By Whitney Barnes, Director of Communication and Advocacy, Illinois Chamber of Commerce
Illinois American Water has become a Midwest leader in utilizing diversity and inclusion to grow their business, cultivate a creative company culture and positively impact their communities. At the forefront of their initiative is their vivacious, serious and dynamic Corporate Diversity Lead Rhonda Carter Adams.
Based in Belleville, IL, Adams helps carry Illinois American Water’s diversity and inclusion initiatives by working with their team to develop and implement strategies to attract diverse candidates to the company and engage with the business community to utilize diverse suppliers.
“It has been statistically proven that companies that embrace diversity and inclusiveness are more successful in what they do,” Adams said. “Illinois American Water realizes that we best serve our customers when our work- force and business partners reflect the communities that we serve.”
Since 2014, Illinois American Water has averaged around a 30 percent diverse hire population with greater than 50 percent of that being women. The employee population has also realized over 50 percent growth with Hispanic/Latinx and over 45 percent in African-American hires.
Adams said it is not enough to just promote diversity, but the company must utilize their diverse talent through a strategy of inclusiveness for maximum success.
“When we speak of inclusiveness and diversity, not only do you want a diverse workforce where all groups of minorities, females, veterans and LGBTQA communities are represented,” Adams said. “We want them present at the table of influence. We must make sure our diverse talent is part of the round table discussion on decisions that truly matter to the organization.”
Part of her position is understanding that people perform best when they are given the tools to flourish. It is vital for companies make sure everyone feels comfortable and included so the business can maximize their input, Adams explained.
She used the example of – you can invite a girl to a party, but you still need to ask her to dance.
“When I look at Illinois American Water’s leadership, I see a diverse group in senior leadership around the table being included in that conversation – that’s inclusiveness,” Adams said.
Illinois America Water’s diversity and inclusiveness initiative has been integrated into all the company’s core strategies, including with suppliers and partners.
For example, in 2017, seven percent of their total spend for goods and services were with certified women-owned businesses. That represents more than four times the purchases made with women owned businesses since 2014. The total diverse spend, which includes minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses, increased more than 20 times during that same period.
“Supplier engagement isn’t just a metric goal for the organization, it is a true commitment, because we understand that we can’t service our customers to the best of our ability and deliver the value that they deserve if we don’t reflect our community,” Adams said.
Adams stressed that, again, it is not just about having diverse partners and suppliers but it’s ensuring that they are included in those conversations that are impactful to the organization.
“Inclusiveness and diversity promote creativity, innovation, and creates more creative thinking around strategies that could take an organization to another level,” Adams said.
Diverse community partnerships help Illinois American Water address the needs of their diverse customers and help ensure the company has a positive economic impact on their community.
Illinois American Water partnered with the of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce this year as a key sponsor of their 2019 Women’s Conference.
“We were proud to sponsor the conference, because we pride ourselves in aligning with community partners who support our core values and our key strategies,” Adams said.
Adams said their diversity initiative trickles down throughout their entire organization, from leadership through the true, genuine interest in diversity of the leaders of Illinois American Water and the enterprise of their national American Water Corporation.
“Inclusion and diversity initiatives have been a journey for our organization where the key progress has come from leadership,” said Adams, who reports directly to President of Illinois American Water Bruce Hauk.
“Our leaders are truly committed to these strategies that are across all business functions. It is not the drive and will of one team, one group, or one department – it’s the entire organization that embraces this and that’s where the change truly happens.”
Progress has been made throughout Adams’ 18 years in the diversity field, and she said it is always evolving.
“Over time, the idea of diversity and inclusiveness has changed from being a mandatory – regulatory requirement, to corporations like ours truly feeling the value of diversity and understanding how it does truly impact the bottom line and the dollars of the organization,” Adams said. “It has evolved from a reporting structure for customers or and government bodies to the realization that when teams are diverse there’s more relativity of thought, there’s more exchange of ideas, there’s more innovation and more success from teams working in a diverse and inclusive type of environment.”
As for the future, Illinois American Water is continuing its work to improve their company, culture and community.
“I am proud to work for Illinois American Water because first and foremost, I see a pure genuine interest in the engagement of diverse partners, specifically minority business partners, and that is a work environment where I can grow and flourish,” Adams said.
Rhonda Carter Adams, Corporate Diversity Lead Illinois American Water