BIGGBY Coffee East Lansing, Mich.
Doing the right thing takes courage, sacrifice and fortitude — all things BIGGBY COFFEE showed when it decided to undergo a major brand change to avoid any hint of insensitivity. When it opened in 1995, the company was called BEANER’S COFFEE, a playful description meant to reflect avid coffee drinkers. As the company grew, the owners learned the name was an ethnic slur against the Hispanic community.
The company faced no lawsuits, picketing or outrage over the name, but its owners felt the potential reaction among the Hispanic community didn’t match the company’s operating philosophy. That philosophy stressed the importance of
“recognizing each customer as an individual” and ensuring that “every customer leaves the store in a better mood than when they arrived.”
Without great fanfare, the company announced in September 2007 that BEANER’S COFFEE would now be BIGGBY COFFEE. Introducing the new name — a phonetic spelling of the company’s trademark ‘B’ logo — cost the company more than $1 million just for converting materials and signs in its more than 150 stores. When the announcement was made in the press, the company received complaints that it had “caved” to political correctness — but also many notes thanking BIGGBY’s for its sensitivity toward the Latino community.
IMPACT: BIGGBY COFFEE’s corporate culture had been built around a premise that it was a place for everybody. Having a name that was offensive to any single group simply didn’t match this philosophy. After the name change, most BIGGBY’s customers reacted favorably, and store owners praised the move at the national franchise meeting. As BIGGBY’s says,“The right thing to do is rarely the easy thing to do, but it always leads to the right outcome.”
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Center Twist Inc. Woodenville, Wash.
Giving everyone an equal opportunity to work is a passion for Center Twist Corporation, which owns and operates eight Auntie Anne’s Hand Rolled Soft Pretzel franchises in Washington state.
Center Twist’s staff and managers embrace the company’s overall corporate philosophy of providing a supportive workplace for all employees. Center Twist has assisted in the employment of more than 40 persons with significant disabilities,
providing each with a supportive work environment and good wages. Each store gives people
with disabilities a unique opportunity to improve their quality of life and to feel fully part of the community.
Center Twist Corporation walks the talk when it comes to creating more awareness about hiring
persons with disabilities. The company was selected by King County to participate in a public education and awareness campaign for hiring persons with disabilities in Washington State. The project included production and distribution of a video promoting Supported Employment. Center Twist also assists with the Washington Vocational Services’ Social Enterprise, which helps increase employment for persons with disabilities within the community and provides opportunities
for high school students with disabilities to gain work experience prior to graduation.
IMPACT: Throughout the years, Center Twist has helped employ more than 40 people with significant
disabilities and prides itself on having an inclusive and diverse staff in each of its eight stores. The company’s assistance and mentorship of Washington Vocational Services’ Social Enterprise helped a nonprofit organization diversify its revenues and become a franchise owner/operator; this contribution has helped Washington Vocational reduce its reliance on state and local government funds, increase employment for persons with disabilities within the community and provide an opportunity for high school students with disabilities to secure work experience before graduation.
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Famous Famiglia White Plains, New York
Pizza isn’t the only thing that Famous Famiglia is known for. Employee training is also a company trademark. All Famous Famiglia employees get a chance to excel through a comprehensive
mentoring and training program. The training covers not only operational issues, but also personal growth: basic banking, retirement planning and other topics important to the workforce. The “Team Famiglia” mentoring program engages a diverse group of men and women to go to each new location to train employees. Today, Famous Famiglia’s management includes an African American store-opening specialist and lead trainer — someone who started her career as a Famous Famiglia cashier — and an Asian-American woman who also began as a cashier and now runs one of the most important stores in the company.
Employee retention is a major part of Famous Famiglia’s focus.The company’s aggressive internal
recruitment program and its annual awards dinner recognize employees as “rising stars.” Famous Familigia is also actively involved in the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program,
seeking out minority franchisees and DBE partners. At Famous Famiglia more than four in 10 managers are female, and 37 percent represent a minority group.
IMPACT: Famous Famiglia has dramatically increased the number of employees with banking accounts, and has also helped to increase the number of women and minorities participating in the 401(k) plan. In 2007, Famous Famiglia was recognized by the National Minority Franchising Initiative as one of the Top 50 franchises for minorities. Also in 2007, Hispanic Trends magazine named the company as one of the Top 25 franchises for Hispanics.
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FOCUS Brands Atlanta
FOCUS Brands — which operates Carvel, Cinnabon,
Schlotzsky’s and Moe’s Southwest Grill — believes
integrating diversity begins at the top. Diversity and
inclusion are incorporated into the company’s mission,
guiding values and leadership and management principles.
With its commitment to diversity programs, FOCUS is seeing a positive impact on turnover,
promotions, guest service, food quality/sanitation, employee safety and operational efficiencies.
FOCUS Brands actively seeks out a diverse group of new employees by building relationships with historically black colleges and universities, attending diversity career fairs, posting job opportunities
on diverse online career boards and developing relationships with key diversity organizations.
In 2007, the company launched the Growth Through Diversity Program, which recruits veterans
and African Americans seeking entrepreneurial ventures. At the franchisee level, minority franchisees are given a financial incentive to remain in the system and maintain satisfactory operations.
FOCUS Brands offers minority franchisees an initial reduced franchise fee, a reimbursement of $10,000 once the store opens and an additional $10,000 reimbursement after the first year as long as milestones, operational standards and marketing expenditure requirements are met.
IMPACT: FOCUS Brands is well on its way to reaching a goal of having 10 Growth Through Diversity Program projects under development by the end of 2008. The company says strong interest in the program is a good indication that FOCUS Brands will exceed its goals and continue to expand the program in the future.
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McDonald’s Corp. Oak Brook, Ill.
At McDonald’s, diversity starts at the highest levels. The president and chief operating officer, Ralph Alvarez, is Hispanic; the president of the company’s
U.S. business is African American; the U.S. president’s No. 2 executive is female. The company also has the largest number of minority and female franchisees in the quickservice industry. So how does McDonald’s bring its commitment to diversity to life? Education is especially important.The company
provides presentations, workshops and seminars to build skills for managing an inclusive, diverse workforce. Customized and informal training materials and workforce seminars are provided to teams and departments to integrate into their processes.
McDonald’s emphasis on diverse hiring practices is also evident in the company-wide Hispanic Business Vision and Asian Business Vision, fully integrated programs that include owner-operators and suppliers. Other diversity initiatives at McDonald’s include an online mentoring program, employee networks and career education classes for women and minority employees. The company
tracks the success of its diversity initiatives through internal surveys, reacting quickly if they spot any negative trends. The company’s Pat Harris Diversity Award is given to an individual who best exhibits behaviors that encourage inclusion and diversity.
IMPACT: McDonald’s has been widely lauded for its diversity practices and has been cited as one of the top 25 companies for people with disabilities; best employer for Asians; and one of Fortune magazine’s top places for minorities to work, among other accolades. Additionally, the company believes the combined sales of its African-American licensees represents the largest African-American enterprise in the country. It is also believed that the company’s Hispanic franchisees
represent the largest single Hispanic business in the country.
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Sodexo Inc. Gaithersburg, Md.
With 125,000 employees at 10,000 customer locations, Sodexo recognizes that individuals can feel isolated in such a large, decentralized organization. That’s why the company has put extra effort into creating a work environment that allows each employee to feel a connection through initiatives such as its Employee Network Groups.The company’s six chartered network groups — the African American Leadership Forum,Women’s Network Group,Pan Asian Network Group,Sodexo Organization of Latinos,Pride GLBTA,and Sodexo Organization for disAbilities Resources (SOAR) Network Group — are organized at the grassroots level by employees and provide a forum for professional development, coaching and mentoring opportunities and acquiring
skills.Sodexo says its network groups have been key drivers for cultural change in the company and are essential in helping to recruit, retain and develop diverse talent for the organization.
Sodexo also has a strong commitment to creating and sustaining a mentoring culture through three separate programs: IMPACT, the company’s cross-divisional/cross-function program; Peer2Peer mentoring through the network groups; and the regional BRIDGE program. “At Sodexo, cultural competencies are being honed through individuals candidly sharing their diverse thoughts and perspectives, thereby bringing their ‘whole selves’ to the relationship,” says Rohini Anand, Sodexo global diversity officer and IMPACT mentor.
Sodexo also uses a Diversity Scorecard Index to create accountability and measure progress in increasing minority and female management representation. Ten percent to 15 percent of management
bonuses and 25 percent of the executive team’s bonuses are connected to performance on the Diversity Scorecard, regardless of the company’s financial performance.
IMPACT: Sodexo has been named No. 12 of Diversity Inc.’s 50 best employers, among many diversity-related awards and recognition. The company has conducted a return-on-investment study to measure the impact of its mentoring program, and reports enhanced employee retention and productivity as a result of that program.
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