Herrmann International Congratulates ConAgra Foods, 2015 Innovation in Diversity Award Winner
Lake Lure, NC (PRWEB) January 01, 2016 -- Herrmann International congratulates its client ConAgra Foods for receiving a 2015 Innovation in Diversity Award from Profiles in Diversity Journal, which recognized the company’s innovative application of Herrmann’s Whole Brain® Thinking approach to drive real-world business results.
“We first introduced the Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) thinking style assessment and Whole Brain® Thinking as a way to meet our operating principle of ‘innovation,’ which our research showed required diversity of thought,” says Angela Jones, SPHR, ConAgra Foods’ Vice President of Human Resources. “As a roadmap for driving inclusion, engagement and business outcomes, it’s helped our leaders improve team performance and better serve stakeholders. In fact, it’s had such a strong impact that, since integrating diversity of thought into our diversity curriculum, training requests from business partners have increased 28%.”
In addition to helping leaders value and apply the full spectrum of thinking preferences—analytical, structured, interpersonal and visionary, as depicted by the Herrmann Whole Brain® Model—the company also uses diversity of thought as a way to introduce inclusion, resolve traditional diversity conflicts, accelerate cross-functional collaboration and improve customer interface. The initiative was among the top ten of the 17 winners recognized for “innovation and diversity” by the Profiles in Diversity Journal 12th Annual Innovation in Diversity Awards, which honors organizations that are leading the way to excellence in diversity and inclusion. The 2015 awards emphasize an emerging focus on alignment of diversity with business goals.
“ConAgra Foods is showing that diversity of thought, when understood, valued and applied, can become a strategic enabler for the business,” says Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO of Herrmann International. “And that’s the ultimate goal for every organization. When you link diversity and inclusion efforts to business objectives, you can create a more inclusive environment that better serves employees and customers.”
Developed specifically for business use, the HBDI is a validated brain-based assessment that measures a person’s thinking preferences across the Whole Brain® Model, a framework of four interconnected cognitive systems that characterize the way we think. While people tend to prefer certain ways of thinking over others, the model shows that everyone has access to their whole brain, and through the skill of Whole Brain® Thinking, can adapt their thinking as necessary to get better results. Herrmann International’s more than 30 years of research on the brain and business performance, along with its database of more than two million thinkers, has consistently shown that diversity of thought is present in every organization.
“Our work with clients like ConAgra has shown that, when linked to business drivers, diversity of thought can be a cornerstone for huge success and competitive advantage,” Herrmann-Nehdi says. “It’s an overarching approach to inclusion that everyone identifies with and can relate to. And like ConAgra, the companies that are most successful develop leaders and managers who set the stage for encouraging everyone to bring their best thinking to work.”
The 2015 Innovation in Diversity Award winners will be profiled in the December 2015 edition of Profiles in Diversity Journal.
Access Herrmann International’s diversity of thought resources for additional research and tools for understanding, measuring and leveraging diversity of thought as part of a D&I strategy.
About Herrmann International
For more than three decades, Herrmann International has been at the forefront of the most progressive research exploring the connection between thinking preferences and business results. With its pioneering Whole Brain® Thinking approach, the company has turned this knowledge into practical, easy-to-apply training programs, tools and methods that help clients leverage their diversity of thought to achieve exponentially higher results. More than 70% of the Fortune 500, including 9 out of 10 of the Fortune 100, rely on Herrmann International’s thinking style assessments and learning methods to help them build their competitive advantage. More information: http://www.herrmannsolutions.com
Jennifer Lyons, Herrmann International, +1 (828) 348-6363, [email protected]
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