The Impact of Cultural Values on Latino Employees

The Impact of Cultural Values on Latino Employees

Last year, the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) unveiled the findings of its 2007 Corporate Governance Study.  The study measured Hispanic inclusion on the boards of Fortune 500 companies and concluded that 71% of top U.S. companies lack Hispanic representation on their boards.

• Hispanics held just 3.1 percent of all Fortune 500 board seats in 2006.
• Hispanic women held just 0.8 percent of all Fortune 500 seats in 2006.
• Just two companies in the Fortune 500 had three or more Hispanic board members.
• Only 1 percent of executive officer positions were held by Hispanics.

While we discussed a variety of factors in terms of why more Latinos and Latinas aren’t showing up in the boardroom, one of the topics we discussed on Insight on Coaching was the impact of cultural values on a typical Latino’s job search, career development, and career advancement.

Is it important to understand the impact of cultural values to help ensure more Latinos are rising within corporate ranks?  

According to our guests – yes. 

Some of the cultural values discussed that can impact the way in which a Latino employee manages his or her career and performance include:

• An overall emphasis on collective and value-based culture rather than individualistic, mainstream culture.
• A sense of strong work ethic.
• A strong respect for authority figures.
• Significant importance placed on the nuclear family as well as extended family.
• Not feeling comfortable with self promotion or self marketing.
• A sense of responsibility and obligation to represent the entire Latino community in a positive manner.

The level of discomfort some Latinos can have in promoting or marketing themselves was a topic of particular interest on our show.

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Recruiting Latino Employees

Recruiting Latino Employees

In an August 21st, 2006 article in The Arizona Republic, Yvonne Wingett writes: “Recruiters are hired by all kinds of big companies to find bilingual, bicultural executives to teach them how to grab a bigger portion of money spent by Hispanics, the country’s largest minority. The prize: $700 billion a year and growing.”

However despite the demand, Yvonne states that recruiters are hard pressed to find, woo and land the talent. They are faced with a shortage of Latino graduate students, a corporate culture that has been slow to adapt to the country’s diverse demographics and develop leaders, and a Hispanic culture that encourages staying close to family.

Recruiting was a big topic on our Insight on Coaching show dedicated to Hispanic/Latino audiences.  Many of our Insight on Coaching guests discussed that while the Hispanic/Latino community is far from being a “new” group to many companies and recruiters, many outreach and recruiting efforts need to take certain factors into consideration when recruiting Latino employees.  For example it’s important to:

• Understand the importance of building relationships and trust with Latino candidates.
• Be willing to target a variety of colleges and universities – not just top ranked schools – and be willing to target lesser known schools and community colleges.
• Be willing to reach out to different marketplaces.
• Demonstrate and show your organization cares about – and is invested in – the Latino community.
• Recognize that generational differences will factor into your recruiting strategy as well – the means 3rd or 4th generation Latinos use to search for jobs will be different than those used by 1st and 2nd generation Latinos.
• Discuss and emphasize opportunities for additional education as well as mentoring through your company.
• Understand that Hispanic is not a “race” – the Hispanic community is composed of people coming from at least 20 different countries – and group specific values and beliefs may need to be taken into consideration as well.

Have recruiting efforts targeted at Latinos resulted in success?  For many employers, it has!

• While creating networking and mentoring programs such as La Red Familiar (the Family Net) for IBMs Latina professionals, the IBM Task Force is also recruiting actively at leading Hispanic universities.
• To increase Hispanic technology education and computer literacy, IBM also sponsors La Familia Technology Week each October.
• Around the country, IBM Corporate Community Relations partners with IBMers and nonprofits to sponsor activities ranging from e-mentoring programs to parent workshops on computer use.

Want to hear more about best practices when recruiting Latino employees?

Tom Floyd
CEO
IEC: Insight Educational Consulting
Specializing in Change Management, Workforce Performance, and Employee Development

Coaching for Hispanic/Latino Teams and Audiences

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Coaching for Hispanic Audiences and Teams

Coaching for Hispanic Audiences and Teams

According to 2000 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic/Latino population in the United States grew 38.8 percent to more than 31 million, and is expected to reach 44 million by 2010.

HispanTelligence reports the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States is expected to grow 55% in the next six years to 3.2 million, with total revenues surging 70 percent to more than $465 billion.

However in contrast to these trends, studies done by many organizations like the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) conclude that 71% of top U.S. companies lack Hispanic representation on their boards.

• How coaching Latinos can be distinctive from other groups.
• How cultural values like the importance of family impact Latino professionals in the workplace.
• The challenges Latino executives typically face in moving up the career ladder.
• Generational differences in younger Latinos versus those in the Baby Boomer and Traditionalist generations.
• How coaches are helping Latino professionals in areas including networking, recruiting, and discussing their strengths.
• The differences Latina women face in the workplace from Latino men.

Featured Guests:

• Donna Maria Blancero, VP, Research Division, National Society of Hispanic MBAs
• Rose Mary Bombela-Tobias, Coach and Principal, Global Diversity Solutions Group
• Deborah Deras, Coach and Co-Founder, Synergy Unlimited
• Lea Ybarra, Executive Director, Center for Talented Youth, Johns Hopkins University

Tune into the podcast version of the Insight on Coaching show dedicated to Hispanic/Latino teams and audiences as our guests discuss the growth of Hispanic/Latino audiences and look at how coaching helps to address a population that largely represents our country today.

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Leadership Coaching for Filipino Professionals – Coaching for Kababayan

Leadership Coaching for Filipino Professionals

I really enjoyed hearing how many of the coaches on our show are working within the Filipino community. It was especially inspiring to hear Bruce Daniels discuss the work he is doing with students at the junior and senior levels of high school to prepare them for the workforce and grow their leadership abilities. 

We also had a very healthy discussion on why the workforce isn’t seeing more Filipino Americans in management.

Some of our guests felt some Filipinos actually believe their role is limited, but were quick to point out how coaches can help with this, especially in terms of helping Filipinos understand they have a role within executive and managerial ranks.

We discussed the idea of “imagined limitations”, and I found myself nodding when Tristan de la Rosa said “I believe a Filipino or anybody for that matter can go as high up the corporate ladder as he or she wishes to be.”

For our coaches out there – share your thoughts and stories.

• Tells us about the coaching work you’ve done with Filipino American professionals.
• How have you helped Filipino employees prepare for management and executive positions?
• As coaches, how have you helped bridge any cultural divides in the workplace?

We look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time!

Tom Floyd
CEO
IEC: Insight Educational Consulting 
Specializing in Management Consulting, Change Management, Workforce Performance, and Employee Development

Coaching for Kababayan

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Filipinos as an Invisible Minority – Coaching for Kababayan

Filipinos as an Invisible Minority

The topic of Filipinos as an invisible minority was extremely interesting – it really blew my mind. Our research team defined the term “invisible minority” as referring to the lack of political power and representation of Filipino Americans across American society.

Our guests definitely felt we need to see more Filipinos in politics, more Filipinos in the mainstream, and more Filipinos coming together in the community.

A good deal of discussion on both sides also focused on the perception of Filipino Americans being able to more easily assimilate into American society. Some agreed with this perception – and some didn’t.

In terms of examples, guests discussed the impact of learning English at an early age on the community and the emphasis on conformity within the Filipino culture as factors impacting assimilation into U.S. culture.

I’d like to turn to our Filipino listeners and visitor again – does this resonate with you?

• Do you feel Filipinos are an invisible minority within the United States?
  

Do you feel Filipino Americans may have advantages over other Asian cultures when it comes to assimilation?

Any examples or stories you can share?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Your host,

Tom Floyd
CEO
IEC: Insight Educational Consulting 
Specializing in Management Consulting, Change Management, Workforce Performance, and Employee Development

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Coaching for Kababayan – The IEC Debrief with Tom Floyd

Coaching for Kababayan

According to the 2000 United States Census, the Filipino-American (Fil-Am) community is the second largest Asian American group in the United States, with over 2.4 million people identifying their ancestry as Filipino, but speculated to be 4 million by many Filipino-American and Asian-American organizations.

However why have many Americans had limited exposure to this diverse and thriving community?

Many sources reference the Fil-Am community as one perceived by some as blending easily within American culture. Diverse magazine cites “there are social misperceptions that Filipinos don’t have a distinct culture.”

Popular website PhilFortune.com notes “The $57 billion buying power of Filipino Americans is underserved because of their invisibility to American society.”

Is the Fil-Am community an “invisible minority” within both Western culture and the workplace?

Why is this group under-represented within Corporate America and society today?

And how are coaches who specialize in working with Fil-Am audiences and teams helping to cultivate and grow leaders within this group?

On this show I interviewed Fil-Am experts and coaches, who addressed these questions and more.

Highlights of the show included:

• An overview of the overall Filipino-American community.
• A discussion about the typical beliefs, culture, and values within the Filipino-American community.
• The perception of the Filipino-American community as an “invisible minority.”
• How unique characteristics specific to the Filipino-American cultural group translate within the business world and society.
• How coaching Filipino-Americans can be distinctive from other groups.
• The work coaches are doing in helping Fil-Am and non-Fil Am employees alike in uncovering their own paradigms and limiting beliefs.

Featured Guests:

The IEC Debrief with Tom Floyd

In the first part of our show we spent a good deal of time setting the stage, and talking about the Fil-Am community as such a large and underrepresented minority within the United States.

Joel Jacinto also brought up some great points about the impact of education and the media on shaping the public’s knowledge and opinion of the Filipino community.

Something I found interesting were some of the challenges with communication across the Filipino community as well, especially in terms of keeping members of the community in touch. Terence Elumba brought up interesting points about the impact of both geography and the sheer volume of varying dialects across the culture.

For our Filipino listeners and visitors, what are your thoughts?

• Do you feel Filipinos are underrepresented within the U.S.?
• Are Filipino Americans portrayed positively by the media?
• Do you feel it’s challenging to stay connected with other members of the community?

We’d love to hear you thoughts!

Best,

Tom Floyd
CEO
IEC: Insight Educational Consulting 
Specializing in Management Consulting, Change Management, Workforce Performance, and Employee Development

Coaching for Kababayan

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