Article/case study:

GROWING DIVERSITY

It takes more thanhiring to build a diverse workforce

By Anamika Roy

BridgeTower Media

As businesses become more globalized, workplace diver- sity has become an imperative. Whether it’s a regional law firm or a multinational company, workers and clients alike want to do business with and work for an organization that reflects a range of views and backgrounds.

“There’s increasing demand to have di- verse teams of lawyers,” said John Frisch, chairman at Baltimore-based Miles & Stockbridge. “As the firm has become di- verse, our leadership team is more diverse. We get higher-quality decisions when the participants in the groups are more diverse.”

Miles & Stockbridge, which was ranked No. 2 on Law360’s list of the best firms for black attorneys in the nation in 2016, has imple- mented a range of strategies over the years to both hire and retain attorneys of color.

More than 10 percent of the firm’s non- principals are black, along with 4.6 percent

of its principals. The firm also recently hired a full-time director of diversity and inclu- sion to grow the firm’s engagement with clients and the community.

In 2015 the firm started a hiring prac- tice modeled after the National Football League’s “Rooney Rule,” named after a fran- chise owner and requiring teams to inter- view at least one minority candidate for each vacant coaching position. Similarly, Miles & Stockbridge interviews at least one woman, minority or LGBT lawyer for each open position.

The firm has seen a dramatic increase in the diversity of its new hires. In 2016, 48 percent of the firm’s new lawyers were minorities.

But diversity in the workplace isn’t driven simply by hiring.

“If you retain a diverse workforce, that in itself is a recruiting tool,” said Kim E. Ruyle, president of Inventive Talent Consulting in Melbourne, Fla.

There are two ways to retain good people: reward them monetarily or engage them, said Ruyle.

“Engaged employees feel a sense of own- ership in the business,” he said.

That engagement comes from the em- ployee’s relationship with his or her imme- diate boss. Companies that want to retain good people need managers capable of building relationships, Ruyle said.

Supervisors are most successful at build- ing those relationships when they can find common ground among their employees through shared values.

“It’s not just the diversity of the work- force, it’s the inclusion of the workforce,” Ruyle said.

TGS, a Houston-based company that provides geoscientific data and services to the oil and gas industry, has followed a similar philosophy to retain the company’s international staff, especially the company’s large group of Chinese employees.

The company does panel interviews to give candidates a sense of TGS’ culture. Once employees are hired, the company reinforces an inclusive culture through its management style and more tangible steps. For example, a lot of TGS employees enjoy ping pong, so the company put a ping pong table in its communal bistro area.

“At the end of the day, regardless of race, people want to be able to interact with other people,” said Heather Barker, human resources director at TGS.

Following Ruyle’s philosophy on reten- tion as a recruitment tool, TGS is able to hire through its existing workforce.

“Our industry is very tight-knit as well so that word of mouth spreads quickly,” Barker said.

TGS is particularly cognizant of what mo- tivates people of different racial and ethnic

backgrounds. For example, it has found that in Norway, the company’s financial head- quarters, employees prefer team accolades over individual ones.

Inclusion plays a role in retention not just within teams but in leadership roles.

“If you’re in a growing business, employ- ees think about growth,” Ruyle said.

Miles & Stockbridge officials say they take that philosophy seriously.

“It is a really high priority that (firm at- torneys) understand that the firm is making a very significant investment in becoming more diverse and investing in its employ- ees,” Frisch said. “We can’t achieve our objectives unless they’re successful.”

When the firm evaluates practice group leaders, leadership positions and board directors, it makes sure to build diverse teams. Senior attorneys also work closely with junior attorneys through internal and external mentorship programs.

“Lawyers of color when they see people like themselves in leadership positions, that is one thing that will get them to stay,” said Demetria Johnson, director of diversity and inclusion at the firm.

Her goal is to get Miles & Stockbridge to a point where the firm is evenly split across gender, race and sexual orientation.

“The legal industry has a long way to go but we feel like that we’re off to a great start,” Frisch said.

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