DiversityFIRST™ Top 40 Companies
As diversity has grown into a major business imperative, so too has the call to rank companies on their diversity efforts. In fact, many companies covet the rankings on such lists. In a culture that puts significant emphasis on lists and rankings, such lists are the start, not the end of a company’s demonstrated commitment to diversity. The National Diversity Council introduces the next generation of quantitative and qualitative assessment of a company’s diversity effort. Using a proprietary process, The National Diversity Council assesses a company’s diversity effort in the areas of People, Community, Supplier Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Methodology:
Companies are asked to complete a survey to the review panel. Once the surveys have been received, the panel (consisting of diversity professionals) reviews them. All surveys are redacted to eliminate company identified data.
The peer review panel ranks the surveys and submits them to the vice-president of research.
The list of companies is reduced and the companies that remain are asked to conduct a phone interview with the vice-president of research.
The list is further reduced and the remaining companies are asked to submit further documentation. A random selection of companies is selected for a site visit by the research team.
The peer review panel will issue its recommendations of rankings to the vice-president of research with the following designations: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Please note that there is no requirement that a certain number of companies be listed in any category.
The vice-president of research will, in consultation with the peer review panel, list the Top 40 companies.
Companies, at their discretion may ask for a report of the team’s findings. The report shall be analytical and contain both quantitative and qualitative data and observations and recommendations.
The survey is sent to any company requesting it that has 1,500 employees or more. The employees can be global.
There is no cost to participate in the process.
The 2009 survey will be sent out in September and will be due in January.
Within the DiversityFIRST™ Top 40, we will be identifying the top companies for: African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Women, Disabilities, Supplier Diversity, Recruitment & Retention and Corporate Responsibility.
To request a survey or to ask for additional information, please send email to top40@nationaldiversitycouncil.org.