Initiatives

In 2001, five employee committees across Georgia Power developed 33 separate initiatives to improve diversity at the company. This was after evaluating lots of data, conducting focus groups with employees and visiting other companies to learn about their diversity efforts.

The initiatives fell into two broad categories focused on processes and behaviors, with a heavy emphasis on leadership accountability, supervisory and management training, and communication and awareness.

Almost two-thirds of the initiatives called for changes in processes and policies. The process initiatives included:

• Changes in job selection processes to increase selection committees' diversity and eliminate nepotism, better prepare candidates for job interviews, and provide honest, candid feedback to candidates who were not selected.
• Creation of formal employee retention, recruitment and development programs.
• Addition of a career-planning component to the performance management process already used throughout the company.
• Development of a mentoring program for all new employees and supervisors.

One of the key process changes resulting from the 33 diversity initiatives was the creation of a new Workplace Ethics department. Learn more about Georgia Power's workplace ethics process.