BOSTON -- Black and Hispanic employees are more skeptical than their white colleagues that performance on the job will lead to career advancement, according to a national telephone survey by Novations Group, a global consulting organization based in Boston.
Job performance 56.6% 58.2% 65.2%
Who-you-know 20.1% 13.3% 19.2%
Seniority 12.2% 14.7% 9.0%
Luck 1.7% 1.7% 1.6%
“Asked the main reason for promotion where they work, Hispanics and blacks were somewhat more likely than whites to cite other factors such as who-you-know or seniority,” said Novations CEO and President Mike Hyter. “But the statistical gaps with respect to job performance are significant and point to a widespread perception that organizations needs to address.”
What should concern senior management, Hyter warned, is the overall lukewarm endorsement of merit promotion. “Just 61.4% of all employees said it’s job performance, which means there’s a large minority that doesn’t believe the system is working fairly or as it’s supposed to.”
“On the other hand, for the merit system to work fairly organizations have to make available to all employees the challenging opportunities,” said Hyter. “And at the same time, individual employees themselves must become engaged in managing their own growth and development, and demonstrate a willingness to take up those risks and challenges. While job performance and merit are certainly key, so is initiative.”
The telephone phone survey of 668 employed Americans was conducted for Novations Group September 27 – October 3, 2006 by International Communications Research, Media, PA. Hispanics were double-sampled with 106 in the survey sample.
Novations Group is a leading provider of consulting and training services on four continents. Novations has acknowledged strength in diversity & inclusion, selection, development, communications, sales & service, and project management. For more information, visit www.novations.com.
Contact: Pat FitzGerald, Novations, 617-787-2163, pfitzgerald[at]novations.com, or Phil Ryan, Ryan Public Relations, 845-339-7858.