Nordstrom: Commitment to "Serving All Equitably"
"You May Not Have Hired the Best Person"
A Corporate-wide Commitment
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Nordstrom: Commitment to "Serving All Equitably"
"Deeply committed to cultivating an environment where
the contributions of every employee, customer and
vendor are respected." That's how world-famous high-
end retailer Nordstrom expresses its diversity
mission -- one that has led the way for real diversity
in the corporate arena.
This commitment is palpable in Johnetta Rowsey's
voice as she speaks earnestly of her own and her
company's desire to take its renowned customer
service "all the way."
Rowsey, who is Nordstrom's diversity affairs director
for the corporate region that includes Washington
State and Alaska, admits to a personal stake in making
sure people with disabilities are represented in all
aspects of the Nordstrom business. Her brother is
disabled. "As an African-American woman, I know
what it's like to be left out, overlooked, ignored,"
she stresses. "I don't want to be like those who do
that to me and do it to someone else." But her own
commitment to diversity also reflects the company's
awareness that people with disabilities are part of
the bottom line because they are important customers
and potential employees.
Nordstrom is unique in the breadth of including
people with disabilities. In 1987, three years before
the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
the company recognized that its potential customer
base was becoming increasingly diverse and set out to
say, "You are welcome here," to both men and women
and to all races. Plus Nordstrom began to reach out
to numerous other communities, recognizing different
religions and cultures as well as its customers and
employees with disabilities.
Rowsey believes that genuine inclusiveness must be
reflected in all aspects of a company's business. At
Nordstrom, the outreach to diverse communities, she
points out, starts with its advertising. In its
mainstream advertising, Nordstrom has long been
committed to featuring models of color and models
with disabilities in at least one-third of its
advertisements. As trivial as this effort may sound
to some, it is in fact a powerful statement directed
to disabled and non-disabled alike that the landscape
is not decorated with just one type of body.
Realizing that the commitment to welcome all people
cannot and should not be limited to attracting
customers, Rowsey says that Nordstrom has made an
effort from the beginning to make managers aware of
disability and educating them as well about hiring
qualified candidates with disabilities for open
positions.
"Each region determines how it will accomplish this,"
she explains. "But corporate-wide there is a spoken
expectation that a genuine effort is to be made." When
I mentioned that many employers explain away their
lack of employees with disabilities by asserting that
other managers and staff aren't comfortable with the
idea, she replied, "We make it crystal clear that
including disabled candidates is not optional. If you
can't deal with everyone equitably, then you should
reconsider whether Nordstrom is for you."
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"You May Not Have Hired the Best Person"
Rowsey outlines the many-pronged thrust of the
Nordstrom inclusion program for the corporate region
of Washington State and Alaska. "Every manager must
attend a diversity training," she states. "Disability
awareness is part of every one of those training
sessions -- no matter when and where they are held. We
conduct a second training that zeroes in on disability
issues. All managers must attend this one, too."
With a warm smile, she adds, "We want all our
managers to recognize that disabled people are an
important piece of the pie."
Disability awareness training has, on occasion,
involves a panel of disabled individuals who talk
about their experiences and answer sensitive
questions. "But we make it clear that no two disabled
people are alike or have the same attitude," she
adds. "It's just like I can't tell you what every
African-American thinks, and I wouldn't want to try.
But the panel helps bridge some gaps and put a real
face on disability."
The thrust of the northwestern region's training is
recognizing that most managers have not been exposed
to many people with disabilities and may be nervous
and uncomfortable. "The question we ask ourselves
is, 'Are we prepared? Will we know how to welcome
disabled employees?'" Rowsey explains. Discussion of
etiquette and where and why service to disabled
customers and employees is lacking within the company
in many cases provides a supportive and fertile ground
for increased awareness among the management staff.
For example, when Nordstrom examined its services for
hearing-impaired customers, it learned that many of
the TTY phones were not even hooked up. "Now the
people in each store who are responsible for
disability services are required to ensure that the
TTY is plugged in and staff knows how to use it,"
Rowsey says. "Having our TTY number on everyone's
bill and not having anyone to answer it is not only
wrong. It's embarrassing."
But Nordstrom doesn't stop there. "We tell managers
that disabled people aren't going to come to us
uninvited," she states. "They need to hear from us
that they are welcome. Disabled job candidates are
harder to access. So we go out and find candidates."
Asked how they do this, Rowsey continues, "We have a
firm commitment to the yearly ACCESS Job Fair. We
helped establish and participate in the Washington
State Business Leaders Network. I'm a member of
their board of directors. We have worked with
Department of Services for the Blind and the Hearing,
Speech and Deafness Center here in Seattle. We
conduct interviewing training at Goodwill."
Rowsey's own passion for diversity comes through her
voice as she goes. "To achieve real equity, to serve
all as we say in our mission," she emphasizes, "you
have to believe in it deeply yourself. Not just being
fair, but being smart. I tell them, 'Do the research!'
You'll discover just how big a group this is. A huge
proportion of qualified disabled people who want to
work are unemployed."
She says that Nordstrom managers are instructed that
it is their job to outline a position's essential
functions. "Then they need just to sit and listen to
the applicant," Rowsey states. "The applicant will
tell them if and how they can do the job."
I particularly like Rowsey's recruiting perspective.
"Think about it," she tells managers. "You may not
have the very best person in the job, if you didn't
recruit any disabled job candidates!"
To illustrate this trenchant point, Rowsey told me
about a woman who uses a wheelchair and works in one
of Nordstrom's Tacoma stores. "The manager really
liked her. It was the manager's decision," she
recalls, "but she called us to ask for help in making
it work. What was new here is that it was a sales
job. We'd never had someone who uses a wheelchair in
that job. But the manager's instincts were right on.
The woman is very popular and has her own regular
customers. In fact, she is 'top of the schedule,'
which means she's the best salesperson they have."
Rowsey affirms, "I truly see the value in every
person, and I try to communicate that to managers. We
can learn from everyone. And here at Nordstrom you
can't choose whom you serve. You serve everyone,"
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A Corporate-wide Commitment
The Nordstrom corporate web site reveals that Rowsey
and the northwest region are far from alone in their
commitment to the disability community. Here is what
the site says: "There is something unique about
Nordstrom that goes beyond our merchandise, our
stores and even our legendary customer service. It's
our people. Our employees make Nordstrom the nation's
premier retailer -- and diversity is a key component
of that winning combination."
Disabilities advocate Joyce Bender, Bender Consulting
Services (see How to Tap IT's Potential: An eSightTM
Chat With Joyce Bender) once told me, "I can't tell
you how often, when I talk to corporate executives,
they tell me proudly, 'We hire disabled people!', only
to go on to say they have a developmentally delayed
guy in the mailroom, as if that one hire takes care of
it."
Not so at Nordstrom. Minority employment figures are
tracked regularly for each region in the company.
Echoing something Rowsey also said, the Nordstrom
web site asserts, "The company has made significant
progress and will continue to strive for improvement."
Aware that employment is not the only way a
disabled or other minority person might prosper
in a relationship with the corporation, Nordstrom
established the Supplier Diversity Program in 1989.
This program "ensures that all qualified businesses
have equal access to opportunities with Nordstrom."
There are also other ways Nordstrom goes beyond its
walls to improve opportunities for people with
disabilities. Besides a commitment to supporting local
organizations with cash grants and volunteer service,
Nordstrom sponsors a scholarship program in
conjunction with the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities -- now the
Office of Disability Employment Policy. The
Seattle stores include a prominent disabled
person in its annual recognition of minority business
and community leaders. A short search for Nordstrom
executives who serve on the boards of disability
organizations turned up many. And its support of
minority building contractors and urban enterprise
centers is just the tip of the iceberg in
Nordstrom's corporate-wide commitment to
superior opportunities for all.
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