BWW System Has Opportunity to Move Minority Causes Forward
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2020 Issue 3 |
THE
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he summer of 2020 became a season of reckoning on race in the United States when video of the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, while in the custody of four Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officers covered social media and news programs across the country. Floyd’s death, combined with other incidents earlier in the year, touched off protests focused on systemic racism in social and civic institutions. More broadly, however, the incident also led many organizations across the spectrums of business, education and philanthropy to assess their own policies and positions on diversity and inclusion. At franchisee organizations like World Wide Wings LLC, which has 67 Buffalo Wild Wings® sports bars in seven states, leaders work very hard to ensure that within the company’s culture and structure, everyone is treated equally and opportunities for advancement are based on merit and work ethic, not skin color or gender or sexual orientation. “We foster a culture where every voice is heard, welcomed and respected,” said Wray Hutchinson, president of the
company. Since its founding, World Wide Wings has operated using Equal Employment Opportunity Commission practices, and it closely monitors EEO-1 compliance survey results, pay scales and differentials, and strategic succession planning to ensure diversity is maintained throughout the organization. “Currently, World Wide Wings LLC is working to engage all leaders within the company in a diversity and inclusion training course to ensure we are continuing to uphold our cultural expectations,” Hutchinson added. “In addition to this training, we have enrolled all team members in an online course discussing diversity and inclusion in the workforce.” As protests grew out of the incidents from the spring and summer, the company reinforced its commitment to diversity. “Our CEO has reached out electronically to every member of our organization to ensure our teams understand what we stand for and how important it is to embrace diversity within our company,” Hutchinson said. “In addition, I send out biweekly video messages that are communicated to
all team members regarding not only business updates, but societal changes going on in the world, which has created an atmosphere that encourages open communication amongst our team members.” Many companies share this commitment to equal opportunity in their organizations, but there is more work to be done. At Franchise Business Services (FBS), where Hutchinson is chairman, he and franchisee Karim Webb of PCF Restaurant Management co-hosted a webinar attended by dozens of franchise and brand leaders on June 26 to discuss race and inequity in society. The discussion they and others shared was enlightening and challenged leaders to have conversations with people on their teams who are different from them to learn more about their lives and the disadvantages people of color often face. As an extension of that conversation, Webb wrote this piece to explain why leaders must continue to broaden their horizons and reach out to their employees to better help them overcome the challenges they face. S
