BankBoston

BankBoston

Diversity of the workforce is one incentive being utilized by different companies as a model best practice due to its effectiveness where employee motivation is concerned. Void of workforce diversity, different key companies are plagued with low productivity, high turnover and high absenteeism (Arthur, 2001). The best example of a company that has been utilizing the workforce diversity strategy is BankBoston, which is one of the United States largest banks, which encompasses $74 billion total assets, and employees totaling to 26,000. The bank has been enjoying a larger market share, greater productivity, employee loyalty and satisfaction, enhanced shareholder value as well as increased creativity.

To succeed in the provision of work force diversity, the bank has employed a director of workforce effectiveness who concentrates on not only the traditional diversity issues but also puts into consideration performance management as well as life and work strategies unlike the director of workforce diversity who only concentrates on diversity issues exclusively (Arthur, 2001). As a plus to the role of the director of workforce effectiveness, the workforce effectiveness program gives attentions to three fundamental issues that enhance the workforce diversity not only in traditional terms but also in modern terms.

The three key issues targeted by the workforce effectiveness program of the BankBoston include holding managers accountable, education and leadership investment and listening to the views of employees no matter what they are based on (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development & Taylor, 2002). Under education and leadership investment, bank ensures that nominated employees as well as senior managers go through an intensive five-day program that is incorporated into the Diversity Leadership Conference. A three-week workshop is also included under education and leadership investment.

Under listening to the views of employees, the company has installed six resource groups that are bestowed with the role of advocating for views of gays and lesbians, Asian-Americans people with disabilities, parents, Latinos as well as African-Americans. The groups are provided with company facilities where they can meet and they are provided with resources for facilitating development and educational activities (IMF, 2002). Under holding managers accountable, the managers are subjected to performance evaluation in which their performance according to the implementation of diversity related issues is evaluated.

In the same case, the managers are being encouraged to develop goals based on diversity with their progress being assessed on a standard basis. Conversely, the bank has adopted programs that focus on the balance of employees between family responsibilities and their work, which includes a program of alternative working arrangements, extended family benefits as well as lifeworks (Arthur, 2001). In the same case, the bank has developed a Diversity Competence Continuum that is utilized in the assessment and measurement of the effectiveness of the managers in terms of diversity issues based on the criteria of role models, moderately effective and not effective.

Being one of the best banks in the US, BankBoston has put in place Workforce Effectiveness Program headed by the director of Workforce Effectiveness to handle all issues concerning workforce diversity, as it has been the most effective strategy adopted by most companies in the modern world. The adoption of the strategy by the bank has been successful due to the incentives employed into the strategy (IMF, 2002). The bank has ensured that instead of only focusing on the traditional diversity issues it has also incorporated such issues as performance management as well as life and work strategies. In conclusion, the bank also evaluates the performance of the managers on the basis of the strategy to enhance the success that it has bee experiencing in the modern world.

References

Arthur, D. (2001). The Employee Recruitment and Retention Handbook. New York, NY: AMACOM.

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development & Taylor, S. (2002). The Employee Retention Handbook. London, UK: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

IMF. (2002). Recessions and Recoveries. Washington, DC: International monetary fund (IMF).