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detroit — Automakers like Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram believe they have pioneered a way to better involve manufacturing workers in diversity and inclusion efforts, and they expect it will benefit their operations. .
For years, the company has been looking for ways to increase the participation of blue-collar workers in its 11 business resource groups. These are management-sponsored but employee-run groups within Stellantis NV that are dedicated to multicultural learning, mentorship, networking, and outreach, which the company says improves talent retention and business outcomes. The company is said to be helping to promote its superiority.
Previously, all employees were invited to participate in the BRG, but even though needs may be different or even greater among hourly workers, the activities are tailored to best suit white-collar schedules, needs, and locations. They often complemented each other well.
Greg Hawkins, Manager of Diversity and Inclusion, BRG, and Global Integration, said: “We’ve tried a variety of strategies that have worked and some haven’t, depending on how they’re implemented, but now we’ve found that we’re truly confident that We have developed a strategy for
“What we’ve found, and what we’ve seen in many Fortune 500 companies, is that once people feel like they belong, we see an increase in innovation by those employees; So we’re seeing an increase in retention. We’re seeing an increase in engagement. And I’m not talking small numbers. 74% more innovation, 72% more retention, 90% more engagement. And for us, these elements help address some of the issues that we have.In our manufacturing facilities, we are increasing how our employees feel welcomed in the workplace. I can see that you are directly feeling what is going on.”
In 2022, Stellantis began exploring the creation of separate groups at some of its manufacturing facilities and identified potential leaders to begin working with the United Auto Workers union. Currently, Stellantis African Ancestry Network Diaspora operates in his two factories that make up the Detroit Assembly Complex, and has recently expanded to the automaker’s stamping plants in Sterling Heights and Warren.
“If you have something to belong to to organize and create positive change in culture, you’re going to come and work here,” said Tracy Britton, JNAP’s STAAND president and employment generalist. “It creates an opportunity for everyone to feel valued and included. It promotes diversity and inclusion. That’s what unites us and everyone is involved. We are much more productive when we feel like we are.”
On Thursday, the stand at Detroit’s Jefferson North Assembly Plant, which makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs, held a flag-raising ceremony to kick off Black History Month. Britton said last year was the first time an African flag was displayed at the site. The T-shirts worn by the group’s members read, “Honoring the past, inspiring the future.”
“I did it in high school,” Britton said of raising the flag. “We’re doing it in church. We’re doing it. We’re making progress.”
Over the past year, the group has brought in speakers, hosted golf and sports viewing events, and held resume workshops for summer interns at Southeastern High School in Detroit. This activity is open not only to manufacturing employees but also to companies.
The four manufacturing BRGs represent more than 1,000 members, Hawkins said, more than some of the original individual business BRGs, which have been in existence for more than 25 years. He has three more organizations in development, including Women of Stellantis and LGBTQ+ alliance Prism. In the United States, he has more than 9,000 employees joining his BRG at Stellantis.
Jerry Windham, 55, of Farmington Hills, who has worked for Stellantis for 25 years, and Lorenzo Jones, 48, of Farmington Hills, who has worked for Stellantis for 28 years, were previously He was a member of the Grand Cherokee launch team and reported directly to the automaker. He set up a technology center in Auburn Hills for a year.
There, they say they were exposed to STAND’s powerful programs at the corporate level, from Christmas parties to networking gatherings and events for young professionals.
“We thought, wow, I wish we could do this at the factory level, because we knew we weren’t going to stay in the company forever,” Jones said. “At the factory level, when people see events happening here that they can touch and participate in, they feel more involved. No, it’s not for us. The efforts that go down to the plant level have inspired a lot of people.”
He also thinks a door has been opened. Jones said he was a “grabber” when he started his career, but he had mentors who helped him, such as helping him open a 401(k). While he and other experienced employees have passed on their wisdom to his younger colleagues, STAAND has an even broader reach and is “a step beyond what we had for the next generation coming up.” “I’ll give you a place,” he says.
“It’s giving people different avenues,” he says. “Because it’s not always about what you know, it’s about who you know. So you’re providing an opportunity to meet people and be mentored.”
Britton said that when she worked in manufacturing, she often missed STAAND events due to shift schedules. But since then, she has been exposed to new departments and opportunities that intrigue her in furthering her career, including her company’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She also participates in leadership training summits, and she hopes to get more manufacturing employees involved.
“If it wasn’t for the stand, I would still be blind,” she said.
To accomplish that, Hawkins said the company learned it couldn’t take a copy-and-paste approach. We have seen growing needs for things like computers and financial literacy.
“What we realized is we can’t prescribe what they need,” he said. “They know what they need, just like we know what they need in the enterprise, and we do it in the enterprise. We did is that it provided a framework for creating BRGs, and even provided support and advocacy for performing the kinds of activities in companies that program to know things they don’t specifically know. It is.”
This includes financial support, but Hawkins declined to provide details. The company has benefited from ideas generated by corporate BRG. The company’s National Black Supplier Development Program has evolved from his STAND, and BRG has deepened its involvement in Stellantis’ Star Up pitch competition.
Hawkins said the initial months of the factory group’s launch focused on increasing participation and developing a strong culture, but that this will be a new way for employees to have their voice heard. He said he was looking forward to it.
Cheryl Thompson, CEO of the Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion and Advancement, said including manufacturing employees in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts is becoming an increasingly hot topic in the industry. Stated. The hourly workforce is often the largest and most diverse within a company.
“A lot of companies are looking at ways to make this happen,” Thompson said, adding of Stellantis, “They’re one of the companies that’s really leading the way.”
Mr. Thompson spoke of his time as a tool and die apprentice and traveler. He was wearing men’s safety shoes two sizes too big, the crotch of his coveralls fell to his knees, and he was afraid to tell anyone when he was injured.
Safety isn’t just physical, it’s also psychological, she says, adding, “A safe workplace is an inclusive workplace.”
Benefits for companies include improved quality, reduced absenteeism, increased retention rates and a more productive working environment, she noted.
However, if a group focuses on a particular community, questions can arise about whether employees who don’t identify with the group’s label will feel left out and create division.
“We invite people to join the STAAND group, regardless of their race or background,” Jones said. “So people are looking at it and realizing there’s something for everyone.”
Hawkins added that he encourages his colleagues to think: “I may not be a member of these communities, but as a human being, whatever I’m doing, not just in this world but in my role, I’m getting the same kind of benefits that I’m getting.” We’re making sure that opportunities are available to everyone.”
Business resource groups, also known as employee resource groups at other companies and sometimes in other industries, have drawn criticism from unions for being an effort to appease workers. But Hawkins said the partnership with the UAW is critical to enabling BRG’s success at the manufacturing plant.
John Morgan, a UAW Local 7 shop committee member representing JNAP employees and the lead negotiator for the Stellantis union during last year’s contract negotiations, recently joined the plant’s STAAND group. He says it empowers workers.
“When you get involved in something bigger than yourself, you want to do better,” Morgan said. “There’s nothing like being part of an organization that gives you guidance and understanding beyond the field, and that’s a lot of the issues we face with young kids.
“When a company shows you that they value you and is willing to organize events to promote your personal growth, they become more engaged in their work.” ” he continued.
bnoble@detroitnews.com
@BreanaCnoble
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