Improving workplace diversity is the theme at this year’s human resource luncheon
sponsored by Johnson & Wales University.
The third annual event, also being sponsored by Providence Business News, will be held at the Radisson Airport Hotel on Post Road in Warwick on Friday, February 8 at noon.
The keynote speaker for the event is Gerry Fernandez, president and founder of the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance, a nonprofit organization created to work with existing diversity initiatives to "stimulate and sustain the growth of multiculturalism and its economic benefits for the foodservice and hospitality industry."
Fernandez, a graduate of Johnson & Wales who recently moved his organization from Maryland to Providence, is expected to talk about "leveraging a diverse workforce."
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PBN: Tell us a little bit about your organization.
Fernandez: We are an ethnic business development think tank, or the diverse business development think tank for the restaurant, food service and lodging industry. We put dollars in diversity and help the industry understand how they can do that. We basically promote the economic benefits of multiculturalism.
Why target the foodservice and hospitality industries specifically?
Because I am a product of this industry, it’s the only industry that I have known, and because I have some experience as a man of color in this industry. I have always had an interest in making this industry more attractive to minorities. The demographics in America are changing and the marketplace is now requiring that smart companies who want to stay ahead of the curve must begin to understand how to leverage this multicultural diversity to the bottom line of their business. We help businesses in five main areas: human resources, training, marketing, diverse supplier development and community relations. Multiculturalism is important from a human resource perspective – talent comes in all colors, so they need to have a strategy to recruit and retain people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Then employers need to have the ability to train that workforce, which includes dealing with different cultures. Then you have to sell and market your product to an increasingly diverse marketplace so you need to understand different cultures. The same is true for dealing with community relations.
What is the message that you hope to get across at the human resource luncheon?
The most important aspect of diversity is coming up with an approach that allows everyone in your workforce to contribute 100 percent of their capability – if you don’t understand that you won’t get 100 percent. Things are different for every segment. For example, how do you help a female dominant workforce address child-care issues, and remember those issues are very different even within the segment. You also have cultural issues, including language barriers. The main idea is to develop strategies that release the power of employees. Create an environment in which people feel they can be open and honest in their contributions to the company. They want to feel included in the process, it’s so unlike the old days where we wanted to assimilate. The basic idea is to create an environment that allows employees to thrive.
What are the advantages to businesses having this kind of diverse workforce?
The main thing is market knowledge. Women know how to sell to women – it’s that simple. One of the biggest advantages is that diverse backgrounds can contribute to the knowledge pool in how to sell a company’s product or service. Secondly, having a diverse workforce helps company owners create a pipeline for developing employees, and that ultimately will make the business more attractive to an even greater diverse workforce.
Are there specific strategies for a business to create more diversity?
It doesn’t happen by accident; there is definitely a reason for it happening. If a company owner doesn’t have the strategies in place to talk to the increasingly diverse consumer then they will not succeed. If all of your employees look like you, then you are doing it wrong. You don’t have a diverse group of perspectives to draw from. You don’t have new ideas to bring to the table. Business owners need to understand what these diverse populations want. Look at the Fortune 500 companies – these companies all have a very comprehensive diversity program and they are all top performers. Companies know that they have to spend money on employee retention program, but when it comes to minority issues, they don’t have the money. But companies are going to find, if they want to be an employer of choice, then they are going to have to make the investment.
What do you say to those who might suggest that hospitality jobs are all well and good, but in terms of bolstering our economy they are not exactly creating wealth?
The restaurant industry is the number one private employer — where does that put our industry? Many people start in this industry. There are few other businesses where you can start at the bottom and become CEO of the company. The hospitality industry is an excellent place for somebody to start – it’s honorable and quality work. It’s not an easy industry to be in, but I think it’s a good one, and if you look at the contributions to the state’s tax base, it’s pretty significant.
