Cultural Practices of the Best Companies

Employees at this investment bank are cared for with benefits that include two on-site restaurants, two health clubs, a medical clinic, dry cleaner, and back-up child care services - one of many initiatives set-up to promote better work/life balance. But what really keeps employees here is the sense among them that they are all seen as people first, not just employees.

Phrases such as "we hire nice people", and "talent is more important than specific skill" indicate that managers at Morgan Stanley are willing to invest in people to help them grow and learn, and thus create a career for themselves.

Medtronic's leaders are convinced that creating an environment in which each and every employee can contribute fully to the organization is critical to its ability to be successful. The company has developed a training program called "You Make The Difference" that employs an unusual approach for a scientific, medical device company- it uses the performing arts to stimulate discussion and learning about diversity.

The first component of this program has all employees watching a full-length play entitled "Lazarus," which was written by a Minneapolis playwright and consultant. The play takes place at Medtronic in the year 2009, where a group of employees is trying to create a product that holds tremendous promise for the company and humankind. The team is unsuccessful until a woman with unusual powers enters the project. However, the woman encounters resistance when she tries to bring something different to the business and her values challenge the status quo. "Lazarus" explores issues of disparity based on personal characteristics and is performed by professional actors from the Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis.

The play captures both the overt implications of respecting and valuing diversity as well as the more subtle consequences of existing in an environment where the broadest scope of diversity may not be recognized. Over 3,000 Medtronic employees have attended the play. After each employee sees the play, he or she participates in two four-hour learning modules that introduce information about demographic trends and issues such as stereotypes and the role of culture in shaping behavior and allows employees to discuss the impact of diversity in the workplace. Employees are also provided with tools for diagnosing important diversity issues and dealing with them constructively.

Medtronic feels this program is a big step in the larger, ongoing process of bringing respect for and understanding of diversity into the corporate workplace and that it helps employees recognize and respect each other as individuals from diverse backgrounds with different experiences, feelings, skills and contributions.