ACT Joins Effort to Increase Workforce Diversity

When ACT was asked two years ago to join other area businesses in an effort to increase workforce diversity in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids area, staff rose to the challenge and played a key role in the establishment of Diversity Focus.

“Committing to diversity is good business,” said Jim Friel, assistant vice president and director of human resources at ACT. “We need a workforce that reflects the clients who use our programs and services. A diverse workforce adds value to what we do.”

The groups that founded Diversity Focus are convinced that the economic future of the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids Corridor is contingent on adapting to change and providing a welcoming environment for a diverse workforce. In addition to ACT, original sponsors included Alliant Energy, the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, the City of Cedar Rapids, Guaranty Bank, Kirkwood Community College, Rockwell Collins, The University of Iowa, and the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation. New sponsors include St. Luke’s Hospital and Mercy Hospital (both in Cedar Rapids), Quaker Oats, and AEGON USA.

According to Mick Starcevich, president of Kirkwood Community College, who spoke at a recent diversity conference, the major goals of Diversity Focus are:

• To promote awareness and an image of a community that values diversity
• To be a clearinghouse that gathers and shares products, people, and capability to help organizations in the community address diversity
• To be a source of program enhancement, providing new tools and fresh ideas for building a more diverse community

In keeping with the goals of Diversity Focus, Richard L. Ferguson, ACT CEO and chairman of the board, noted that the ACT Board of Directors “has made it a priority to expand diversity in our workforce. Our interest in diversity also arises from our mission—helping people achieve education and workplace success.”

Cultivating Leaders

To help increase workforce diversity at ACT, Friel said the company has created a new position—director of talent acquisition and diversity—to recruit minority applicants, to prepare managers for inclusion, and to improve retention of minority employees. ACT has also completed a self-audit created by Diversity Focus as a means to establish a benchmark and is using the results to guide human resource plans and programs.

One of the programs, sponsored by ACT and Diversity Focus, was the 2007 Diverse Leadership event held simultaneously in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids in September. The goals of the concurrent, daylong sessions were to cultivate diverse leaders through networking and interaction with knowledgeable facilitators and to broaden understanding of diversity and its impact, locally and globally.

Starcevich said that diversity can be more than skin color or native background. “We are teaching three or four generations at Kirkwood,” he said. “That’s another kind of diversity. Our youngest student taking a class this year is 14, our oldest is 70. Think about the diversity that brings to our college.”

The Cedar Rapids conference was designed for professionals and college students, while the Iowa City conference was geared toward high school faculty and juniors and seniors. More than 500 people attended the conferences, which featured workshops and keynote addresses by Stedman Graham, chairman and chief executive operating officer of S. Graham & Associates (SGA).

In Iowa City, sessions included student workshops such as “Diversity Leadership Skills,” conducted by Akwi Nji-Dawson of the Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success in Cedar Rapids, and “Diversity Dialogues,” conducted by Monique DiCarlo and staff from The University of Iowa. Faculty sessions included “Cultural Competency,” conducted by Dr. Salome Raheim of The University of Iowa, and “Why Kids Are Failing,” led by Rae Jones of the ACT Midwest Office.

Welcoming New People

Diversity Focus also offers a “cultural ambassador” program that matches new residents with local ambassadors who help them adjust to their new environments.

“When we talk about attracting and retaining people, the cultural ambassador program is a very effective resource,” said Alfred Ramirez, executive director of Diversity Focus. “People have asked how to get involved, and becoming an ambassador gives them a way to actually connect with others and feel comfortable doing it.”

In conjunction with Legion Arts, a Cedar Rapids-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the creation, presentation, understanding, and impact of contemporary art, Diversity Focus has developed Cultural Express, an initiative aimed at exposing local residents to other cultures. During Cultural Express, art, dance, and audiovisual cultural exhibits are housed at public spaces throughout the area.

Other Diversity Focus activities have included training sessions in diversity and inclusion, cultural competence, and diverse leadership and management; small group meetings, brown bag luncheons, and conversation circles; keynote speeches, cultural and social events; and diversity assessments, scans, and surveys.

Ramirez also announced the creation of a new Diversity Focus publication, Inclusive Communities, which profiles community members who tell the story of diversity in the corridor. Launched in September, the publication includes a multicultural resource guide and can be used as a recruiting tool.

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