In the analysis of diversity within business and workforce development one integral factor that New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chief Diversity Officer, Michael J. Garner believes should not be overlooked is the power of mentoring. In his role at the MTA, Garner ensures that every minority candidate has access to mentors to guide them through the process of securing certification and bidding on contracts. As a result of this implementation, Garner has increased MTA contract awards by 40 percent to New York State certified minorities. In addition, he has spearheaded the launch of several programs including; a construction training program, surety bonding programs, a small business loan fund, and the MTA’s Mentor program .
Rolling Out spoke with Garner about why mentoring should be a priority investment for every company.
What strategy have you found most effective in recruiting minorities?
Historically, government has failed to engage minority owned firms in the buying process. They focused on certification. The changing paradigm requires us to be smarter. So we have a mentoring program to allocate smaller contracts, so that minorities can bid as prime contractors. We also have a small business loan program and a training program to train contractors to become better and do business the MTA way. We view this as an investment. As per the workforce, we are recruiting employees from a broader range of sources to create a strategy to bring those groups in.
Your strategy seems to heavily emphasize the role of mentoring. How significant has the element of mentoring been to your success in promoting diversity?
The concept of mentoring means both sides have to buy into the concept. We created a construction mentor program to bring in smaller firms, but they must buy into our process of what we are trying to achieve. The concept of mentoring from the business side and the employee side does wonders because it can transform your business. The mentors engage in selling practices to allow smaller firms to flourish. On the workforce side assigning mentors to train new employees is an important investment.
What methods do you employ to boost the morale of your team as you pursue your mission of diversity?
We really focus on boosting morale through programs where we listen to the employees and incorporate their ideas on different areas. An effective organization will reflect the market it is serving. Therefore the workforce must be reflective of that and the contracting process should too.
