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November-December
2011
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Diversity
& Inclusion: A Killer Combo
By Tom
Mathews, EVP of HR, Time Warner Cable Inc.
Diversity and inclusion — these are two very different
concepts that are extremely powerful when used together.
As HR professionals, we all understand the importance of
creating a diverse organization — it’s the right
thing to do on many levels. Inclusion, however, is a more
elusive creature, but it is just as critical to our success
as an employer and as a service provider. At Time Warner
Cable, inclusion is one of our seven values. Our Diversity
& Inclusion policies and practices demonstrate our commitment
to employees, customers and communities, and our desire
to involve, understand and meet their needs.
Our CEO, Glenn Britt, has put it more
simply: “An open environment blends the experiences,
cultures, influences, languages and perspectives of our
employees and customers into everyday business practices.
It is the framework that helps us compete in today’s
multicultural marketplace.”
So, what is Time Warner Cable doing to
implement what Glenn says?
Our enterprise wide Diversity & Inclusion
Council has been revamped to focus on strategic business
imperatives – training, recruitment, retention,
mentoring, employee networks, marketing, communications
and supplier diversity. Local D&I Councils implement
diversity initiatives while an Executive Diversity &
Inclusion Council, launched this past summer, will support
our commitment to developing a culture of inclusion.
Training – Over 12,500 Time
Warner Cable employees have completed diversity and inclusion
training in one of three forms: 8-hour class, 4-hour
class or e-Learning. We have also instituted comprehensive
certification programs for key instructors across the enterprise.
Recruitment – Time Warner
Cable has established major recruiting partnerships with
several leading professional minority organizations, including
the National Black MBA Association, National Society of
Hispanic MBAs, Association of Latino Professionals in Finance
and Accounting, Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional
Hispanic Caucus Institute, Hispanic IT Executives, National
Association of Multi-ethnicity in Communications, National
Council of La Raza, Women in Technology International and
the National Association of Black Accountants. Our diverse
slate percentage now stands at 80 percent.
Retention – Last year, 98
percent of high-potential women and leaders of color received
individual development plans. We continue to provide leadership
development opportunities, coaching and mentoring specific
to their needs.
Mentoring – We offer mentoring
programs throughout our locations. Externally, mentoring
is being leveraged through programs offered by industry
associations like NAMIC, WICT, EQmentor and cross-location
mentoring channels. In 2010, Time Warner Cable women executives
launched Step Forward, an internal leadership development
program for women VPs. All women EVPs and the two women
directors on the Time Warner Cable Board fully participate
in the program. In addition, female EVPs mentor high
potential women VPs each year in a formal development program.
We plan to further improve these mentoring programs and
bring them to more employees.
Employee Networks – Three
years ago, Time Warner Cable had no employee networks. We
now have 18. The networks, established throughout our footprint,
focus on disability, GLBT Pride, veterans, women in technology,
Hispanic women, black and African-American employees, and
work/life issues. The employee networks are focused on developing
leadership and professional development programs, and provide
support for recruiting and marketing to a diverse group
of candidates and customers.
Marketing – We have created
specific programming and marketing campaigns targeting Hispanic/Latino
and the African-American communities. That’s the demographic
framework that helps us compete in today’s multicultural
marketplace.
- TWC Hispanic Engagement –
Alcanza La Fama (“Reaching Fame”), a
national talent contest launched during Hispanic Heritage
Month last year (mid-September to mid-October) that invited
young artists to compete for the opportunity to be the
next TWC artist. Consumers were asked to record themselves
singing the theme song, “Es Tu Manera,” and
submit their videos to the Time Warner Cable Mi Cultura
Facebook (www.facebook.com/micultura)
page where followers voted for their favorite entry. We’re
planning to enhance the Alcanza La Fama contest for 2011.
- TWC African-American Engagement
– The “Born to Shine” campaign taps into
the aspirations and experiences of African-Americans –
showcases fresh, entertaining television content, helps
inspire individuals to pursue their goals and actualizes
why they were born to shine. Launched in March 2011, “Born
to Shine” is an ongoing, year-long, multi-platform
program that highlights the experiences of African-Americans
who are making an impact both in front of the camera and
behind-the-scenes in a number of different areas, including
television, film, music, sports, lifestyle, entertainment
media and pop culture.
Communications – We have identified
eight heritage areas of focus, and each event is celebrated
to enhance employee awareness at every Time Warner Cable
location. These events include: African-American (February),
Women (March), Asian-Pacific American (May), GLBT Pride
(June), Hispanic-Latino (September-October), Disability
Awareness (October), Veterans (November) and American Indian
(November). To ensure these events are top of mind of employees,
corporate and regional D&I web content is refreshed
regularly.
Supplier Diversity – We have
proactively taken more steps to incorporate M/WBE vendors
in our sourcing practices, including in the areas of: leadership;
vendor outreach; vendor communication; training; sourcing
process; and vendor mentoring.
Our story wouldn’t be complete without
mentioning our desire to support the communities where we
do business. There’s no better demonstration of that
commitment than our signature Connect a Million Minds®
(CAMM) program. Through CAMM, we have committed $100 million
in cash and in-kind resources over a five-year period to
connect youth to ideas, people and opportunities that will
inspire them to study and pursue careers in science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM). We give grants to non-profit
groups that encourage after-school learning and have an
active employee-volunteer network of STEM mentors. By helping
to develop this next generation of talent, we can be sure
that we have young minds with fresh ideas entering the workforce
in the future.
We believe we have found the right balance
between diversity and inclusion at Time Warner Cable. Our
diverse workforce is poised to grow the business because
we are committed to finding ways to include employees in
every aspect of the operation. Diversity and inclusion —
it’s a killer combo.
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CTHRA’S
2011 Compensation Surveys Find Salaries and Bonuses on the
Rise
By Pamela Williams,
CAE, Executive Director of the Cable and Telecommunications
Human Resources Association
The results of CTHRA’s 2011 Compensation Surveys are
in, and the results show that salaries and bonus awards
are on the rise, thanks to companies experiencing improvements
in market conditions. Two years ago, 24 percent of the programmers
and 18 percent of multiple systems operators (MSOs) participating
in CTHRA’s 2009 Annual Compensation Surveys froze their
salary budgets. Last year, freezes were on the decline,
and this year’s survey results show that none of the
57 employers participating had salary freezes.
For MSOs, the improvements came in revenue
growth fueled by Internet and cellular/ground phone services.
Meanwhile, during the survey period in early 2011, programmers
experienced rapid recovery in advertising revenues assisted
by steady growth in digital ads. Rapid technology change
is also impacting compensation in both sectors as companies
vie for talent in the area of mobile content.
In short, CTHRA’s survey indicates that both programmers
and MSOs are using available cash to focus on retaining
and attracting the talent they need for business growth.
Methodology
The majority of the industry’s employers
participated in CTHRA’s 2011 Compensation Surveys including
all of the top 25 national cable networks, five national
broadcast networks, and the majority of the largest MSOs.
The survey results are industry-specific, providing an in-depth
analysis of pay practices for more than 154,000 incumbents
(up 16,000 over last year), including both exempt and nonexempt
positions ranging from technicians to top executives. Earlier
this year, the 57 participants submitted data reflecting
2011 budgets and base compensation figures. The Croner Company,
a leading compensation consulting firm specializing in compensation
plan design, compensation surveys and organizational design,
designed the surveys, collected and analyzed the data, separating
results into two participant categories: MSOs and programmers.
Given the highly confidential survey data, the results from
any given company cannot be seen as only summary information
pertaining to all participants is available. This reporting
approach complies with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulation
and encourages participation without fear for exposing proprietary
information to the public.
Hot Jobs Identified
In December of each year, CTHRA’s survey participants
convene to discuss the positions the upcoming survey will
include. Some positions are phased out as they become obsolete,
while others are added as business operations and technology
evolve. Sixteen positions were deleted from CTHRA’s
MSO survey, while four new job families were added: product
development, program management, customer experience and
multiple dwelling unit (MDU) sales account management. For
the programmer survey eight new job families were added:
music content, production art, brand/product marketing,
home entertainment distribution, digital media marketing,
community affairs, sales revenue planning/pricing and royalty
accounting.
CTHRA’s Compensation Surveys continually
evolve to collect and report salary data relevant to emerging
workforce trends. Employers find this approach to be incredibly
valuable as they seek to attract talent for the industry’s
hottest new jobs.
Base Pay Moved Upward
CTHRA’S analysis determined that 2011 salary adjustment
budgets (which include pay raises delivered through a merit
increase, promotional increase, market and/or cost of living
adjustment) increased slightly from 2010 for both MSOs and
content providers (see Diagrams 1 and 2). None of the programmers
froze salary adjustment budgets in 2011, compared to 7 percent
in 2010. Likewise, no MSOs froze budgets in 2011, a repeat
of their 2010 reports.
According to Hali Croner, president and
CEO of The Croner Company, “It was a strong year for
compensation as both MSOs and programmers fared well in
the current economic environment. Survey participants
in both industries are better poised to take care of the
people who have been doing more for less, and to attract
the new talent needed for growth in new initiatives.”
Carrots Retain Popularity
Incentives continue to be a popular component of compensation
practices within the industry. Among CTHRA’s survey
respondents, 86 percent of the MSOs and 74 percent of the
programmers offer long-term incentives (LTI) which are linked
to a company’s financial performance and value creation
over multiple years. Examples include stock options, shares
and long-term cash. While MSO survey participants reported
that LTI award values declined from last year (see Diagram
3), programmers annual LTI values increased (see Diagram
4)
Ninety-three percent of the MSOs and 87
percent of the content providers offer short-term incentives
(STI) such as bonus awards. Programmers’ STI values
rose 10 percent over last year, whereas MSOs STI values
were up 3.7 percent from 2010 to 2011.
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New
Year, New Look
CTHRA will usher in 2012 with new branding—a
bold, modern logo that reflects the interconnectivity of
human resources with people, resources and core functions
throughout the workplace, and a vibrant orange and blue
color palette.
With our original logo design dating back
more than a decade, CTHRA’s board of directors felt
it was time to update the look of the organization. The
board appointed a task force to spearhead the project, and
a marketing firm specializing in industry associations was
hired to develop an assortment of logo designs. The task
force chose its favorite and presented several variations
to the board, which made the final decision. The fresh branding
will roll out in January, along with a completely new web
site.
Input
Invited for 2012 Compensation Surveys
In early December, CTHRA hosted a 2012
survey planning meeting in Philadelphia, where participating
companies shaped next year’s surveys by identifying
new job families to query and providing other input. Industry
employers interested in participating in CTHRA’s 2012
Compensation Surveys should contact The Croner Company at
415.485.5530.
Career
Seeker Pitfalls
In their enthusiasm for the quest, job seekers often make
blunders—of omission or commission—that sabotage
their efforts. In this article, which was featured on CableFAX.com
in October, CTHRA’s executive director Pamela Williams,
CAE, offers some savvy advice on dodging potholes on the
road to happy employment. Read the article. www.cablefax.com/cfp/just_in/48767.html
Socially
Speaking
In a follow-up article in November, Pam Williams provided
CableFAX readers with some expert tips on putting social
media to work in both a job search and career advancement.
Read the article. www.cablefax.com/cfp/just_in/49105.html
CTHRA’s
on the Move
The CTHRA office is moving down the street! As of January
1, 2012, our new address will be 1717 W. Naper Blvd., Suite
102, Naperville, IL 60563. Phone numbers and email addresses
will remain the same.
A
Round of Applause
Women in Cable Telecommunications
(WICT) bestowed this year’s Best Companies for
Women in Cable honors to Time Warner Cable as “Top
Operator" and NBCUniversal as "Top Programmer."
Also among the 2011 list of Top 5 cable operators for women
employees are: Cox, Comcast, Bright House and
Suddenlink. This year’s Top 5 programmers also
included Turner Broadcasting, Scripps Networks Interactive,
Discovery and ESPN. The WICT honors, which recognize
MSOs and programmers for their commitment to gender equality,
are a result of the 2011 PAR Survey conducted by the Society
for Human Resource Management in collaboration with
NAMIC.
HR Trio Among CableFAX’s Most
Powerful Women
Our hearty congrats to three CTHRA members who have been
named to the 2011 CableFAX list of the Most Powerful Women
in Cable: Maria G. Arias, executive director of diversity
and inclusion, Comcast Corporation; Italia Commisso-Weinand,
SVP, programming and human resources, Mediacom Communications
Corporation; and Mae Douglas, EVP and chief people
officer, Cox Communications.
And a big hooray for the companies recognized
by CableFAX as the Top 10 Places to Work in Cable.
The honorees are:
American Support
Charter Communications
Comcast Corp.
HSN
Discovery Communications
Fox Networks
Knology
Scripps Networks Interactive
Music Choice
Turner Broadcast System
The Top 10 employers will
be recognized on December 8 at the annual CableFAX 100 luncheon,
which will also salute the 2011 CableFAX 100 and the Regional
Top Players. The Most Powerful Women in Cable will be saluted
at a breakfast on December 9. You can register
here to attend either or both events at New York’s
Grand Hyatt hotel.
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