[Closed] corporate "statement" for discussion/explanation

"we note that we are in a city which is 35% non-white, but our company is 95% middle-class white people.  We would like to pay lip service to this potential PR issue."

The final sentence is a bit clunky, but I have no issue with the rest of it. What issues do you have with it?

You need new ideas, you need people from different backgrounds to generate some of these.

You need to understand how to get the best from people who are not your current workforce.

IE how do you deal with younger people or people from non corporate backgrounds without stifling their creativity or pissing them off so that they leave. How many organisations shut down new ideas because we tried that once and it will never work.

The statement and the stated ambition are diametrically opposed, surely?

I think the point is that if you were actually trying to attach a youthful diverse workforce then a great idea would be to drop the corporate bullshit and speak like you're an actual human being.

I'm a totally un-diverse old duffer and reading statements like that makes me lose the will to live. With each sentence I can feel it draining out of me. I can't think of anything less engaging. If I was the target audience they're proposing to attract I'd be running screaming out of the building. As it would appear most of them have.

They'd engage with more of the people they're trying to engage with if they just word it how Mike just did. Crap like that just alienates pretty much everyone

It’s pretty waffly stuff I have to say - somebody is probably quite pleased with it though!

Like I said, the final sentence is pretty corporate bullshitty: "To better equip ourselves to maximize diversity’s benefits"

The first part is just talking like an intelligent grown up.

This is proper example of corporate bullshit:

Firstly, we have signed a transformational outsourcing deal with xxxx which will deliver an increase to our cost synergies from the £112m per annum in 2013, which we will still hit on time, to £143m per annum by 2015. This deal de-risks the embedded value, contractualises the delivery of the cost synergies, and it de-risks the execution of our plans, allowing us to focus on the other opportunities we have as a business."

The statement and the stated ambition are diametrically opposed, surely?  I think the point is that if you were actually trying to attach a youthful diverse workforce then a great idea would be to drop the corporate bullshit and speak like you’re an actual human being.

Are you sure, after all:

I’m a totally un-diverse old duffer and reading statements like that makes me lose the will to live... ...If I was the target audience they’re proposing to attract I’d be running screaming out of the building

Perhaps getting the self interested mono-diverse existing population to **** off, making room for the "enlightened" was the aim?

They’d engage with more of the people they’re trying to engage with if they just word it how Mike just did. Crap like that just alienates pretty much everyone

My guess is this is not a statement intended for general public consumption (in fact I don't think I have ever seen such a statement that would actually encourage the "excluded" to engage).  Rather it seems like an explanation to the existing "team" that if they want to make the organisation more innovative then they need to be a bit more open, and perhaps usefully, identifies that openness is not about some stats - but actually engaging with the people you are trying to welcome in.

Mike still worded it betterer. So there! 😛

Firstly, we have signed a transformational outsourcing deal with xxxx which will deliver an increase to our cost synergies from the £112m per annum in 2013, which we will still hit on time, to £143m per annum by 2015. This deal de-risks the embedded value, contractualises the delivery of the cost synergies, and it de-risks the execution of our plans, allowing us to focus on the other opportunities we have as a business.”

Translated:

We've made department-A someone else's (xxxx) problem. By making it xxxx's problem someone else will be taking the flack for cost cutting in department-A which will inevitably mean pay freezes and redundancies. This will enable middle class people with pensions who own our shares to retire early whilst the lower class proles in department-A will be working until the state pension is eventually withdrawn entirely and they die. Our CFO has also met his targets and will be getting his bonus.

personally I think diversity is vastly overrated.  useful in some circumstances but not all.  pursuit of a "diverse" workforce can leave you white middle aged Mr average employee feeling at a bit of a disadvantage and that thier opinion is less important than their more diverse colleagues

sorry for non pc opinion.  carry on.

But to be diverse surely you must discriminate?

can leave you white middle aged Mr average employee feeling at a bit of a disadvantage and that thier opinion is less important than their more diverse colleagues

It can, but those snowflakes need to buckle up as the road ahead will be a little bumpy 😉

Which is also exactly what the statement at the top is about, organisations need to get on top of how to do this, manage effectively and make sure they take people along with the changes.

Organisation is spelled incorrectly. That’s my input.

pursuit of a “diverse” workforce can leave you white middle aged Mr average employee feeling at a bit of a disadvantage and that thier opinion is less important than their more diverse colleagues

But to be diverse surely you must discriminate?

this type of scaremongering is rather old-fashioned.

The point of having a diverse workforce is that you get a better team, not to satisfy the loony left thought police. Mr white and middle aged is no less diverse, as a single person, than anyone else, and his opinions are no less useful.   But if he's feeling like he needs to look over his shoulder, perhaps that's because he knows that, really, he's not very good at his job.

You don't have to discriminate to have a diverse workforce, and indeed it's illegal to do so. You aim to have more women/minorities/disabled folk applying for your jobs, perhaps by advertising them outside of your normal networks, and then you treat them all fairly, document everything so it's all transparent, and give it to the best person for the job. That's all.

I do wonder how this is all going to pan out, when all the good jobs in London (basically most of the good ones in the UK) represent the local demographics (ethnic or posh tory). The rest of the UK is going to feel even more left out and right wing when the white working classes start to feel that as what they perceive to be minority foreigners are doing obviously better than them.

I can't help but feel we are going to **** this up as well by letting the North/South divide worsen even more.

personally I prefer hiring the best person for the job.  whatever colour gender background etc

definite danger of 'reverse discrimination of snowflakes.

I'm still don't believe diversity always brings innovation.  it's a theory not fact

and as it's a corporate thread here is the motivational poster

Farming could probably be considered one of the most insular of industries, family run, sons follow fathers but in the last couple of decades many have been looking outside of their own area and experiences, young lads went off to travel Oz/NZ and learn how people do things differently, explore and find out what is good elsewhere.

If you start to feel like your thoughts are marginalised ask why?

Then ask when you last pushed yourself or experienced something outside of your comfort zone

I do wonder how this is all going to pan out, when all the good jobs in London (basically most of the good ones in the UK) .

FFS do you actually believe that crap? There are excellent jobs and businesses nowhere near London or the SE, amazing engineering and technology, discovery and advancement that is going on all over the UK. Maybe you are just in the London iz awsum bubble but lay off the kool aid.

There are Mike, but I am also fairly certain that you, have yourself stated that London dominates the UK's economy to a far too great an extent.

The 2 things are not related and are not even close, London has a dense high return economy based on money. The rest of the UK is doing the really clever stuff and has heaps of amazing well paid and interesting jobs at the cutting edges of tech etc.

You don’t have to discriminate to have a diverse workforce, and indeed it’s illegal to do so.

Ok, one vacancy two applicants. Both perfectly suited to the job but one will diversify the workforce to the desired effect. The ‘ diverse ‘ applicant is chosen.

Thats discrimination.

Ok, one vacancy two applicants. Both perfectly suited to the job but one will diversify the workforce to the desired effect. The ‘ diverse ‘ applicant is chosen.

Thats discrimination.

BS, you pick the less diverse one, thats discrimination....

But then again let me know when you find 2 identical candidates.

BS, you pick the less diverse one, thats discrimination….

BS, picking one over another would be discriminatory.

And yes, its unlikely but an example of how the line can be crossed.

yeah it's also no win is it, which is why good company HR will help you to score candidates impartially.

 The rest of the UK is doing the really clever stuff and has heaps of amazing well paid and interesting jobs at the cutting edges of tech etc.

And isn't a lot of that confined to the Oxford-Cambridge corridor? Which isn't even the midlands, let alone the north. Furthermore, aren't a lot of those jobs filled by either private or grammar/upper middle class types? And last time I checked, stem jobs weren't paying as well as those in the finance sector - so even those won't help counter the feeling that the south is running off with all the ****ing money. Besides, Brexit is going to hollow out a lot of the high tech R&D and manufacturing jobs.

As I said, I think that the rural midlands and north will start to resent the south even more than they do now. Brexit is just the start of it.

If both are exactly the same then you can pick whoever you want. Both selections are justifiable.

I’m still don’t believe diversity always brings innovation.  it’s a theory not fact

Evidence from the stock market shows that companies with more diverse board membership out perform others on average by a respectable margin (over 10% iirc).

And isn’t a lot of that confined to the Oxford-Cambridge corridor?

Some are loads are not. Do you have any experience outside of the south?

And last time I checked, stem jobs weren’t paying as well as those in the finance sector – so even those won’t help stem the feeling that the south is running off with all the **** money.

So what, we don't have to waste our money loving London and working with bankers.

Maybe you should take a look at rolls Royce, jlr, Dyson, bae, Siemens, the nuclear industry, metals and plenty more before declaring the South is the centre of the known universe.

The statement and the stated ambition are diametrically opposed, surely

Any excuse to post this!

I'm not declaring it the center of the known universe, you seem to have taken that a bit personally.

But in economic terms, it really is running off with all the ****ing money. The economic divide is very, very real and getting worse and there are plenty of articles in economic journals pointing that out.

My fear is that we aren't managing the social change in this country properly, with no thought given to the political and social risks involved - which could blow up in our faces if it hasn't already done so.

andypaul99

Member
BS, you pick the less diverse one, thats discrimination….

BS, picking one over another would be discriminatory.

And yes, its unlikely but an example of how the line can be crossed.

So, I have a new team leader at work. He was an external candidate(good so far btw)

There were two potential internal candidates, both with undeniable knowledge of our plant and work. Niether applied for the job, hence it was then advertised externally. The reason my 2 colleagues didn’t apply was due to contractual changes they would have to accept, something they and others on the “old” contracts won’t do due to their less favourable T&Cs. These contracts are a means of reducing fixed costs ie less money etc

Recent management changes have put a stop to some young guys promoted posts being put on hold, should have started in Sept!!!!

Now if as the statement says they want new blood to drive the company forward(currently being sold by parent company)its a strange way to go about it but that is not unusual....

Anyway after 40yrs I’m off soon. Time to ride my bike....  I will be leaving the place in the good hands of an ex submariner with 1yrs experience, a lad just out of his time with 2yrs under his boilersuit and a team leader with less than a year.....

MrsT as a policy adviser writes that kind of BS for her bosses(Gov dept)

The divide is between the skilled and the unskilled. That is the issue, there are jobs and good money available for people who have the right skills, I meet loads of them every day, thye don't give a **** about bankers in london and all that as they have a good solid career with good prospects in great places to live.

I also meet people getting left behind, they are in the south too, in most places, in forgotten towns and in plain sight in the cities, in zero hours contracts and worse. Making this about north south east or west misses the point.

I don't agree at all, if you live and grow up in an area with good companies - eg the south, you have better prospects from the outset. For one, there are more companies to intern with whilst you stay at your parents place rent free etc. I see this all the time with the software engineers that I fraternize with in the building I live in (essentially university halls for professionals), a lot of whom worked for peanuts down south whilst living at home and admit that it helped them get a leg up.

I’ve sat through far too many meetings like that one ^^^^^^!

”We want to maximize profit.......and we want all of the workforce to be happy and buy them pizza every five minutes and not work them too hard”.

Evidence from the stock market shows 

I imagine you could also identify other factors and attribute success to it.   Maybe those companies also give out free coffee?

I remember talking to a (white) South African in a previous employment.  I asked why there were so many in the company.  He told me about the policies in place which basically meant young white males couldn't get work as they were discriminated against so they had to leave the country for work

now that's an extreme example but I believe the diversity is best theory is driving some subconscious decision making in selecting, when you can, less well represented types of people.

You could never prove it but it is a perceived unfairness.  I suppose it depends on whether you feel like you are experiencing some level of discrimination in your workplace.

sometimes it feels like there are quotas to be achieved

mikesmith...

Even skilled people are earning less and prospects are being eroded...

As I said above, people coming into my job (factory fitter/technician/electrician)are on a different contract to me and the “auld guard). For example the guy doing the job I have up 3yrs ago is on the “new”contract is on £2k less than I was. Operators are the same, people doing the same job but earning less(including females x2). When you ask how in this supposedly “equal opportunities “ age that is allowed to happen the answer is “they accepted the contract”. We are a “world class/leading” company apparently

I don’t agree at all, if you live and grow up in an area with good companies – eg the south, you have better prospects from the outset.

I have to ask if you have heard of any of the companies I listed.... Doing some of the best engineering in the world in the UK not in the south, have you been north of the Watford gap before?

We build and design aero engines, wings for planes, nuclear subs, build reactors, make electric cars, design engines and drivetrain, make some awesome stuff out of metal, come up with advanced manufacturing techniques and out there software solutions. These are people I work with all the time without getting anywhere near the south east.

mikesmith…

Even skilled people are earning less and prospects are being eroded…

That is happening but it's not a north south thing is it? the difference between skilled and unskilled is getting bigger still

I know lots of places that are moving on to newer contracts as the old ones don't make business sense anymore, with people who have acquired through age contracts and pay that is over and over market rate. Plenty will be happy to let you old guard go to reduce the redundancy liability - same all over the country really. The ones who remain will still do well though.

I have not read the replies but the first thing to do with the statement is rewrite it in English so it is comprehensible

I have to ask if you have heard of any of the companies I listed…. Doing some of the best engineering in the world in the UK not in the south, have you been north of the Watford gap before?

Yes I have, my family live in Sheffield.

What percentage of the uk GDP are those companies responsible for?

The good engineering firms with R&D and skilled manufacturing outside of the South are exceptions to an otherwise very divided national economy. The macroeconomics isn't void, just because of a handful of engineering firms.

"Yeah we're doing really well here in *insert random northern city here* - I mean sure wages and property values are lower by orders of magnitude than the south, people die earlier, are fatter, there are more greggs per km^2 than anywhere else in the world, everyones a bit more depressed and UKIPy - but things are great because we're building some bombs for BAE!"

Makes sense mikesmith. I think next year when a lot of people are in the pension draw down bracket(a lot are) and get fed up waiting for the company sale there may well be an exodus. However that will leave a huge skills balance gap on a 24/365 process plant currently suffering higher than normal levels of “incidents” partly due to low numbers and inexperienced operators...

This is an interesting topic - there was a good McKinsey report that outlined why diversity matters but it outlines how the most important principle is overall diversity (of thinking and openess to experience and new ideas) rather than just engineering a social outcome. You can read it here:

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters

Having more women on a board doesn't by itself confer any performance advantage (and indeed, might well limit performance if you're hiring women who look just like the men you also have.)

The importance of diversity is actually less about diversity and more about inclusion; the difference being that diversity tends to take a relatively narrow view of what constitutes 'diverse' (so it is typically just about the obvious outward characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity etc), whereas inclusion embraces the simple fact that all people vary in many ways across many parameters and we have in built biases that either positively or negatively predisposes us to others based on these parameters.

The problem is that it's almost impossible to engineer out this unconscious bias; it's part of our evolutionary psychology (and as such does have some useful purpose at a very primitive level). So the next best thing is to work towards some more broadly definable and easily recognisable goals and hope that you don't end up making mistakes along the way.

There's also a really good overview of the concept of inclusion (as opposed to diversity) here by a well respected expert on the subject:

He also has the coolest name of anyone I've ever met - Octavius Black! Honestly, neither Douglas Adams or Iam Flemming could not have come up with a better name.