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Supplier Diversity

Dell works with a number of multicultural business organizations to actively identify new minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises (M/W/DBE). Since 2001, we have steadily increased our spending with M/W/DBEs by more than 66 percent, breaking the billion dollar mark in 2003. Last year, we estimate $1.5 billion in spending with M/W/DBEs. Year-over-year spending with minority and women business entrepreneurs grew by 25 percent in Dell's Fiscal Year 2005.

 

 

 

Diversity In Companies

Welcome to Dell's Global Diversity Program

Diversity is integral to Dell's values. Our company's success hinges on our core values and beliefs known as "the Soul of Dell." We integrate our "soul" into all aspects of business operations, thereby creating a winning culture that fosters excellence and continuous improvements throughout the company.

By continuing to drive diversity throughout our business, we can tap additional talent, improve our operating results, further our global citizenship efforts in the many cultures we call home and become a better place to work. While we have made significant progress, we realize that much more needs to be done. We are committed to embracing diversity and maintaining a company that is reflective of our global customers. We invite you to learn more about the way we do business at Dell

Diversity

With a talent pool that spans the globe, we not only celebrate the differences across our professionals, we rely on them. At Dell, every team member brings with them the possibility for something new and something great. And that's something to be proud of.

Diversity at Dell

As our customers and the talented people we're recruiting become increasingly diverse, we're regularly enhancing our company culture in order to assure it effectively attracts, retains, develops and makes use of the skills of all employees. The simple definition of diversity is "any combination of individuals who are similar in some ways and different in others." In the workplace, people tend to generally associate diversity with characteristics that are readily and easily identified such as race, ethnicity or gender.

To be diverse in a professional environment, however, refers to much more. Diversity applies to education, thinking style, marital status and virtually any other difference that can be recognized between individuals. In this context, we consider diversity to be the beneficial collective mixture of all people at Dell.

Our Mission

Dell believes that in order to be a successful company and a great place to work, our business must be able to leverage the similarities and differences of all team members.

At Dell, we define this as diversity - diversity of thinking, leadership, skill set and style - and it is an integral part of our overall business strategy. Diversity is an essential element of our corporate values, shaping The Soul of Dell and guiding the kind of company we are and aspire to be. By continuing to drive diversity initiatives throughout our business, we harness each individual's full potential, provide the best Customer Experience, tap the best and brightest talent, improve our operating results, become a better place to work, and further our global citizenship efforts in the many cultures we call home.

Dell's Committment

Dell's commitment to diversity is a part of every facet of our company. Diversity helps us meet and exceed our customers' needs and remain competitive in the marketplace. Most importantly, we realize that diversity is vital to our success and necessary in enhancing the Dell customer experience.

Diversity initiatives are driven throughout our company by our founder, Michael Dell, who serves as the chair of Dell's Global Diversity Council . The Global Diversity Council, made up of a team of top executives, provides direction, vision, mission and corporate goals for diversity management throughout the organization, ensuring top-down continued commitment to diversity progress.

Additionally, more than 1500 US executives, managers and employees participate on cross-functional teams to ensure that diversity is integrated into every aspect of our business. These teams exchange best practices, promote accountability, and align Dell's diversity initiatives with divisional and corporate objectives across the company. Regions outside the US are also implementing similar approaches with regional executives serving as members of the Global Diversity Council.

Dell's diversity initiatives focus on three critical business imperatives:

  • To provide a great Customer Experience, which requires a workforce reflective of our customers;
  • To access the best and brightest talent the marketplace has to offer;
  • To focus on global expansion with employees who understand the various cultures, giving us a competitive advantage.

The Office of Global Diversity, led by Vice President Thurmond Woodard, formalizes and institutes these commitments throughout our business operations in the U.S. and globally.

Dell Culture

Dell believes in being direct in everything we do. Our ultimate success is based on maintaining direct relationships built on trust. Our relationships with diverse partners help us reach multicultural consumer groups across the world and recruit the best and brightest talent to achieve success in the marketplace.

Dell's Winning Culture and comprehensive diversity initiatives create a corporate environment based on meritocracy, personal achievement and equal access to all available opportunities. We focus our internal efforts on cultivating and promoting best practices among our global workforce in the areas of policy development, training, recruitment, mentoring, development, advancement and culture change. Furthermore, our Work/Life Effectiveness and career management programs enhance our ability to retain and develop valuable team members and demonstrate our commitment to the Dell Team.

Dell sponsors a community of networking groups formed by employees with common interests in areas such as ethnicity, gender, nationality, lifestyle, and sexual orientation. These groups offer Dell employees the opportunity to network with other employees from around the company, while providing encouragement and an enhanced sense of belonging through informal mentoring, professional and community events and access to personal and professional development and growth. Additionally, networking groups help foster a more inclusive work environment, improve communication among employees and enhance understanding of all employees about the value of diversity.

Networking Groups

Networking Groups currently chartered:

  • BRIDGE - Building Relationships in Diverse Group Environments (African-American Networking Group)
  • W.I.S.E. - Women In Search of Excellence
  • aDellante - Hispanic Networking Group
  • PRIDE - Partnering for Respect of Individuality in the Dell Environment (A Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Straight Alliance)
  • A.I.M. - Asians in Motion
Work/Life Effectiveness

At Dell, our people are our most valuable asset and we are committed to fostering a culture that exhibits this value. Our goal is to enable employees to maximize their contribution to the company while also maintaining effectiveness between their work and personal lives. We advocate flexibility in the workplace to empower employees, teams and managers to hold discussions about both the needs of the business and each employee's individual Work/Life Effectiveness goals, and then to construct a plan for fulfilling both priorities. As individual circumstances vary, solutions that enable flexibility can be different, including informal and formal flexible work arrangements such as variable daily work times, work-from-home, and part-time work arrangements.

Additionally, Dell offers corporate employee resources that enable employees to better manage their Work/Life situations, such as:

  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Dependent Care Referral Resources
  • Mothers Rooms
  • Staying Well at Dell Initiatives like "Weight Watchers at Work"
Career Management Program

Dell is committed to developing our workforce and helping employees achieve their personal and professional best. Through an intensive, six-month Career Management Program, we strive to develop, fully engage, and retain high-performing talent. Specifically, participants in the program spend 6-8 hours per month developing and strengthening network and mentoring relationships; engaging in new activities; and exploring new assignments or positions at Dell. Managers participate in a kickoff session and a mid-program discussion with the coach and participant, in addition to holding monthly career-related discussions with participants.

Contributing positively in the communities where our employees live and work is essential to Dell's Winning Culture. Many of our partnerships and community initiatives reach out to multicultural customer groups and benefit diverse communities in order to promote access to technology, talent, business and education in our communities.

Technology has the power to teach and to connect. At Dell, we believe it is important for all people to be able to enhance their lives through digital inclusion. Therefore, we are committed to providing disadvantaged communities with opportunities for career and skills development and personal growth. Through outreach activities, partnerships and sponsorships, we support programs in diverse communities that directly affect access to technology and training, and we actively engage in public and governmental efforts to find long-term solutions.

Dell believes in creating mutually beneficial partnerships with national civic organizations, professional development organizations and multicultural business and community groups in order to meet and exceed our customers' needs and to remain competitive in the marketplace.

Dell's Supplier Diversity Initiative

We establish partnerships and initiatives to do business with the most qualified and innovative diverse suppliers. Through strategic relationships with community and professional organizations such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the Central and South Texas and Tennessee Minority Supplier Development Councils and the Women Business Enterprise's National Council, we can expand our outreach to women and minority-owned businesses so that we can provide the best overall customer experience to the global communities we serve. For more information on becoming a Dell Supplier, click here.

 

 

 

Partnerships with Multicultural Groups

Our relationships with diverse partners are what help us reach multicultural consumer groups across the world and recruit the best and brightest talent. We partner with professional development organizations such as INROADS and the United Negro College Fund to develop mentoring relationships and to offer meaningful internship experiences for students in minority communities. We build relationships with multicultural organizations across the globe to reach out to potential customers, suppliers and opinion-leaders, in addition to fostering access to technology and its benefits. Examples of these partnerships include: the National Urban League; LULAC; the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; the National Council of LaRaza; Catalyst; Out and Equal; the Society of Women Engineers; the National Society for Black Engineers and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers; and the African American, Asian and Hispanic Chambers of Commerce.


University Relations & Recruiting

Through effective recruitment strategies, Dell "widens the net" to identify the best and brightest talent from a diverse pool of applicants. We work to actively recruit many of the nation's top women and minorities by sponsoring professional conferences, career fairs and community events with professional minority organizations to promote our job opportunities and workplace benefits. We partner with the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the Black MBA Association, the United Negro College Fund and many academic institutions across the country to attract top women, minority and GLBT candidates. In the fall of 2004, Dell launched the Global Management Development Program to target select MBA graduates to assume critical roles in regions outside the United States.

Dell has extended its supply-chain-management expertise to Howard University and Tennessee State University's College of Business by supporting each college's Supply Chain Management Program through hands-on training for students and professors. Considered a global benchmark for continuous innovation in the field, Dell has awarded each college with a $150,000 grant over a 3-year period and is giving students and faculty opportunities to work with the company's cutting edge manufacturing, procurement and fulfillment operations in Austin and Nashville. The program involves all parts of the supply chain, including the interaction between manufacturers, suppliers, transporters, distributors and retailers.

The Dell Global Diversity Marketplace Program supports special events and programs that are consistent with Dell's diversity goals and objectives. Dell's diversity initiatives focus on three critical business imperatives:

  • To provide a great customer experience, which requires a workforce reflective of our customers.
  • To access the best and brightest talent the marketplace has to offer.
  • To focus on global expansion with employees who understand the various cultures, giving us a competitive advantage.

The Diversity Marketplace Program will consider sponsorship of select events and programs based on the following criteria:

  • The event or program provides direct access to talented potential employees.
  • The event or program provides direct access to businesses owned by people of color and/or women who potentially could become suppliers to Dell.
  • The event or program provides direct value to underprivileged children (for example, access to computers or a technology center) and/or technical training of potential employees whom Dell could consider for employment at Dell. Such events or programs should not duplicate what Dell is already doing in a given community. The organization receiving the contribution should be not-for-profit and located in a community where Dell employees live and work.
How We Evaluate Sponsorship Proposals

Proposals are reviewed and evaluated by our Global Diversity team on a quarterly basis. We seek to respond to submissions quickly, however, due to the volume of proposals we receive we may not be able to provide a personalized response to each proposal.


Examples of Dell Sponsor Partnerships

Our relationships with diverse partners are what help us reach multicultural consumer groups across the world and recruit the best and brightest talent. We partner with professional development organizations such as INROADS and the United Negro College Fund to develop mentoring relationships and to offer meaningful internship experiences for students in minority communities. We build relationships with multicultural organizations across the globe to reach out to potential customers, suppliers and opinion-leaders, in addition to fostering access to technology and its benefits.

Examples of these partnerships include:

  • African American, Asian and Hispanic Chambers of Commerce
  • Catalyst
  • League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
  • Out and Equal
  • The Congressional Hispanic Caucus
  • The National Council of LaRaza
  • The National Society for Black Engineers
  • The National Urban League
  • The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
  • The Society of Women Engineers

Please note that Dell Global Diversity does not extend sponsorships to individuals, academic or research projects, religious or political institutions, fundraising auctions or school fundraisers.


How to Submit Your Proposal

To submit your event for sponsorship consideration, send your proposal to diversity_requests@dell.com. The proposal should provide:

  • A brief and clear description of the event or program including your target audience and numbers of participants.
  • A brief history of the event, including names of key sponsors from prior years.
  • Key dates and location for the event or program.
  • Sponsorship levels and associated costs and benefits.
  • The URL if your event or program had a Web site.
  • A contact name, phone number and e-mail address.

Please keep your proposal brief and to the point, and please refrain from sending large files. We will request additional information if necessary.

The Marketplace team considers proposals on a quarterly basis. Due to the volume of proposals we receive, we may not be able to provide a personalized response to each proposal

Click here to learn more about DELL's Diversity Awards and Press


This information appears courtesy of DELL 
 

 

 

 

Crescent Strategic Resources

  | editor@strategicdiversity.com    |   Crescent Strategic Resources   |