36 Profiles in Diversity Journal J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

A

Habits of HigHlyEffEctivE DivErsitytraining

What do you do with your diversity programs after the workshops

and seminars are finished? Many organizations believe that once the

training session is held, diversity and inclusion will follow. But Diversity

Trainers know that the real business of building diversity programs is in

aFrICan-aMErICan au-thor Dr. Maya angelou once said, “People will forget what you say… and people will for-get what you did… but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

W.W. grainger, Inc. has taken those words to heart in designing inclusion and

diversity training programs that feature expe-riential education integrated into the very way the company does business.

“We call it ‘action learning,’” says Kim Cysewski, grainger’s VP of Human resources. “That’s because people are far more receptive to valuing differences and translating that to our customers when they can experience it directly, rather than being told or shown.”

Recipe for Success

The most recent example came during a team-building exercise for the two hundred members of the u.S. leadership team, and it all centered around making a pizza. Teams were formed to de-velop a pizza product for one of seven differ-ent groups—african americans, asian Pacific Islanders, latinos, Women, Baby Boomers, generation Xers, and Millenials. They were armed with demographic information about

each group, they had an opportunity to do on-site research with representatives of the different audiences, and their results were judged by members of grainger’s employee affinity networks, called Business resource groups (Brgs), representing each constituency.

The exercise, called “recipe for Success,” was conducted in the grainger headquarters’ campus cafeteria and required each team to determine the ingredients and appearance for the pizza, create its package design, develop a 30-second advertising spot, and deliver it in an appropriate way. and then they had to execute their plan, all in the space of three hours.

Rave Reviews

“This was a fabulously successful education program,” Cysewski says. “People not only had

fun, but they learned more about how to build relationships with other people, understand their unique needs, and collaborate to deliver distinctive products attractive to them. and this is exactly what we’re working to achieve in our actual business.”

Mike zeller, grainger’s Direc-tor of Territory Sales, made a clear

connection to the work he does every day. “This exercise really helps us to think about the customer and how to put them first. That way, we can figure out how we can reach them by being more relevant to them.”

Experiential Diversity Education W.W. Grainger Makes Training a Habit, Not an Event

Profiles in Diversity Journal J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0 37

managing them after their inception. Diversity Training needs to become a habit—not just an

event. Habit, by definition, is an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it becomes

automatic. Make diversity training a habit in your organization, and diversity awareness will

automatically follow. W.W Grainger has, by concentrating on training activities that continue

to build a constant awareness of diversity. Discover their “Recipe for Success!”

and Erwin Cruz, an Enterprise architect and Vice President of the asian Pacific Island-er Brg, observed that the work teams also enhanced their understanding of inclusion and diversity. “We saw the teams ask the right questions to ensure that they understood their customers and were creating a product for that particular market.”

Integrated Education

This exercise, which gave business leaders a true feel for the value of inclusion and diversity, is one example of grainger’s habit of integrating this important concept into the business, according to Chere nabor, Chief Diversity Officer. “Integrated education is the corner-stone to bring inclusion and diversity to life in the organization,” nabor says.

“Where diversity training is typically an event that is included at specific times—like employee orientation and then later as a person enters

management—we leverage every training opportunity along the continuum to increase awareness among our employees.”

This means inclusion and diversity is threaded throughout grainger’s train- ing curriculum, encom-passing sales, customer

sevice, compliance, brand, supply chain, product knowedge, leadership, several talent management programs, and employee development.

“Inclusion and diversity is becoming a con-versation we deal with every day as a matter of habit,” says John lawson, Director of grainger’s

Training/Development department. “The appre-ciation of diversity that makes us unique in the marketplace is aligned and embedded in every training and education program.”

Dedicated Trainer Liaison

That alignment is ensured by a dedicated team of training staff who have immersed themselves in the inclusion and diversity culture, and they en-sure that these principles are incorporated into every other training course.

They include Mary Fasone, training program manager; Mahelet Senbetta, training designer; and naticia anderson, training delivery manager.

“We participate in each of our Brgs, as well as outside seminars and courses in inclu-sion and diversity,” Fasone says. “We bring all this information together to incorporate it into all of our training programs.”

Grainger leaders participating in Recipe for Success

nabor

38 Profiles in Diversity Journal J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

InstructionsFor 2 to 4 players

Suits and Corporate Ladders is a game designedto share the business advantages of an inclusive workforce. Players are shown the potential rewards for implementing the best practices of inclusion and diversity as they climb up the ladders of Limitless Growth. The pitfalls of Stagnant Growth serve as consequences for unwise decisions.

Although this game is based on “the luck of the spin”,players should not be discouraged! The main goal of thegame is to ensure a wide range of outcomes that will helpto build awareness of the objective, strategies, and values of inclusion and diversity.

Diversity is everyone's business!

Contents* Gameboard* Pawns for navigating board* Spinner with plastic arrow* Deck of “Limitless Growth” cards* Deck of “Stagnant Growth” cards* Deck of “I & D Factoids” cards* Diversity Dollars* Talent Stars* Pair of dice

object To collect the most Talent Stars and Diversity Dollars orbe the first player to reach the #100 “Winner” bonus square.

setup Position the gameboard so that all the players can easilymove their pawns from square to square. Everyone choosesa pawn to play. Any extra pawns are out of play. Chosen pawnsstart off outside of the board area near square #1. Get ready for fun!

All about the squaresTake a brief moment to look over the gameboard. The squares are numbered from 1 to 100. Players’ pawns will move back and forth across the board in anupward and zig-zag fashion. The squares are color coded to indicate whichaction should be taken. Please note the following:

If you land on a green square, follow the ladder upwards and place your pawn on the square where the ladder ends. A person will be waiting there holding either stars or a dollar sign in their hand. Make sure to pull a Limitless Growth card from the deck. It will provide you with an explanation for your reward. Don’t be shy-- all cards must be read aloud to the group! Collect your reward(s) and place the card back in the deck--on the bottom, text side up.

If you happen to land on an orange square, you must draw a card from the “Stagnant Growth” deck. No frowning! Move your pawn down the pitfall to the square and place it next to the person standing there with their arms thrown up in confusion. Pay the penalty and place the card back in the deck (see above).

Blue and White squares are neutral. If you land on either, please draw a card from the “I & D Factoid” deck which offers general factoids about Inclusion and Diversity. Again, all used cards should be returned to the bottom of the deck, face up and reshuffled for re-use as necessary.

How to play the game:1. Roll the dice to decide which player goes first. The player with the highest number goes first. Feel free to use the spinner wheel as an alternative method.

2. Each player should take turns spinning the wheel to determine the number of spaces to move forward. Follow the numbering on the board and be mindful of the board’s zigzag path!

3. Remember, your pawn must land on a green or orange square in order to climb up the ladder or fall down the board.

Winning the gameThe game can be won using one of two ways:

1. Be the first person to collect the most points for Talent Stars and Diversity Dollars when the game time expires.

Points are tallied in the following manner:

100 points per $1,000 held 200 points per Talent Star OR

2. Be the first player to reach or surpass the #100 “Winner” bonus square.

Suits and Corporate Ladders

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© 2008 designed by Kim Love www.groupmemory.com

Senbetta sees it as a “tremendous oppor-tunity” to integrate inclusion and diversity into everything as a matter of habit.

anderson sees her immersion into inclu-sion and diversity as an aid to her personal development, as well as a strong component to use in delivering her sales training courses. “When you build people’s knowl-edge of diversity, you enable them to work better with our diverse customers.”

E-Learning for All

nabor also points out that, while educating managers through leadership training is important, grainger has also developed a diversity e-learning program, “a Business Im-perative,” available to every person in the organization.

“Employees can go online and learn about grainger’s commitment to inclusion and diversity through an interac-tive training course that’s available right at their desktop,” she says.

In addition to this formal e-learning program, employ-ees also converse with each other through a Twitter-like program called “yammer,” an in-house, online communica-tion facility. There are as many as 340 threads posted on a weekly basis, according to lawson, who says it brings people from the geographically dispersed company together, and also provides a link for members of the Brgs.

Business Resource Groups

grainger’s Brgs are similar to many other companies’ diver-sity networks, but they are distinctive in that each of them

is open to anyone who is interested in gaining insight into a particular group.

nichole Marshall, grainger’s Inclusion and Diversity Manager, is advisor to the Brgs, which were formed about a year ago, guiding them as they select their own leaders and develop programs relevant to their own interests and needs.

“Employee development is a com-ponent for each Brg, so I partner with

them to create the appropriate training and development pro-grams,” Marshall says. “at the same time, they bring an insight into our business and an understanding of emerging markets, so they can contribute to the company’s growth as well.”

nabor adds that the company’s recent Brg Summit was an exceptional tool in educating the organization on the value of inclusion and diversity. “There is a lot of power that is amplified all the more from bringing everyone together.”

Suits and Corporate Ladders

and finally, to demonstrate how inclusion and diversity contributes to the company’s success, nabor created “Suits and Corporate ladders”—a board game that leverages the concept of a popular children’s game as an educational tool.

Players landing on colored spaces pick up cards that contain quotes and facts and figures about inclusion and diversity. When they advance up a ladder, they earn bo-nuses, talent stars and promotions—and when they hit a chute, the business is punished by fines, lawsuits, or lost business.

“People are often surprised when they learn that every experience included on the cards is some-thing that actually happens in corporate america,” nabor says. “We’ve found that learning by doing is a valuable tool.”

Indeed, experiential education is the key to integrating inclusion and diversity into all aspects of grainger’s business. PDJ

InstructionsFor 2 to 4 players

Suits and Corporate Ladders is a game designedto share the business advantages of an inclusive workforce. Players are shown the potential rewards for implementing the best practices of inclusion and diversity as they climb up the ladders of Limitless Growth. The pitfalls of Stagnant Growth serve as consequences for unwise decisions.

Although this game is based on “the luck of the spin”,players should not be discouraged! The main goal of thegame is to ensure a wide range of outcomes that will helpto build awareness of the objective, strategies, and values of inclusion and diversity.

Diversity is everyone's business!

Contents* Gameboard* Pawns for navigating board* Spinner with plastic arrow* Deck of “Limitless Growth” cards* Deck of “Stagnant Growth” cards* Deck of “I & D Factoids” cards* Diversity Dollars* Talent Stars* Pair of dice

object To collect the most Talent Stars and Diversity Dollars orbe the first player to reach the #100 “Winner” bonus square.

setup Position the gameboard so that all the players can easilymove their pawns from square to square. Everyone choosesa pawn to play. Any extra pawns are out of play. Chosen pawnsstart off outside of the board area near square #1. Get ready for fun!

All about the squaresTake a brief moment to look over the gameboard. The squares are numbered from 1 to 100. Players’ pawns will move back and forth across the board in anupward and zig-zag fashion. The squares are color coded to indicate whichaction should be taken. Please note the following:

If you land on a green square, follow the ladder upwards and place your pawn on the square where the ladder ends. A person will be waiting there holding either stars or a dollar sign in their hand. Make sure to pull a Limitless Growth card from the deck. It will provide you with an explanation for your reward. Don’t be shy-- all cards must be read aloud to the group! Collect your reward(s) and place the card back in the deck--on the bottom, text side up.

If you happen to land on an orange square, you must draw a card from the “Stagnant Growth” deck. No frowning! Move your pawn down the pitfall to the square and place it next to the person standing there with their arms thrown up in confusion. Pay the penalty and place the card back in the deck (see above).

Blue and White squares are neutral. If you land on either, please draw a card from the “I & D Factoid” deck which offers general factoids about Inclusion and Diversity. Again, all used cards should be returned to the bottom of the deck, face up and reshuffled for re-use as necessary.

How to play the game:1. Roll the dice to decide which player goes first. The player with the highest number goes first. Feel free to use the spinner wheel as an alternative method.

2. Each player should take turns spinning the wheel to determine the number of spaces to move forward. Follow the numbering on the board and be mindful of the board’s zigzag path!

3. Remember, your pawn must land on a green or orange square in order to climb up the ladder or fall down the board.

Winning the gameThe game can be won using one of two ways:

1. Be the first person to collect the most points for Talent Stars and Diversity Dollars when the game time expires.

Points are tallied in the following manner:

100 points per $1,000 held 200 points per Talent Star OR

2. Be the first player to reach or surpass the #100 “Winner” bonus square.

Gameboard designed for Grainger by Kim Love of GroupMemory.com