JPMorgan Chase - From the Inside Out | SMG

JPMorgan Chase - From the Inside Out

By Joan Leotta

Many companies seek to improve themselves by dealing first with external factors—taking lessons from other businesses or enhancing customer relations, for example. When it comes to diversity, however, JPMorgan Chase reversed that strategy, starting with the inside—their own employees—and creating an atmosphere of inclusivity. That inclusive environment has become a springboard for creative ways to develop better products and services for their customers with disabilities.

On the official company Web site, JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO William B. Harrison, Jr. explains the company's vision with regard to diversity in this way: "JPMorgan Chase has seen first-hand the benefits gained with a corporate culture that's actively inclusive, where colleagues are recognized based on their talent and skills, and where diversity is used as a competitive advantage to benefit from the broadest possible pool of employee talent, experiences, and perspectives."

The investment banking and financial services firm, created after the merger between JPMorgan Chase and Bank One, has translated Harrison's words into action. At JPMorgan Chase, employees with disabilities are actively recruited and mentored for advancement. In addition, the firm solicits ideas from all employees on how to better serve colleagues and customers with disabilities.

Employee Networking Groups

About eight years ago, the company began to form networking groups, hoping to inspire creative thinking and to develop concrete strategies to implement the ideas they brought forward. "Employee involvement and creative solutions are fostered in this environment," says Joan McGovern, a JPMorgan Chase vice president and the director of the company's Access Ability Resources Center. "At a high level, these individuals form around common and core interests," she explains, be it a product, service, or way of doing business.

About 20,000 employees worldwide in all corporate divisions now participate in various types of networking groups. These voluntary committees usually meet on a monthly basis. When a group decides on an initiative, the members seek senior sponsorship within the company. Some focus on technology, while others work on family issues and inclusive recruitment.

"We want to attract the best talent in the industry," says McGovern. "To meet this goal, [we] have created a workplace where differences are respected. Gender, race, sexual orientation, age, and physical ability are just some of the differences that make people unique as individuals and give us the diversity of experience and perspective that make us stronger."

With regard to disability issues, McGovern recalls, "I attended a business function with sign language interpreters and began to wonder how our own diversity initiative was representing disability issues." She wondered whether the company attacked the issue "with the same force ... [as the] progress [made] on inclusivity of various ethnic groups," she says. From that question, a disability networking group was born.

The company's commitment to inclusivity soon developed more formal lines. Each of the firm's businesses and every major staff department now has a diversity leadership team of senior executives responsible for setting and implementing specific initiatives for their area. Firm executives review their progress monthly, and the senior person's compensation is tied to meeting certain objectives related to attracting and retaining a diverse employee base.

From Networking Group to Access Ability Center

Before the 2004 launch of the Center, JP Morgan Chase conducted research on the practical aspects of establishing such an entity, beginning with a February 2003 "Sigma 6" firm-wide information-gathering project. This study compiled benchmarking data to building a business case for an entity covering disability issues across the entire firm, covering both human resource issues and customer relations. The company also reviewed best practices from other firms before the Center's March 2004 debut.

McGovern considers inroads established through the company's human relations department as one of the Center's most important tasks. "We have advised internal human resources university relations groups to reach deeply into universities around the country," says McGovern, "to gather top talent from among students with disabilities and to look at ways we can partnership with universities and other groups.

"We want to bring in top talent from all groups," she continues, "and put that talent together in such a way that our workplace is friendly [and] encouraging." The company strives to "stimulate [employees] to productivity and creativity," she explains, "so as to expand the variety of ways in which we deal with and reach out to people within the company and to customers."

Fostering this type of environment does not stop at new hires, McGovern says. "To ensure that top talent is both attracted to and remains with the company," she continues, "JPMorgan Chase has a program of mentoring that includes internships and training and works hard to promote [working] in an inclusive fashion."

The Next Step

Through the networking groups, employees with disabilities can influence products and service developed to serve customers. For example, the 2001 advent of talking ATM machines for JPMorgan Chase was the result of a networking group's work. The Accessibility Center now acts as an internal clearinghouse for such ideas, and as the number of employees with disabilities rises, so too does the number of ideas emerging to assist the company's customer base.

McGovern says, "We have focus groups within the company that correlate with various parts of the disabled population, researching products and services that will make our firm more accessible. We are constantly improving products that our customers use to make them more accessible to all." One example of this, she says, is creating bank statements in Braille for clients.

Disseminating the good news

The ideas generated at JPMorgan Chase don't stop with their clients, however. The firm is committed to sharing its service advancements with others. "We constantly research best practices in inclusivity and accessibility for employees and customers, whether on Wall Street or elsewhere, so that we can succeed," says Michael Fusco, spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase. "We share what we have learned and solutions we have developed through business leadership in the financial world and in the business world in general."

Sharing their practices with the general public gives customers with disabilities more options when they choose who to conduct business with. Says Fusco, "We try to disseminate news about our work through proactive media relations, internal Web sites, and newsletters. Externally, we also market the firm's disability-friendly services and products through DiversityInc. [an online magazine on the role of diversity in strengthening the corporate bottom line], and disability-marketing.com and others."

Recognition for their efforts in the disability area has been notable. The JPMorgan Chase Web site lists these among their accolades:

Named a "top company for people with disabilities" by Enable magazine
Top 50 Company for 2004 from DiversityInc.
Top 50 Companies for Minorities for six years running from Fortune magazine
Top 50 Company for five years running from Latina Style magazine
Catalyst Award for outstanding workplace programs that advance women
Top company for women of color in 2004 by Working Mother magazine
Corporate Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign for outstanding leadership to the GLBT community

McGovern summarizes the company's commitment to the Accessibility Resources Center in this way: "Each employee is responsible for making JPMorgan Chase the kind of place where every person is valued and has the opportunity to succeed."

Read more about JPMorgan Chase's diversity initiatives at:
http://www.jpmorganchase.com/cm/cs?pagename= Chase/Href&urlname=jpmc/community/diversity

Edited by Mary-Louise Piner.