generational lines of appeal. Both of these examples require that we employ people from schools, industries and from diverse experiences that we have not thought about previously. It means stepping outside of the normal ways of attracting and recruiting individuals in search of diversity. The fact that we are more likely now than ever before to have up to four generations on one team really brings home the urgency and reality of having an inclusive environment. We realized the need for a workforce that has a variety of experiences and environments. The productivity and innovation of our business depends on it.

FORUM: At the summit, you mentioned that “diversity is easy, inclusion is hard.” Please explain that statement.

Culpepper: An inclusive environment is actually counter to how we’ve been successful in the past. Our past successes included cookie-cutter methods for accomplishments, meaning doing things the same way and getting the same results. Also, if results have been good, why tamper with the methods? However, we believe that the only way diversity can be sustained is by facilitating an inclusive environment; a workplace that promotes a feeling of being valued and being a part of the organization. The “sameness” barrier

proves over time to be a hindrance to innovation and breakthrough problem solving as the world changes. We also realized that increasing representation without teaching managers how to relate to new experiences, new ways of accomplishing results and new generational thinking would result in losing both good managers and new hires as fast as we get them on board.

What makes inclusion hard is that it is behavioral and is rooted in authenticity. You can’t create an artificial inclusive environment — people know when their point of view or their experiences count. People know when their manager has their best interest at heart and values their differences. So, not only is it hard to teach but ensuring sincerity is almost impossible. Therefore, managers must be equipped with the information needed to both assist in retention and successful operation.

FORUM: Tell us about “The PepsiCo Career Growth Model,” including employee satisfaction surveys (Are you planning to stay? Will you recommend us to a friend?) and the 50/50 weighting on performance (50 percent people, 50 percent work objectives).

Culpepper: This model is the result of a desire to determine what it takes to develop a workforce that operates successfully. The PepsiCo Career Growth Model defines the most important behaviors and attributes that PepsiCo employees must demonstrate to effectively progress in their careers. There are many factors included in this model. One is a proven track record of business and people results. In evaluating an employee’s performance, 50 percent is based on how well they get the job done and 50 percent is based on how they treat our people in the process; it is an equal assessment of character and competence. It is important to evaluate an employee’s character and integrity as well as their successes.