diversity at american airlines : an integrated business strategy denise lynn vice president,...
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Diversity at American Airlines :
An Integrated Business Strategy
Denise Lynn
Vice President, Diversity and Leadership Strategies
Colloquium on Global Diversity
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American Airlines: a Tradition of Marketing to Women
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Our goal:
Grow loyalty among our increasingly diverse customer and employee base
Develop and implement a diversity strategy directly connected to our business
objectives
Our approach:
A holistic approach that integrates traditional diversity initiatives with market goals
using cross-functional teams and processes
Our results:
Enhanced understanding of diverse employees and customers
Organizational diversity strategies aligned to diverse market business goals
Diverse teams and interdepartmental partnerships that require employees to think
differently about how work gets done at American Airlines
Diversity at American Airlines
DRAFT
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The First Step: Re-define the Diversity “Conversation”
Compliance
Protect the Brand
Enhance Brand Equity
© 2005 Mill Square Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Next: Inventory All Existing Assets that Matter to Diverse Customers and Employees
Diversity Business Strategy
Marketing
Human Resources
Corporate Citizenship
Suppliers
Products/Channels
• Do our products appeal to diverse customers?
• Can diverse customers easily purchase our products and use our services?
• Do the demographics of our supplier base reflect those of our customers and employees?
• Do diverse customers see our messages in the media they use?
• Are those messages targeted, relevant and appealing to them?
• Do we support the communities and organizations that our employees and customers care about?
• Is this a great place for diverse employees to have successful careers?
• Does our workforce reflect the diversity of our customers and communities?
© 2005 Mill Square Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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American Airlines Infrastructure for Success: Defined Roles and Senior Executive Participation
Employee ResourceGroups
External AdvisoryCouncils
BOD Diversity Committee
Extended TeamSupplier Div,
Customer Service,Products, Online
Core TeamAdv, PR, Sales,
Corp Citizenship,Market Research
Diverse Segment
Marketing Lead
Executive Steering Committee
Executive SponsorsMar Com , HR
Marketing Agency Support
Human Resources Diversity Strategies
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Making Diversity An Integral Business Strategy A Few Examples…
Diverse Segment Business Initiatives
Marketing
Human Resources
Community
Suppliers
Products/Channels
• External Customer Advisory Councils
• AA.com/women and AA.com/rainbow
• Steve Harvey partnership
• Bi-Lingual Hispanic Marketing Campaign
• BusinessExtrAA for diverse small businesses, non-profits
• Segment –specific AA Vacations promotions
• ERG participation in Segment Marketing Plan development
• Diversity Strategies
• JLT
• Susan G Komen cross-segment partnership
• Sponsorships of nonprofits that serve diverse populations
• Expanded Tier 1 and 2 supplier diversity goals
• Inclusion of LGBT-owned businesses in diverse supplier network
© 2005 Mill Square Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Business Results at American Airlines
Active employee engagement and buy-in to diversity– Participation in business decisions (ERGs)
More inclusive marketing for all our customers– Diversity perspective starting to influence other marketing decisions
Faster speed-to-market of new ideas and programs– Employees working in cross-functional teams instead of in “silos:”
this breaks down barriers so work get done more quickly Better loyalty with increasingly diverse employees and customers
– Differentiating American Airlines in the industry
Greater understanding of diversity as a key business imperative
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Benefits to our Customers: Being Relevant In Every Customer Interaction
Marketing
Key TravelInfluencers
Airport, On-Board & Reservation
Center
CommunityPresence
AA.com & Online
Experience
Products & Services
AA Diverse Customer Experience
© 2005 Mill Square Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Moving Forward: Challenges and Obstacles
Measuring results– Hard to establish metrics and baselines– Thinking about diversity in quantitative vs. qualitative ways
Budget concerns– Difficult to sell an increase in the marketing budget– Territory issues
Visibility– How to get attention for the importance of diversity in a crowded
internal marketplace