| Techies who work at Raytheon Missile Systems can do more than see a project through from beginning to end. They can even apply to other parts of the company if they see jobs there that suit their specialties, says Linda Taylor, Missile Systems manager of diversity.
The company is "always doing a fair amount of hiring," Taylor reveals. Last year it brought in 800 new people, and it expects to increase that number this year. The added workforce is required by new contracts and contract continuations, Taylor says.
Raytheon Missile Systems tries to lead Raytheon (Waltham, MA), its parent company, in diversity activities. Its CEO, Louise Francesconi, has just been named executive diversity champion for the entire company for the next two years.
"It's wonderful," Taylor says. "It not only allows our leadership here to move ahead even faster, but it will give us the chance to showcase our best practices and have influence across the company."
Raytheon Missile Systems is one of the largest Raytheon businesses. In fact, it's the world's leading missile and precision-weapon supplier, Taylor declares. Its technology base ranges from laser and GPS guided bombs and Tomahawk cruise missiles to the Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle that operates in space as part of the missile defense program of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Besides its Tucson, AZ HQ, Missile Systems has sites in Louisville, KY; Camden, AR; Rancho Cucamonga, CA; and at Navajo Agricultural Products Industry HQ (Farmington, NM) on the Navajo Indian Reservation.
Taylor started at Raytheon Missile Systems three years ago as a manager of diversity and a cross-cultural practitioner. All seven of Raytheon's businesses have people doing that same job, she says. She also notes that last year Raytheon hired Hayward Bell as full-time global diversity director to oversee initiatives company-wide.
"It really says that we're raising our level of sophistication in building a culture of inclusion," Taylor says. "We're ramping it up several levels."
In fact, Raytheon Missile Systems has long had a progressive approach to diversity. It has its own diversity council, besides participating in the corporate-wide group that sets policies for the whole company.
The Missile Systems council is also diverse. It is composed of senior managers from each business organization or function. Representatives from each of the company's employee resource groups also sit on the council.
There are eight of these groups: Raytheon Native American Employees; the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance; the Raytheon Asian Pacific Professional Association; the Raytheon People with Disabilities Association; the Global Women's Network; the Raytheon Hispanic Employees Network; the Raytheon Black Employees Network; and the Young Engineers and Scientists Network.
All groups have the specific mission of identifying potential workplace barriers to full participation or success for their particular constituencies, and working with management to find solutions. They also help with recruiting, and with career development for their members. And they're funded by the company to participate in community social services projects.
Taylor notes that the Hispanic group sponsors a local school district with classroom tutoring and special programs for girls and students of color. Elementary students who maintain a good average can get to ride in an airplane and even take the controls.
Last year was the second year running that the GLBT group collected the highest dollar amount in the county for the annual AIDS walk.
The Hispanic association has been together nearly twenty years and the black employees group even longer. The groups for people with disabilities and for Native Americans, at three years, are the newest.
Missile Systems is concerned with the individual needs of its employees and offers "stellar" work/life programs, Taylor says. They include child- and elder-care referral, pre-tax accounts and a flexible work schedule.
Many benefits for hearing-challenged employees are available. A second in-house American Sign Language and transliteration interpreter was recently added. "We're positioning ourselves to aggressively recruit people with disabilities," Taylor says. "It really just makes good business sense."
The company's sign language team is available for help at interviews, and interpreters set up office hours at the work station of each deaf employee. "If a department wants to hold a meeting, they check the schedule and know when an interpreter is available," Taylor notes.
She adds that three hearing-impaired employees recently signed up for a college- and company-sponsored six-week engineering course. Two interpreters will be in each class to facilitate their participation.
Missile Systems also has a large intern program with a strong diversity component. Missiles' latest offering, the Raytheon Scholars Program, helps highschool and community-college kids go on to four-year technical degrees.
The students get full tuition and an ongoing internship, with full benefits, for their four college years. There are ten Raytheon Scholars this year who will become full-time employees after graduation. Missile Systems intends to add ten more each year.
To help diverse new employees assimilate easily, Missile Systems offers them an extensive new employee orientation, and the chance to participate in a buddy system. There's also an effort to connect them with the appropriate employee resource group.
The groups have gotten together to work out a program for newcomers that lays out corporate rules and discusses how newcomers can capitalize on their skills in the workplace. The program is so well done that it will be offered throughout the corporation as part of the orientation process, Taylor says.
She also notes that, after time, employees have the opportunity to transfer to any of Raytheon's other businesses. At Missile Systems they can see the whole production process from start to finish. "It increases their understanding of our product and that makes them very attractive to other parts of the company," Taylor says.
D/C
Raytheon Missile Systems
www.raytheon.com
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Headquarters: |
Tucson, AZ |
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Employees: |
11,000 |
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Budget: |
$18 billion (entire Raytheon Corp) |
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Business: |
Missiles and precision weapons |
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