Reference no: EM133148506

"Katina Landry, a 45-year-old African American woman, was hired as the VP of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) at BayLeafBumble Industries, Inc. (BLBI) to revamp their HR practices and develop and implement a strategic diversity plan. BLBI is a $120 million company in the agriculture industry in the Southeast United States and has more than 900 full-time employees. An industry veteran and senior certified human resources manager (SPHR), Landry met BLBI's founder, Jim Slantonia, a 72-year-old White man, on a flight for a business trip. Landry was struck by Slantonia's friendly demeanor and persuasiveness when he said they were "meant to meet" and asked that she consider joining the BLBI executive team as VP of HR and CDO. Excited about a potential move to the Southeast and an executive-level position, since her career had stalled, Landry agreed to consider the offer and she and Slantonia parted amicably at the airport. Slantonia soon texted Landry with more information, describing the city's enticing low cost of living and amenities, and continued his hard sell on BLBI. Landry investigated BLBI and was pleased to learn the company had won a local business journal award for its diversity work and was named one of the "top companies to work for in the area." After a virtual interview with Slantonia and the company's Board of Directors, Landry excitedly, but also nervously, agreed to join BLBI. With a $65,000 salary increase and an opportunity to now earn significant bonuses, Landry resigned from her previous position. She took two weeks between jobs and used the large bonus that BLBI gave to her as a down payment on her water-view dream home. After a month on the job, during which time she met the rest of the executive team; interviewed managers, HR employees, and a sampling of other employees who were willing to talk to her; and explored data in the HR systems, Landry knew there was a lot to be done at BLBI. Except for her, the entire executive team reporting to the CEO was composed of White men, as was the next level of reporting. A White woman, an administrative manager, appeared two levels below the CEO. Despite being in a somewhat di-verse suburb of a medium-sized diverse city, the salaried employees were almost 90% White, and all but two managers were White. Workers of color, mostly African American and Hispanic, were concentrated in entry-level jobs. Hiring practices at BLBI were haphazard, which Landry should have known based on how she got her own job. Friends and relatives of current employees were hired frequently, with current employees earning good referral bonuses regardless of whether the new hires worked out or turned over quickly. She learned that sometimes managers hired their own family members, who were then allowed to report to them. "

"Appendix: Diversity in Practice Mini-Cases481Formal recruitment focused on local universities, which most of the current managers and employees had attended. There were no job analyses and job descriptions were few, so interviews were fairly informal, often resulting in a lack of fit and qualifications for the position hired for. Landry authorized a compensation analysis and was disturbed by the results. Gender and racial salary disparities were clear, although female employees had a slightly higher education than male employees, and employees of color (most of whom were recruited from college) were twice as likely to have a college degree than White employees. Although performance evaluation was not conducted regularly, men's evaluations were significantly higher than women's evaluations, which contributed to salary disparities. Landry also found evidence of a confidential settlement of a race discrimination claim against the founder, settled two years prior. A sexual harassment claim had been settled before that. The previous two HR executives, both White women, had left BLBI suddenly, one after two years and the other three months before Landry arrived, and HR staff was reluctant to discuss why. Landry realized she had walked into a landmine and needed to figure out a plan of action to save her job and to bring about substantive change in BLBI."

"Questions to Consider

1. What are the biggest issues facing Landry right now?

2. What should Landry try to accomplish in her first six and 12 months on the job?

3. How will Landry measure whether she has been successful in accomplishing the items listed in your answer to question 1?

4. What else do you recommend?