Presentation to CU meeting 5/10/07 by David Whittington, manager of Tyson Foods Corydon, Indiana complex
Question: What is the estimate of the number of people in the whole world who are looking for jobs? (Bonus question: Where are they from?)
Why are diversity and inclusion good ideas in the workplace? This was the main question at a recent corporate conference for upper management and location managers at Tyson Foods’ headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. David Whittington summarized the advantages mentioned at the seminar:
Whittington went on to describe how Tyson is already diversified in 20 countries, to counter the essentially flat consumption of chicken in the US. Adding to this the worldwide labor market of approximately 460 million job seekers means that Tyson must diversify its workforce.
Another reason Whittington cited was statistics from the Future Work Institute that estimated that over the next 15 years, one Baby Boomer will retire every 45 seconds (or 32 million in the next seven years in the US). Contrasting these retirements plus new jobs created against the expected available labor force will leave a projected gap of some 23 million needed workers.
Turning to an "In the House" model presented at the Tyson corporate conference, Whittington also described the importance of inclusion, bringing inside the enthusiasm and ideas of a diversity of employees.
In conclusion, Whittington described the Tyson plant in Corydon. Of 560 employees, 12% are Hispanics and there is also a group of Koreans from the Fort Knox, KY area. He added the local Tyson Human Resources office is "pretty aggressive on documentation" to insure that they are hiring legally documented employees. Tyson also has had some success with English as Second Language courses, if offered on paid time. Of 65 salaried management positions, there are 18 women (3 in upper management) and some minorities. Noting that Corydon's plant has room to improve, he described the difficulty of getting college-educated talent to come to southern Indiana because it's "not chicken country." Whittington also admitted that Tyson and the industry as a whole have found it challenging to accommodate physically handicapped individuals in full production areas but they do attempt to find areas within their operations that can accommodate them. He concluded by reiterating that Tyson Foods internationally and locally is committed to expanding diversity and inclusion in its workforce.
Answer: 460 million job seekers worldwide is the estimate. 75% are from Asia.
Question: What is the estimate of the number of people in the whole world who are looking for jobs? (Bonus question: Where are they from?)
Why are diversity and inclusion good ideas in the workplace? This was the main question at a recent corporate conference for upper management and location managers at Tyson Foods’ headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. David Whittington summarized the advantages mentioned at the seminar:
- US companies with diversity programs have shown a better return on their stock prices and on their sales over five years.
- Customers (e.g. McDonald’s) with diversity programs are asking their suppliers (e.g. Tyson) for the same.
- Diversity programs help attract and retain the best talent. Whittington used as an example how Tyson and Nascar were both started in the southeast US by southern white males. Both entities have realized that to continue to grow, they need to add more diverse talents.
Whittington went on to describe how Tyson is already diversified in 20 countries, to counter the essentially flat consumption of chicken in the US. Adding to this the worldwide labor market of approximately 460 million job seekers means that Tyson must diversify its workforce.
Another reason Whittington cited was statistics from the Future Work Institute that estimated that over the next 15 years, one Baby Boomer will retire every 45 seconds (or 32 million in the next seven years in the US). Contrasting these retirements plus new jobs created against the expected available labor force will leave a projected gap of some 23 million needed workers.
Turning to an "In the House" model presented at the Tyson corporate conference, Whittington also described the importance of inclusion, bringing inside the enthusiasm and ideas of a diversity of employees.
In conclusion, Whittington described the Tyson plant in Corydon. Of 560 employees, 12% are Hispanics and there is also a group of Koreans from the Fort Knox, KY area. He added the local Tyson Human Resources office is "pretty aggressive on documentation" to insure that they are hiring legally documented employees. Tyson also has had some success with English as Second Language courses, if offered on paid time. Of 65 salaried management positions, there are 18 women (3 in upper management) and some minorities. Noting that Corydon's plant has room to improve, he described the difficulty of getting college-educated talent to come to southern Indiana because it's "not chicken country." Whittington also admitted that Tyson and the industry as a whole have found it challenging to accommodate physically handicapped individuals in full production areas but they do attempt to find areas within their operations that can accommodate them. He concluded by reiterating that Tyson Foods internationally and locally is committed to expanding diversity and inclusion in its workforce.
Answer: 460 million job seekers worldwide is the estimate. 75% are from Asia.