Evaluating Allstate Insurance Company's Diversity Strategy To Improve Performance

“AllState Insursance Company”
Assignment #2
Catina Parrish
Dr. Kimberly Millier
Leadership and Organizational Behavior – BUS 520
May 11, 2011

This case illustrates Allstate insurance company’s’ diversity strategy to improve performance. I will discuss Allstates’s goal setting process as it relates to the goal setting model and how the competitive advantage Allstate has from the development of their Diversity Index. I will also give my recommendation on the types of high-performance reward system Allstate should use to motivate its employees to reach their diversity goals, as well as give a detailed explanation on whether or not I would be motivated by the Diversity Index and QLMS.
Using the model for goal setting, evaluate Allstate’s
goal setting process to determine whether or not Allstate has an effective goal-setting program. Effective goal setting according to our text indicates that goals should essentially be centered on motivating employees. Setting goals is an essential part of affecting employee’s performance. The text illustration of the “Motivational Aspects of Goal Setting “ are directing the employees attention, regulating the employees efforts, increasing the employees persistence, and encouraging the development of attaining goals by having strategy or action programs. These steps will result in task performance, which will lead to effectively achieving goals. Allstate uses diversity as their main focus of improving performance and achieving their corporate goals. Allstate managers believe diversity is not a goal but is a process. This has been in effect since 1969 when they initiated their first affirmative action program. Their program has four steps that include: succession programming, which is the development stage. Succession programming develops a diverse population of employees by setting a set of criteria that measures certain career development and career opportunities to ensure that Allstate has a mixture of all races, genders, and age groups are working for them. The second stage is Development, this stage all employees and given an assessment of the job skills and what they call a

road map for developing those skills if necessary.
This is obtained by mentoring, coaching, and education. The third step is the measurement stage, which Allstate gives a survey that only questions the ethical aspects of the company. The fourth stage is Accountability and Reward. This stage holds the management team accountable for how well ethical behavior is enforced within the company. In review of the model for goal setting, Allstate does a good job in making all employees feel that they matter and they are assessing their job skills, but this case does not give details in how challenging their goals are for the employees getting their jobs done. Allstate is more concern with how well the management team does with enforcing ethical behavior. There maybe great teamwork within the company because they promote ethical behavior, but this case study did not illustrate how effective goal setting is as far as attaining the goals of Allstate’s mission.
Discuss the competitive advantage Allstate has from the development of the Diversity Index The Diversity Index gives Allstate’s employee’s the opportunity to inform their management team how they are being treated at work. I am not sure how this gives Allstate a competitive advantage. I think the competitive advantage may be the fact that Allstate is a company that believes in diversity and advertise as such. I think holding the management team accountable for enforcing the company standards on diversity would give a competitive
advantage on retaining their employees and recruiting minorities.
Recommend the types of high-performance reward system Allstate should use to motivate its employees to reach its diversity goals.
It is very important that when employees are attaining high-level performance they are recognized for their achievements.
This would motivate them to continue to strive for high performance. This would also motivate those employees that are not performing well to achieve higher performance levels. Reward programs for improving performance can be very difficult to achieve. According to our text there has been a lot of research done on how rewards affect employee’s performance. The affect of rewards and how they can motivate employees’ depend on six factors, availability, timeliness, performance contingency, durability, equity, and visibility. In this case Allstate is mainly focusing on the management team rewards and not the employees reward program. Allstate does have a great program that helps with work-life balance for employees, such as the on-site and near-site day care centers. I also think the on-site dry cleaners, oil change, and postal and catering services are awesome incentives. My recommendation for Allstate is to implement recognition activity program that would highlight those employees who successfully complete the survey. The management team could host an appreciation breakfast of lunch for the employees who completed the survey to show their appreciation. Allstate could also offer a friendly competition among teams that would motivate each team to complete the survey. They could give out certificates for the team with the most participation, and to
the team with the best scores.
If you were an Allstate employee, discuss whether or not you would be motivated y the Diversity Index and QLMS. Provide a detailed explanation.
If I were an Allstate employee I would appreciate that I work for a company that promote a diverse workplace and the fact that it is intensely enforced is awesome. My only problem is that there is a slight over- kill with the survey only questioning the ethical aspects of the company. I do understand that Allstate’s vision is to be competitive by using diversity tactic, but my expectation for any company is to be diverse. We live in a country that has been diverse for centuries and to have a company to use their diversity as a way to compete is a little offensive, in my opinion. I would think that in today’s times it would be the requirement of all companies to encourage all their employees to do the best that they can by using their ideas to improve sales, increase or decrease whatever goal that particular company has put in place. I think the QLMS should have a few questions regarding the ethical behavior, but the survey should also have questions that would help measure quality standards. It would also be a really good idea to extend the survey to question how the company could help the employees to do a better job than they already do. The Diversity Index in a great tool and should promote harmony in the workplace for the employees, but externally I am unclear as to how the Diversity index will help Allstate become more competitive in their market.