Herzogenaurach After the internal Black Lives Matter debates, the sporting goods company Adidas wants to ensure equal opportunities for black people and other ethnic groups with a new type of data survey. “Adidas is a very inclusive company,” said the new HR director Amanda Rajkumar when asked if Adidas had a specific racism problem.
But there is a lot of inequality in society and Adidas does not want to reflect this. “We want everyone to have the same starting and advancement opportunities.” She also announced new targets for the proportion of women in management positions.
In the racism debate after the death of the African-American George Floyd, black Adidas employees also demonstrated against poorer promotion opportunities. Rajkumar’s predecessor, Karen Parkin, left Adidas after 23 years in the course of the discussions.
A group of Adidas employees complained about Parkin because they reportedly said at an internal event held by US subsidiary Reebok last year that they did not believe Adidas had a racism problem. The racism debate in the USA is just “noise”.
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Successor Rajkumar has been head of Human Resources at Adidas since the beginning of the year. “Workers and people around the world rightly raised their voices,” she says. The leadership has listened, reflected and drawn the necessary conclusions.
Looking for systematic improvements
However, there can only be systematic improvements if the initial situation and progress can be analyzed with the help of data. Therefore, in the coming year, Adidas will be the first Dax company to record the diversity of the company as part of a new “Data Diversity Dimension Project” by recording ethnicity, gender and similar characteristics of employees on a voluntary basis.
In Germany and other countries where there is a high level of sensitivity when it comes to data and privacy protection, such a project could also meet with skepticism. Rajkumar therefore emphasizes that participation is voluntary. The project will also be closely coordinated with the works council and the data protection rules will be observed.
In this way, Adidas wants to find out, for example, how many black employees work at the various levels, how long they stay in the company and how their careers develop through the hierarchies. “We can’t just scratch the surface. We need constant, sustained commitment. ”
In an initial response to the protests last year, Adidas announced that 30 percent of all new jobs in the US would be filled with blacks and Latinos. “We did it this year,” said Rajkumar.
The proportion is expected to increase significantly in the USA. “We want to be at 20 to 23 percent by 2025,” said the HR manager. In management, the proportion of Latinos and black people is once again significantly lower. “That is the reality.” Among executives in the USA, the proportion is expected to increase to twelve percent by 2025.
Diversity and inclusion training
By the end of 2020, according to Rajkumar, almost all of Adidas’ 62,000 employees had completed a 30-hour diversity and inclusion training course, which should help to be less prone to prejudice.
The competitor Nike had also announced changes. The world market leader is perceived as a black brand, especially in the USA. This was ensured by commercials like the one with the football player Colin Kaepernick, who did not get up at the national anthem – as a protest against police violence against black people.
But in management you looked in vain for the black faces. Nike CEO John Donahoe announced that 30 percent of all positions from director upwards will be filled by ethnic minorities.
The sporting goods industry was new to the psychologist Rajkumar. She had worked in the financial industry for a long time. The British had started her career at the personnel consultancy JM Management. After several years at JPMorgan Chase, she moved to BNP Paribas in 2009. Most recently, she headed the American region HR department for the French bank.
A significant proportion of customers in the US are colored
Rajkumar said a significant proportion of US customers are black, people of color, or people of Latin American origin.
This is not the only reason why the topic is essential for Adidas. You have to use the entire talent pool to really attract the best minds. Adidas still receives a million applications per year. “But recruiting talent is becoming more and more difficult.”
This is one of the reasons why she wants to further improve the opportunities for women in the company. “By 2025, we want at least 40 percent women to be among the executives,” announced Rajkumar. Currently, the quota for the more than 3,000 senior managers is 35 percent.
Experts see a lot of catching up to do in terms of diversity in the economy. “In most corporations, diversity is still a special case – both in everyday business and in management concepts and processes,” said Michael Stuber, founder of the diversity strategy consultancy “Much better”, the Handelsblatt.
Large companies have often recognized diversity as a “must-have” – but not for the right reasons. “The topic is perceived as being politically, socially and emotionally driven – and managed, for example through casting decisions or publicity measures.” A constructive further development of the culture, the processes and the understanding of leadership is crucial. “
No symbol politics
This is where Rajkumar comes in. It is not about symbol politics, she emphasizes. “We need constant commitment.” That is why she wants to use more data for analyzing and measuring progress.
In interviews for each new hiring, she also pays attention to the applicant’s attitude towards openness and diversity. “Above all are the Adidas values of integrity, respect, team play, personal responsibility, courage and innovation.”
On this subject, Rajkumar also seeks intensive contact with ex-athletes. She speaks a lot with the new supervisory board member Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The three-time Olympic champion in heptathlon and long jump deals with a foundation and as a speaker with equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion. The former world-class hurdler Edwin Moses also acts as an external consultant.
Business at Adidas is currently going well. CEO Kasper Rorsted will present the latest quarterly results on November 10th. He has already raised the forecast for the full year twice this year. Most recently, Adidas expected sales growth of up to 20 percent and an operating margin of 9.5 to ten percent.
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