American Express Diversity Essay

Company Overview Who doesn’t know American Express and their famous logo, the Roman Centurion? American Express has become a household name for much of the world; the brand itself is prestigious and powerful, while their service is world renowned. American Express’s humble beginnings started way back in 1850 when Henry Wells, William G. Fargo, and John Warren Butterfield launched an express mail business in Buffalo, New York (Grossman, 1987). Business was great and profits soared, mainly because there were no competitors at the time and their movement of express shipments such as goods, securities, and currency stretched all through New York. At the same time disputes between the three partners led Henry Wells and William G. Fargo to start
Wells Fargo & Co., which we know today as Wells Fargo. After conquering New York, Butterfield felt it was time to expand nationwide, so he organized relationships with railroad and steamship companies all across the Country to facilitate the transportation of goods. However, American Express didn’t become the icon it is today because of express mail, although it did put them on the map, American Express really hit gold when they started issuing Travelers Cheques. A Travelers Cheque is a fixed-amount check that is bought and exchanged at a later date for currency; its primary use was for travelers, hence the name. American Express introduced the Traveler's Cheque in 1891 in denominations of $10, $20, $50, and $100 (Grossman, 1987). Traveler's cheques broke barriers and really made American Express an international company that people could trust, so much so that during World War I American Express offices in Europe accepted letters of credit issued by other banks in efforts to help the Americans stranded in Europe at the time. Throughout history American Express has proved it has what it takes to succeed and thrive in a global marketplace, they have passed the test of time and are a major player in today’s global economy. Although much has changed, American Express has held close to the values that made them who they are and are continuing to grow in today’s ever changing environment. Currently, American Express illustrates itself as a “Global Service Company, providing customers with exceptional access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success” (American Express, 2014). American Express does this by offering a variety of financial services including consumer credit cards, small business credit cards, corporate cards, prepaid cards, savings accounts, and CD’s (Certificate of Deposit). As we all know American Express credit cards are not regular credit cards, on average American Express Card holders spend $11,213 more per year than competing credit card holders (Dunning, 2014). The main reason behind this is American Express targets more affluent customers and gives them an array of benefits from concierge service to business solutions; along with the benefits customers are treated as “members” of the American Express’s team. All American Express credit cards have a line that states “Member Since __” this signifies that the card holder is part of a member only organization instead of just being a customer. Customer service is an area where American Express has always thrived, so much so that JD Power associates ranks American Express “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Credit Card Companies, Eight Years in a Row” (American Express, 2014). American Express not only treats its customers exceptionally but its employees as well, all 63,000 of them. Health Care benefits, higher than average compensation, paid vacation time, schedule flexibility, and work-life balance are just some of the advantages an American Express employee can expect to earn. With a voluntary turnover rate of just 8% (American Express, 2014) American Express is definitely doing something right. At a glance American Express is a multi-billion dollar organization that treats its customers like family, its employees like gold, and offers unmatched financial services to consumers all across the globe.
Part 8: Diversity Initiatives American Express is no stranger to diversity, actually it is the opposite, American Express invites diversity within its organization and feels diversity is key in a organizations overall success.
For over a decade American Express has excelled in diversity initiatives and has been consistently one of the Top 50 Companies for diversity (American Express, 2014). Out of 63,000 American Express employees over 36% are minorities and an impressive 63% are women (Dunning, 2014). Having a diverse workforce is not just about percentages and statistics per say, it’s about the programs and support systems the organization utilizes to enrich the workplace. American Express encourages employees to take initiative and ask questions about what they perceive around them, the collective opinion of everyone is much more important to American Express than the opinion of an executive or superior. Since 1987, American Express has enabled employees to form employee-formed networks (Dunning, 2014). Today there are over 16 networks that can assist employees through mentoring, career development, and networking. Some of the most influential ones are “The Black Employee Network” which recently took “the initiative to help to help diversify the company's customer base” and “PRIDE” “the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered affinity network worked directly with the human resources team to enhance adoption and surrogacy benefits company-wide” (American Express, 2014). In addition, for years American Express has had a nondiscrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and has offered domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples. Obviously, American Express has consistently been at the forefront of diversity initiatives for years. These same networks that are connecting employees and spreading workplace diversity are creating positive effects on business as well, for example employees with different religious faiths facilitated awareness to create and design gift cards to
celebrate different religious holidays. This is not only great for business but it shows that American Express cares even outside the workplace. American Express states this message for those who want to work for them “Welcome to American Express. Here we encourage everyone who works with us to do what they love with pride, share their innovations, and realize their full potential by helping other people realize theirs. That’s our purpose. And how we can be sure, in every situation, we do more than our job – we accomplish our life’s work” (American Express 2014). Other than being truly inspiring, American Express is acknowledging their purpose and stating why there organization is effective; because they care. There is no doubt that American Express is an elite company with so much to offer that almost all other organizations fall short, no wonder it’s a world renowned global brand that just keeps pushing the envelope further and further.