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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2006
(Revised from original 2004 version)
Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services
by
Robin J. Ely and Ingrid Vargas
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Abstract
Cityside Financial Services, a disguised consumer bank, serves both a largely African-American urban community and a more affluent, predominantly white clientele. To match the gender and racial makeup of its staff to that of its customers, Cityside's sales division implemented an aggressive affirmative action hiring program. The program succeeded in raising the numbers of women to 50% of all employees and of African-Americans to 53% of middle managers and 25% of executives. Cityside operated a profitable business with high customer satisfaction rates that were widely perceived as a successful model of the "business case for diversity." Therefore, the bank's leadership was mystified to discover growing resentment and demoralization among its African-American employees.
Keywords: Customer Satisfaction;
Diversity Characteristics;
Gender Characteristics;
Race Characteristics;
Banks and Banking;
Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues;
Employees;
Selection and Staffing;
Situation or Environment;
Banking Industry;