Hershey - The Sweetest Place On Earth

The Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Leadership Council is committed to integrating diversity into the organization and dedicated to ensuring that Hershey Entertainment & Resorts builds and maintains an organizational culture and workforce that continues to increase its cultural competency.

The Diversity Council is comprised of employees from all divisions and levels of the organization, and supports the efforts of the company to develop an inclusive, respectful, and effective cross-cultural workplace. Council members each serve on a core committee and meet regularly to focus on the following initiatives:

 

• Marketing & Communications
• Recruitment, Retention, and Career Development
• Workplace Diversity Awareness and Community Involvement
• Supplier Diversity

 

Central to our efforts has been the Diversity Council, a 24-person team made up of employees from across the company. Lead by our Director of Diversity, the Diversity Council’s four subcommittees focus on key areas:

 

Marketing & Communications:
Hershey Entertainment & Resorts is committed to providing diversity-related messages to internal and external audiences in order to convey our commitment to and celebrate diversity.

 

Through communications and a variety of marketing tolls we will promote diversity activities that will support and sustain the diversity process. All marketing and communication processes will be tapped and navigated to ensure Hershey Entertainment & Resorts has effective strategies to attract and serve diverse guests.

 

Recruitment/Retention & Career Development:
Designed to help to expand the potential pool of applicants for positions at Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, the Office of Diversity provides information to our Human Resources group about schools, contacts, and other resources that may not have been included in prior recruiting efforts. By searching outside what have been traditional sources for employees, we are able to increase the likelihood that we will increase the diversity of our employees.

 

Workplace Diversity Awareness & Community Involvement:
All employees are required to attend diversity-training sessions. To ensure that managers are equipped to properly handle diversity-related issues, the process began with the training of the most senior level executives, and has proceeded through the ranks. Dr. Robert A. Scott, Ph.D., an outside consultant, was engaged to conduct the sessions. Likewise, Dr. Scott is also helping us to develop internal training capabilities. Working with our Human Resources Group, diversity training is becoming part of our core-training curriculum.

 

Hershey Entertainment & Resorts administers a comprehensive education program designed to maximize the positive impact of inclusion policies. Events are held regularly to bring awareness to the issues often encountered in a diverse work force. Activities, which typically occur during lunch and learn sessions have included a variety of initiatives that both educate and celebrate the various cultures and attributes. Formats vary, and have included outside speakers, plays, employee presentations, and videos.

 

Hershey Entertainment & Resorts has demonstrated commitment to diversity into the community through our sponsorship of and participation in many public events.

 

Supplier Diversity:
As we expand and improve our operations, we have many construction projects. We have required contractors to demonstrate the “meaningful” participation of minority and women-owned businesses in those projects, resulting in millions of dollars being awarded to disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE’s). We have also created an Internet site devoted to supplier diversity, and many of our key buyers attend symposiums and other events devoted to increasing supplier diversity as well as providing networking opportunities with DBE’s. We have emphasized that our employees need to work to increase supplier diversity not only within construction projects, but also in all areas where vendors supply goods and services, including professional services. For instance, our Legal Department has engaged minority-owned law firms, and has encouraged majority-owned firms to provide meaningful involvement to minority and female professionals.