Diversity In Action

Southern Co strengthens its existing initiatives

This is an organization with a workforce in transition, full of career prospects for the new or seasoned employee with geographic flexibility

Southern's Marsha Johnson: increasing the momentum of diversity work.

Southern Co is one of the largest generators of electricity in the nation. It owns four electric utilities in the southeastern U.S. and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optic and wireless communications systems.

Marsha Johnson, a twenty-year career employee at Southern Co, became chief diversity officer in 2005. Her first task in the newly created position was to pull together existing diversity and inclusion initiatives throughout the Southern Co system. "I wanted to leverage the efforts of individual business units to increase the momentum of diversity work already in place," she explains. Both Johnson's appointment and the increased emphasis on diversity were mandated by David Ratcliffe, Southern Co president, CEO and chair. The CEOs of each operating company lead their own companies' efforts. Johnson notes that there are several variations of diversity councils within the operating companies.

Last year Southern Co merged its diversity and talent management organizations to better integrate workforce strategy and planning, talent acquisition and development. "My part of the job is to bring all cycles of employment, including hiring, orientation, career development, retention, workforce planning and retirement, under one umbrella," Johnson explains. Her efforts build on work that's already been done.

"Throughout our entire organization," Johnson notes, "we are proud to employ people of diverse ethnicities, genders and lifestyles who model excellence in the business." Diversity, she says, "manifests itself in much broader terms than race and gender. We strive for diversity in upbringing, educational background, experience, and all the things that shape our individuality.

"Making diversity and inclusion part of how we do business is a business imperative." The company's diversity and inclusion focus means attention to both the recruitment of diverse employees and bringing in diverse suppliers. "We want to sustain nurturing and mutually rewarding relationships with both female- and minority-owned businesses.

"We also honor our commitment to diversity and inclusion when we partner with educational institutions and initiatives at all levels, whether they're pre-K-12 programs, technical schools, or four-year colleges and universities," Johnson says.

Diversity and inclusion performance are measured against company goals on a quarterly basis, with a full report sent to the CEO. Results are also posted on the company's intranet so employees can track progress.

Southern Co is also involved in local initiatives, Johnson explains. For instance, the company's Gulf Power subsidiary is working with a multicultural museum in the Florida panhandle; its Georgia Power subsidiary is implementing plans to build two daycare facilities for its corporate and customer service center employees; and its Alabama Power subsidiary is involved with the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham. The Mississippi Power subsidiary is actively involved in supporting citizens of Mississippi as they recover from Hurricane Katrina.

"These are wonderful community initiatives. I have nothing to do with them other than to offer words of assurance and encouragement, but these projects are definitely in line with what we're trying to accomplish," Johnson says.

In a more traditional vein, Southern Co has corporation-wide, formal leadership development programs. "An employee entering one of those programs benefits by accelerated development opportunities and exposure to senior management," Johnson explains.

Southern Co has positions to fill from engineering and IT to field services. Once hired, an employee can take advantage of "upward mobility, lateral developmental opportunities, rotations, and relocations around the organization." Southern Co and its subsidiaries have turnover rates under five percent, some of the lowest in the industry, Johnson reports. She attributes this success to the work environment, pay and benefits, and employee development and training.

True, energy is a relatively slow- growth industry, Johnson admits, "but that doesn't mean we don't have plenty of exciting things going on here! Southern Co and its subsidiaries have a diverse workforce that's in transition, with full career prospects for new or seasoned employees.".

D/C