The 2013 Asian Pacific Americans Corporate Survey Infographic & FAQ
Click here to PURCHASE Asia Society’s 2013 Asian Pacific Americans Corporate Survey.
What is Asia Society?
Asia Society is a leading global and pan-Asian organization that works to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the United States and Asia. It is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution that seeks to increase knowledge and enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of arts and culture, policy and business, and education.
What is the Asian Pacific Americans (APA) Corporate Survey?
Now in its fourth year, the Asian Pacific Americans (APA) Corporate Survey aims to measure and identify best practices designed to develop APAs working in Fortune 500 organizations. The resulting report provides a synthesis of employer and employee perceptions specific to APAs in the workplace.
Why was the APA Corporate Survey developed?
Asia Society first began conducting the APA Corporate Survey in 2010 to address the need for independent information, backed by statistics, about the APA workforce. At that time, there was very little information about APA employees and their perceptions and experiences working at Fortune 500-level companies.
What is different about this survey?
The APA Corporate Survey is the only survey that exclusively measures and recognizes practices related to developing Asian Pacific Americans working at Fortune 500-level companies. The survey is developed in close consultation with Asia Society’s Global Talent and Diversity Council, which is comprised of 30 diversity leaders from Fortune 500 companies who are Corporate Members of Asia Society.
The APA Corporate Survey is also the only survey that compares direct responses from APA employees and those of their Diversity and Inclusion/Human Resources departments.
What were the standout results of this year’s survey?
The survey found that overall job satisfaction levels among APAs continues to increase, with 61 percent of respondents indicating that they feel good about growth and development prospects. That said, according to the survey, 40 percent of APAs say that they do not always feel a sense of belonging in their companies.
This is a critical finding for corporations looking to attract and retain APAs given the fact that the job itself (company recognition of individual strengths, accommodation for cultural/religious needs, respect for individuality, and involvement with APA employee resource groups) is the No. 1 driver of engagement among APAs.
Professional growth opportunities and focus on diversity initiatives are the second and third most important drivers of engagement and satisfaction for APAs.
What is the methodology?
The survey was conducted by a third-party survey vendor, Proximo Consulting, among two distinct audiences: APA employees and Diversity & Inclusion executives.
Approximately 2000 APA employees participated in the online survey, which was fielded between November 2012 and February 2013. The 2013 report is a synthesis of their comments, insights, experiences, and overall ratings about the ways in which their company engages and supports the APA community.
Employees were asked about how they receive career guidance, experience their company’s working climate and culture, and receive support through professional development opportunities.
Executives (at the same organizations) were asked about the policies, practices, strategic initiatives, and developmental programs created to retain, leverage, and promote APA employees.
Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP) partnered with Asia Society to synthesize employee survey results, employer submissions describing organizational APA initiatives, and conducted in-depth interviews with company executives, resulting in a robust portrait of what it takes for companies to foster, embrace, and develop an APA community ripe with skills and abilities for exponential outcomes.
How can companies participate in the survey?
All companies are encouraged to participate in the survey at no charge. For more information, please contact Dr. Michael G. Kulma at 212-327-9224 or [email protected].
Why do companies participate in the survey?
Companies participate in the survey for the following reasons:
- Data /Benchmarking – Due to the dearth of data specifically on the APA employee population, companies like to use their scores as a benchmarking tool for their APA focused efforts and also vis-à-vis other companies.
- Best practices – Many companies have created innovative activities around APA engagement. The survey and subsequent survey report is a reference tool to see what other companies are successfully doing in this area.
- Employee engagement – Often, the simple act of asking these questions increases employee engagement. In addition, since the survey questions are tailored for an APA audience, the data provides additional nuance to companies, over and above what they can get from their internal employee engagement survey.
- Employee resource group activity – Best practices and the implications from the findings provide a roadmap for companies to help evolve their APA employee resource groups (ERGs) into more impactful and relevant programming.
Which companies participated in this year’s survey?
Because of the sensitive nature of the employee data, we do not release company names (apart from the Award Winners and Finalist companies).
How are the winners and finalists selected?
Proximo Consulting Services, Inc. identified those companies that scored the highest based on statistical analysis of the employee survey results. Finalist and winning companies were then selected using a weighted formula. Eighty percent of the final score came from the employee survey responses, and a judging panel composed of four diversity leadership experts determined the remaining twenty percent of the final score.
All panel members reviewed written submissions by each company. To maintain objectivity, company identities were concealed. The gap between corporate policies/programs (as evidenced by the application form that was completed by the company’s diversity leadership) and actual APA employee experiences (as measured by the scores given by the company employees who took the survey) was a key factor in the ratings.
Who are this year’s winners and finalists?
Winners of the Asia Society’s 2013 Asian Pacific Americans Corporate Awards will be announced on Monday, June 10th, at the Diversity Leadership Forum in New York. This year’s finalists are: Cisco, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Freddie Mac, GE, Goldman Sachs, IBM, KPMG, Merck, National Grid, PG&E.
How can we get a copy of the final report?
The final report will be available online at www.amazon.com approximately one week after the Diversity Leadership Forum. For more information, please contact, Ms. Hee-chung Kim on 212-327-9317 or [email protected].
Click here to view Asia Society’s 2013 ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS CORPORATE SURVEY INFOGRAPHIC.