Full-service dining company Darden recognizes strength in diversity. As such, Darden provides targeted development for women and minorities through a variety of external conferences and meetings. Some of Darden’s partnerships and development opportunities include:
Executive Leadership Council (ELC)
The mission of the ELC is to build an inclusive business leadership pipeline and to develop African-American corporate leaders—one student and one executive at a time. By leveraging its relationship with the ELC, Darden continues to strengthen its culture by providing leadership development opportunities to African-American leaders throughout the company. The “Strengthening the Pipeline” program is one example of how Darden increases its people capability and builds diverse talent.
National Hispanic Corporate Council (NHCC)
The NHCC is designed to develop Hispanic talent through the Corporate Executive Development Program. Darden participates in its many conferences, including Member Meetings and Think Tanks. Darden hosted the NHCC Fall Summit at its restaurant support center in Orlando. The theme was “Key Levers to Driving Latino Market Business Growth” and focused on key themes that will assist organizations seeking a competitive advantage in meeting these demands. The Fall Summit attendees joined Darden’s Hispanic Employer Resource Group as they celebrated the closing of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Out & Equal Workplace Summit
The Summit is the world’s premier educational and networking event focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) workplace equality and inclusion. Darden was a sponsor of last year’s Out & Equal Summit and continues to use this development as a way to strengthen Darden’s culture and enhance its diversity capabilities.
To continue their development after the Summit, attendees share their key learnings and take-aways from the conference with a broader group of employees, either through a lunch-n-learn at Darden’s Restaurant Support Center (RSC) or during a regional meeting in the field with restaurant employees.
Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF)
For almost 25 years, WFF has led the industry’s efforts to develop gender-diverse leadership talent for all segments of the foodservice industry. Every year, Darden participates in the following WFF development opportunities:
Regional Connects: In the last year, more than 200 Darden employees attended a Regional Connect, which offers opportunities to build strong regional networks through a mix of socialization and programming. In addition to the opportunity to learn and network with industry peers, attendees also learned about the Darden Leadership Competencies of “Building Networks” and “Driving for Results,” skills that are critical for leaders in Darden’s organization.
Leadership Development Conference: Seventy Darden employees from operations and RSC attended this year’s annual leadership conference, which offers:
- An elevated level of educational programming to provide skills and insights to apply to their jobs
- Keynote speakers, including business leaders, academics, and agents for change
- Networking to help build strategic connections
Executive Summit: The WFF Executive Summit offers executive-level education in an intimate environment and is committed to providing exceptional content and networking to women executives in the foodservice industry.
Kellogg Executive Education Program: Annually, Darden sponsors two high-potential female operations leaders to attend this multi-year development program.
Results
As a result of Darden’s focus on strengthening its diverse leadership pipeline, three of its four most senior operations leaders are people of color, as are 22 percent of its GMs and 29 percent of its restaurant managers.
Darden also is consistently recognized for its diversity and inclusion, including:
- 40 Best Companies for Diversity – Black Enterprise (2005-2006, 2009-2012)
- Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For (2011-2013)
- SOAR Award – Women’s Fodservice Forum (2011) – Advancement & Recognition for female leaders
- Top 25 Companies for Supplier Diversity – Hispanic Business Magazine (2011-2013)
- Top 60 Companies for Diversity – Hispanic Business Magazine (2006-2013)
- Top 50 U.S. Employers for Hispanic Women – Latina Style (2007-2013)
- Top 50 Companies for Diversity – DiversityInc. (2006-2007)
- 100/100 – Corporate Equality Index – Human Rights Campaign (2013)
