Stronger together: Tire makers find strength in diversity

Ebonee Davis Ifeobu doesn't like to think everybody has a seat at the table when it comes to inclusion at Bridgestone Americas Inc.

Sure, the executive director of talent, diversity and culture at Bridgestone Americas sees the table. But beyond that, the scene is a bit different in her mind's eye.

"Inclusion really is about making sure you reward and celebrate the ways that people are different. And when we talk about inclusion, often people will say we want to make sure everyone has a seat at the table," Davis Ifeobu said. "I like to say with inclusion there are no seats at the table. Essentially there's a table and we're all around it, surrounded by our differences and making sure that we're celebrating and rewarding one another."

Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. All keywords in the human resources world—and in life—these days. And for good reason. More than ever, companies are placing increased emphasis on attracting and retaining talented employees from all walks of life.

And that means paying attention to and celebrating the ways people are different, making all employees feel welcome and leveraging varying perspectives for the good of the company.

"Diversity is a complex topic," said Lisa Thomas, a top human resource executive for Continental Tire the Americas. "It certainly is not going to happen overnight. It's not going to happen with one training or one statement or one initiative that takes place. This is an area where we have opportunity to grow in terms of culture or mindset.

"The big takeaway for us is this is a journey. It starts for every individual at a unique place. And for us, as an organization, we still have a long way to go. It's been inspiring to see how far we've come," she said.

"But we have a long road ahead of us."

Continental, because it has operations around the world, has brought people with different backgrounds together for decades.

"It's always been important for us. We're an international company, and so it's been common for us to be working with people from all different countries, nationalities and backgrounds," Thomas said.

For many years, Continental has worked toward creating gender equality within its ranks and has made great progress, Thomas said. "We're a global organization, and this has been a universal area of interest across the world. And it's one where we've made pretty significant progress."

While gender equality continues to be an important issue, the events of 2020, including the high-profile deaths of Black Americans, has helped the company expand its focus to include issues of race.

"It shifted for us, of course, in light of the events that happened within the last year that gained a lot of attention, including the deaths of George Floyd and many other members of the Black community," Thomas said. "We really felt compelled to take a hard look at what racial equality and equity meant within our organization and commit to change."

Continental is using three pillars to help place a focus on racial equity and equality, including the company's internal infrastructure "so that employees can feel they bring their best and whole selves to work. The second is about the diversity among our talent. Do we have a diverse pool of qualified candidates, both within the organization and externally? And how are we going about our processes for considering people for job opening and promotions?

"And the last piece becomes bigger than the organization itself. It's making sure that we are supporting communities we live in and that we're working through volunteerism to support not only the community but also foster some interest in the talent pipeline of the future," Thomas said.

Stronger teams
Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) among the work force benefits companies like Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., according to Karil Morrissey, vice president of human resources.

"A number of studies demonstrate that diverse teams make better decisions and perform better. Additional research makes it clear that having an environment where employees feel accepted and included has a significant impact on employee engagement and retention," she said.

"Additionally, top candidates expect diversity and inclusion to be flourishing in the companies they consider for employment. Companies with effective diversity and inclusion strategies and results will be more successful in attracting top, diverse talent," Morrissey said.

"Embracing each person's uniqueness … strengthens our business and enhances our performance as a leading competitor in the tire industry," she said.

Michelin North America Inc. sees diversity and inclusion efforts as a way to impact each worker on the payroll.

"Every day, more than 20,000 employees in the United States and Canada come to work at Michelin," said Michael Williams, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Michelin North America. "Each individual brings their own unique background, beliefs, skills and talents to work together to create the mobility of tomorrow. We believe an inclusive environment enhances our strength as a company and drives innovation."

COVID-19 was a key theme for 2020, Williams said, but "the outcry against racism and social injustice was also a defining message."

In June the company formed a strategic action team called (RISE)2 or Responding to Racism, Injustice and Inequality through Sustainable Social Empowerment and Engagement. This group was created to help the company "prioritize its commitment to addressing racial justice and equality within and outside our walls."

The company also works outside of its walls to create change.

"All Michelin sites worldwide offer a community engagement program where Michelin and its employees dedicate time and resources to help build vibrant and equitable communities where we live and work," Williams said.

As global head of diversity and inclusion for Goodyear, Sumita Shetty believes there is strength in a diverse work force. "Our goal is an inclusive culture that allows our associates to leverage the power of that diversity," she said.

"(Diversity and inclusion), over time, has gone from something that many organizations would consider a 'nice to have' aspect of their culture to a recognized business and human imperative," Shetty said. "Among other factors, this is driven by increased social awareness along with clear and compelling data supporting the fact that companies with diverse organizations and inclusive cultures are outperforming those without."

Empowering employees
The emphasis on diversity and inclusion, she said, does not end after initial training of a new hire.

"Our strategy includes active engagement and growth in our employee resource groups (ERGs), and focused education and awareness. We also believe diversity and inclusion must be a consideration at every stage of the talent lifecycle—from initial hiring to training to development to advancement—to drive the best outcomes for Goodyear and its associates," Shetty said.

Goodyear uses a "diagnostic, data-driven approach" when approaching diversity and inclusion. "This approach allows us to improve the quality of our decision-making through opportunities we find in our data, the insights that lead us to prioritize, check and adjust our strategy and, ultimately, drive results," Shetty said.

Emphasizing DE&I efforts in the workplace has an impact beyond the human resources level, Continental's Thomas said.

"There are clear business-related advantages to diversity, equity and inclusion: attraction and retention of talent, having breadth of thought perspectives, making sure people are productive and brand building," Thomas said.

"But that's not why it's important to us. In my view, these are outcomes of us doing the right thing. So building a sense of belonging and acceptance for our employees we feel is critical to our culture and our values," Thomas added. "And it allows all our employees to experience trust and freedom to contribute in the most whole and satisfying way possible. That's how we believe we experience the best from our teams. And that's then also how we produce the best work from our organization," Thomas said.

What diversity looks like
Back at Bridgestone Americas, Davis Ifeobu and Susie Long, vice president of talent, diversity and culture, work to make the company more inclusive and diverse every day.

"When I think of diversity, it's so much more than just skin color or gender or sexual preference. It is all the unique qualities that make us who we are as individuals and the attributes that really make us the whole being of who we are," Long said. "I think the inclusive piece is the ability to bring people together and value those differences, cherish those differences and celebrate those differences."

Not only is that the right thing to do for employees, it's good for business, she said.

"We are doing better. We have accelerated our efforts. It's a journey. I don't see that there's an end game here where we can say we've arrived and we're perfect. I think it's an ongoing endeavor," Long said.

Diversity is a complex issue because people are, well, diverse.

"Diversity is multifaceted because people are complex, made up of the things you see and the things you don't see," Davis Ifeobu said.

But creating a diverse and successful workplace certainly has its benefits, she said. "It creates a culture that's just fun and makes people want to work there. It's critically important to have a diverse culture that attracts and retains people."

For large organizations like tire manufactures and rubber companies, creating change can take time.

"It's a big machine to turn," she said.

Goodyear's Shetty said diversity and inclusion efforts cannot be a byproduct of other company work.

"To make a meaningful business impact, diversity and inclusion must be an intentional strategy, embedded throughout the entire organization," she said. "Diverse teams with an inclusive culture position Goodyear to attract top talent, accelerate future success with product and service innovation and enable top line growth and bottom line savings.

"Our markets are diverse, and our customers are diverse, and if we want to stay ahead of the market and the competition, we need to be able to be first to market with innovative products and services. A diverse work force gives us the edge to do that," Shetty said.

Bringing differing ideas and perspectives to the table, whether there are seats or not, helps companies succeed.

"The more ideas we have, the better we can innovate and deliver products and services for markets and customers whose needs and wants we understand," Shetty said. "A diverse organization and an inclusive culture also correlate directly to employee engagement and productivity. A culture where everyone feels heard and that their unique perspectives are valued will allow that talent to thrive."

Goodyear, Cooper, Michelin, Bridgestone and Continental might not agree on who makes the best tire. But the companies do agree about the power of diversity, equity and inclusion.

"At the end of the day, the diversity of thought, the diversity of background, the diversity of experience, it just makes you better," Long said. "When you sit around the table, and if everybody has the same opinions and the same ideas and the same experiences, how creative are you really going to be?" Long asked.

Cooper's Morrissey put it this way: "When companies develop their diversity and inclusion strategy, it is important to strongly connect it to the business strategy. In addition, the more the strategy and actions are integrated into existing business and talent management processes, the greater the likelihood of success and sustainability," she said.

"It is important to have a strategy and plans that include and involve all employees. All employees need to be aware of the importance of diversity and inclusion, and the value a diverse work force brings to the company," Morrissey said.