3 Key Diversity & Inclusion Questions Organizations Are Asking

“Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) must transition from being managed as a traditional cost center to being lead as a profit center for enterprise to flourish. Those organizations that make this commitment will soon find themselves winning the war on talent and market share. They will dominate their industry and positively impact their bottom line for several years to come,” says Forbes contributor Glenn Llopis.

As corporations work to recover from the pressure of the economic crisis in 2008 – they are finding that their workforce and consumers have changed. Leaders are now realizing that they must quickly learn how to build new relationships for their business—relationships that demand cultural intelligence.

In anticipation of Linkage’s upcoming Institute for Leading Diversity & Inclusion^™—which begins on Monday in Atlanta—Glenn Llopis, a 2012 Institute Development Workshop Leader, spoke with a number of this year’s Institute speakers and panelists to get a behind the scenes look at what their market leading organizations are doing to assure that diversity is directly tied to driving business outcomes and their bottom line.

Institute Keynote Speaker, Steve Pemberton, Divisional Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Walgreens and Panel Leaders Jackie Glenn (Global Diversity Officer at EMC), Edwina Mays (Senior Diversity Consultant also from EMC), Janice Little (Senior Director of Diversity at McKesson), and Todd Corley (Senior Vice President of Global Diversity & Inclusion at Abercrombie & Fitch) all offered their answers to three key questions that are top of mind for most organizations today:

• What are the Most Effective Ways to Measure D&I Return on Investment?
• What will Change the C-Suite Conversation about D&I’s Role in Directly Impacting Business Outcomes?
• What are the Most Pressing Hurdles America’s corporations must still overcome regarding D&I?

Read what these Diversity & Inclusion advocates had to say in Glenn’s full Forbes article, Diversity Must Become a Profit Center for Enterprise to Flourish. Glenn Llopis, Steve Pemberton, Jackie Glenn, Edwina Mays, Janice Little and Todd Corley are all part of Linkage’s Institute for Leading Diversity & Inclusion^™.

Glenn Llopis is a business consultant, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He is the Chairman of the Glenn Llopis Group and Founder of the Center for Hispanic Leadership and the Center for Innovation and Humanity.