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Hewlett-Packard has asked its national managers in 23 European countries to draw up action plans on diversity.
The US multinational, which is the largest IT employer in Europe with 46,000 staff, is making the action plans a central part of its efforts to increase the proportion of women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and older people in its workforce.
Each country manager has designated a senior staff manager as 'country champion' with overall responsibility for the plans, which will be based on more flexible working patterns and training to increase staff awareness of diversity issues.
'Every action plan has to be culturally sensitive and localized as much as possible,' said Josefine van Zanten, HP's diversity director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 'Each country managing director is held accountable for each plan, and as diversity and inclusion is on HP's "scorecard" for leaders as one of the issues they are asked to drive forward, then it will have an impact on how their performance is judged.' HP did not comment on the weighting of individual issues on its scorecard, but said that diversity was a key component.
Van Zanten claimed that the company had won several large contracts as a result of its diversity policies, including a recent $200million (£112m) deal with Procter & Gamble. 'We were toe-to-toe with our main competitor but then we were both asked about our diversity programmes and our record greatly helped in the final decision,' she said. 'P&G have gone on record as saying it was that aspect which really contributed to us winning the deal.'
The US multinational, which is the largest IT employer in Europe with 46,000 staff, is making the action plans a central part of its efforts to increase the proportion of women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and older people in its workforce.
Each country manager has designated a senior staff manager as 'country champion' with overall responsibility for the plans, which will be based on more flexible working patterns and training to increase staff awareness of diversity issues.
'Every action plan has to be culturally sensitive and localized as much as possible,' said Josefine van Zanten, HP's diversity director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 'Each country managing director is held accountable for each plan, and as diversity and inclusion is on HP's "scorecard" for leaders as one of the issues they are asked to drive forward, then it will have an impact on how their performance is judged.' HP did not comment on the weighting of individual issues on its scorecard, but said that diversity was a key component.
Van Zanten claimed that the company had won several large contracts as a result of its diversity policies, including a recent $200million (£112m) deal with Procter & Gamble. 'We were toe-to-toe with our main competitor but then we were both asked about our diversity programmes and our record greatly helped in the final decision,' she said. 'P&G have gone on record as saying it was that aspect which really contributed to us winning the deal.'
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