Inclusion for High Performance
Challenge
On our journey to high performance, we recognized an area for improvement was employee training and development. And we realized that in an industry traditionally dominated by men there were some unconscious biases when it came to the importance of inclusion. To grow and prepare Compass Minerals to be a high performing company, we needed to provide programming that would help employees develop and break from the status quo.
Actions
Our company produced a multi-prong training program centered on inclusion in the workplace. To make our employees understand that “everyone has a voice and every voice matters” we would need to demonstrate through various education opportunities that inclusion can help achieve high performance. At Compass Minerals, inclusion is essential.
We introduced Compass Minerals Academy, an online learning platform that enabled employees to take traditional professional development courses along with classes focused on teamwork, unconscious bias and respect in the workplace. The company developed a diversity and inclusion speaker series where quarterly guest speakers address relevant topics, such as leadership and personality styles, multigenerational workplaces and unconscious biases. To complement this, an inclusion for high performance learning series exists to incorporate webcasts, panel discussion and toolkits to help guide manager discussions, covering topics such as cultural dexterity, courageous conversations and trust.
Additionally, our company implemented the Managing People Essentials (MPE) training program for supervisors. This course helps teach and reinforce management skills along with development in areas focused on diversity and inclusion, such as emotional intelligence, inclusive leadership and team building. Also, we maintain monthly compliance communications and trainings related to our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, and our Core Values of Respect, Integrity, Collaboration, Value Creation and High Performance – all reinforcing inclusion.
Outcomes
More than 3,600 hours of the nine-module MPE training program have been completed by our frontline supervisors and we have employees from all sites participating in Inclusion for High Performance activities.
Contact
Mary Frontczak, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary
Quote
Signing this pledge is a demonstration of my commitment as an ambassador for inclusion and equality. The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge acknowledges that change is needed. I value the opportunity and accept the responsibility of the role I must play in leading Compass Minerals to be part of the change. The phrase “everyone has a voice and every voice matters” is used often in our company and quite intentionally. It’s purposeful and important in representing the ideals we believe in.”