2010 Best-in-Class Workforce Diversity For Profit


U.S. Bank,  both regionally and nationally, has established an array of strategies to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse workforce. In Northeast Ohio, those efforts have paid off with minority employees comprising 31 percent of the bank’s workforce, compared to a 17 percent average among the for-profit comparison group. In addition, 40 percent of new hires are minority individuals, compared to 18 percent among the for-profit comparison group. Effective strategies include: 

  • Establishing multicultural task forces and programs. U.S. Bank, Northeast Ohio, has a highly effective task force that meets regularly to analyze emerging market trends including populations around its branches to enable managers to hire branch personnel who reflect the neighborhood demographics and to determine the best-selling products for that market. The task force also determines what marketing outreach events should be conducted to effectively reach customers.
  • Participating in two corporate-sponsored internship programs. INROADS, is a nonprofit organization that trains and develops talented diverse youth for professional careers in business. It is a multiyear, paid internship program designed for college students. STEP-UP is a summer jobs internship for diverse and motivated young people. The program recruits, trains and places participants in paid summer jobs. It matches young people with jobs based on their career interests and skills. Many of the bank’s lines also participate in local internship and work-study programs that target diverse populations, including the Genesys Works Program that focuses on diverse student interns with an interest in information technology.
  • Making managing diversity a part of manager-performance plans. Managers are reviewed and rewarded based on their performance to goal. There are special incentive opportunities for branch referrals, hires and retention. Managers are also eligible for various corporate and business line awards and recognitions, such as Circle of Service Excellence, Distinguished Leadership Award, and Excellence in Ethics Award.
  • Conducting formal internal audits on a biannual basis. The human resources department and managers track diversity performance on a quarterly basis.
  • Involving employees as ambassador recruiters for the bank: posting many job openings with social networks including Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, and Craigslist, using nontraditional recruitment sources (community festivals, retail stores, minority chambers of commerce, and supplier diversity contractor conferences and business expos as channels) and automatically posting openings to more than 25 diversity Web sites, as well as with global, military and college alumni networks.

"Everyone counts at U.S. Bank. While we embrace our differences, we also realize how alike we are, sharing the same values and goals. And while we are proud of the resources available for our diverse employees and customers, we are even prouder of the tools we provide to develop careers and turn dreams into realities."

Kurt C. Treu
Market President
U.S. Bank Cleveland