Employees Yuko Kidoguchi, Jiro Fujisawa, Emiko Matsunaga, Hiroki Nakaoka and Hiromi Yamaguchi of Baxter's Tokyo, Japan office. Baxter strives to create an inclusive culture that fosters respect and enables all employees to work together effectively.
Baxter strives to create an inclusive culture that fosters respect and enables all employees to work together effectively. The driving force behind Baxter’s focus on inclusion and diversity is to ensure there is an inclusive work environment that attracts and retains a globally diverse workforce equipped to identify and capitalize on opportunities that enhance the company’s products and services worldwide.
In 2010, members of Baxter’s Global Inclusion Council developed an inclusion plan tailored to each of the company’s businesses, regions and functions. This customized approach reflects the fact that many aspects of inclusion vary by location and by the activities of that business, region and function. For example, Baxter’s BioScience business partnered with local women- and minority-focused organizations to help employees better understand inclusion principles. Baxter’s Thousand Oaks, California, United States, facility hosted an Association of Women in Science monthly symposium. In Austria, through a partnership with Vienna’s University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences’ FIRST (Females in Research, Science, and Technology) project, Baxter recruited five women to complete their master’s theses in fields related to quality, manufacturing and research and development at the company’s Vienna facility.
Baxter continues to work to increase ethnic and gender diversity throughout the company. For example, the Finance department increased the diversity of participants in its Financial Development Program by enhancing and expanding relationships with diverse universities for recruiting purposes, and more effectively retaining talent. As a result, the department reported significant improvement in diversity hires and promotions for its 2011 program: women received 67% of open leadership positions (vs. 43% in 2010) and minority individuals received 44% (vs. 18% in 2010).
All of Baxter’s senior executive leaders included an inclusion and diversity objective focused on the improvement of gender and/or ethnic minority representation and a more inclusive work environment in their annual performance plans, demonstrating commitment from the top down. Also during 2010, the Global Inclusion Council partnered with the company’s Global Human Resources group to embed inclusion and diversity principles into several existing programs and processes. The group spearheaded the development and roll-out of a mandatory inclusion awareness training program for all employees. The program focuses on the importance of inclusion and diversity to Baxter’s success, and explains how employees can contribute to an inclusive culture. Launched in October, 76% of employees completed the course by the end of the year, 11% more than Baxter’s target. The company expects all employees to complete the training by the end of the second quarter in 2011.
Baxter also continues to focus on developing mutually beneficial relationships with small and diverse suppliers, which contributes to overall economic vitality and reflects Baxter’s diverse employee and customer base. In 2010, Baxter spent more than $490 million with small businesses in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company spent approximately $97 million with women-owned businesses and $33 million with minority-owned firms during the year.
