ALBERTSONS TARGETS DIVERSITY

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Albertsons is continuing to evolve a multifaceted diversity program that ties into the company's business objectives, an executive for the supermarket operator told attendees at a conference here last week.

A company that discounts the power of diversity "does so at its own risk," Pam Powell, senior vice president, customer service, Albertsons, Boise, Idaho, said. "You can't separate diversity from business results. Albertsons has put as much focus on diversity over the past three years as we have on sales, acquisitions and corporate strategies."

Speaking at Executive Forum 2004 here, the 10th annual conference sponsored by the Food Industry Leadership Center at Portland State University, Powell said, "Diversity is an important strategic component in our business. It allows us to connect better with customers, it energizes associates, it improves corporate performance, and it turns a good company into a great company."

Albertsons has developed an internal theme -- "One Vision/Many Perspectives" -- to reinforce its commitment to diversity, Powell said. Two years ago, it appointed a vice president of diversity and hired a consultant to help the chain explore ways to develop more diversity concepts.

Among the ideas it came up with, she noted, were offering diversity training to employees; providing mechanisms for female and minority associates to advance; and listening to customers to meet their needs at store level.

"To get the message out, we've spent time talking with our people about diversity and emphasizing our commitment to listen to everyone," Powell said. "With 230,000 associates, we try to tap into their thinking by encouraging them to speak up, take risks and listen."

Albertsons held diversity training workshops last year for more than 2,000 division and store managers, she said, "and all new hires must take a course that instructs them in treating people with dignity and respect. In addition, we discuss diversity in our company newsletter every month."

To build a more diverse work force, she said Albertsons must provide female and minority employees with advancement and move them into more leadership roles. Accordingly, the company has created networking opportunities, including affinity groups and mentoring programs, for its female and minority associates.

Affinity groups are composed of associates who support each other in their common goals, Powell explained. Two years ago Albertsons had nine affinity groups, "but now we have 30, and the number is growing," she said.

Mentoring programs link associates with experienced leaders who help them support their business objectives, Powell said, "and those programs improve our ability to develop minority associates. We identify associates to fill the pipeline and recognize the importance of preparing them for advancement."

At the corporate level, Albertsons has the highest number of female board members of any chain in the industry, with six, Powell noted, "including two ethnic minorities, and a seventh woman is due to join the board shortly."

To deal with diversity among shoppers, Albertsons is taking a customer-focused approach as its consumer base grows more diverse, she said.

With the number of ethnic minorities accounting for 29% of the U.S. population and growing, particularly among people 25 and younger, "retail practices must change," Powell said, "and Albertsons is doing that with our neighborhood markets approach, where we listen to customers and look for products and services that meet the specific needs of each community."

In Hispanic neighborhoods, for example, "we wanted stores with more authentic products and services," Powell said, "so we developed Super Saver [in Southern California], which devotes 30% more space to produce and includes bilingual store teams and signage, and the response has been terrific.

"We've also set aggressive goals to expand supplier diversity programs, working with vendors who share our passion for making customers' lives easier. In addition, we are working with companies owned by minorities and women, and last July we held our first-ever supplier diversity forum to discuss ways to work together to serve customers and grow our businesses."