Making diversity business critical

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to look at how the creation of a tailor‐made Diversity Scorecard helped Enterprise Rent‐A‐Car to equip regional managers to build diversity into their businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

Designed to empower each branch to serve local customers according to their needs, the Enterprise business model is highly decentralized. Autonomy is drilled down and this includes HR decisions which are made region by region. When diversity became identified as a business priority for Enterprise, a series of initiatives were implemented to raise understanding and awareness at the regional level including workshops and training. However, it was the introduction of the Diversity Scorecard that enabled regional teams to measure their success in this and plan for improvement where required.

Findings

As a result of its strategic focus on diversity, Enterprise recruited 40 percent females and 22 percent Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) this year, exceeding its targets. Of employees in management positions, 24 per cent are from minorities globally. The company has been recognized externally by organizations such as Business in the Community for its efforts. Enterprise has proved that diverse businesses are successful. In 17 years since it opened its first UK branch, the company has grown to more than 360 branches in the UK, with 25 opened in the last year alone.

Originality/value

Enterprise takes a deliberately incremental, evolutionary approach to diversity. Central is the recognition that diversity is more than a policy or a value. It needs to underpin the actions and decisions of each employee – and especially managers – on a day‐to‐day basis. Large businesses with a distributed workforce need to equip regional teams with the tools to ensure that diversity is a part of every decision.

Citation

Lafever‐Ayer, L. (2013), "Making diversity business critical", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 145-150. https://doi.org/10.1108/14754391311324507