Sustaining a Culture of Excellence Through Inclusion

Southern Company's focus on diversity and inclusion is based on Southern Style, our pledge to earn unquestionable trust, our dedication to superior performance, and our total commitment to the success of everyone touched by our business.

An inclusive work environment is one where all employees, regardless of their differences, feel welcomed, valued, respected, and engaged. Our strategy is to:

• Meet the requirements of our business with people representative of communities we serve and the demographics of the marketplace.
• Nurture relationships with diverse suppliers, including women and minority-owned businesses, to broaden access to products and services and provide economic inclusion. Supplier Diversity »
• Form partnerships to ensure the growth and vitality of the diverse communities we serve and in which we work and live and create business alliances. Community Involvement »

Actions and Measures

To heighten the focus on excellence through inclusion, Southern Company named a chief diversity officer in 2005 and merged the diversity and talent management organizations in 2006 to better integrate work force strategy and planning.

Sustaining and improving momentum with our diversity and inclusion strategies means tracking and measuring our results. Southern Company sets annual goals around diversity and inclusion and monitors them quarterly. Diversity and inclusion initiatives are also set and monitored at the operating company and business unit level to allow for stronger ownership, accountability, and flexibility.

Since 2001, Southern Company has surveyed its employees annually to learn how they feel about the workplace and to uncover insights on how we should direct future efforts. Areas targeted on the survey include fairness and openness within individual work groups, management and supervision, the selection and development process, and valuing differences. Surveys have led to new programs, policy changes, and expanded employee benefits for vacation time, day care, and health coverage.

Employee affinity groups are grassroots-driven and formed around a common characteristic. Their mission is to provide employees with a supportive environment where they can voice issues, present solutions, and participate in activities that contribute to an inclusive work environment.

A function of federal law and an element of our staffing strategy, affirmative action also plays a role in company recruiting, hiring, and development efforts to achieve a work force balance representative of the diverse community in which we serve. In support of diversity, the success of affirmative action is focused on ensuring an equal ethnic and gender mix of both our work force and relevant recruiting pool.

The challenge of attracting and training skilled labor offers, as long-tenured employees retire, an opportunity to expand diversity in our work force. In a business with low turnover, like ours, overall change can start slow. However, promotion and recruitment rates show progress among new workers, with increasing minority and female representation. Performance »