What's in it for me?

Find out how Citi's London-based Ethnic Minority Employee Network developed and implemented a robust and sustainable mentoring programme supported and guided by senior management. It achieved this by:

• Analysing data about the organisation's ethnic diversity to better understand the current situation
• Working closely with the organisation to develop the requirements
• Integrating the approach with the overall diversity strategy
• Designing a high profile programme that was attractive to employees
• Offering candidates the ability to self-select onto the programme
• Monitoring the progress of participants over a three-year period

Case study summary

Citi is one of the world’s most successful financial institutions which operates in over 100 countries and employs 340,000 employees. This case study focuses on the Citi Roots Mentoring Programme, which was developed by Citi’s London-based Ethnic Minority Employee Network in partnership with the Human Resources and Diversity Team. The Programme has helped a number of employees to develop and obtain more senior roles within the organisation. The Programme’s inception and success was due to Network members working closely with senior Citi management who were part of the voluntary team of staff that launched the initial pilot. The network achieved this by:

• Analysing data on the organisation’s ethnic diversity by business area and by grade in order to better understand the trends in promotion and development of employees
• Working closely with the organisation to develop the requirements of the programme, gain organisational buy-in and meet the target group’s aspirations
• Integrating the approach with the overall diversity strategy to ensure the activity was complementary
• Designing a high profile programme that was attractive to, and truly developmental for, those engaged with the programme
• Offering candidates the opportunity to self-select onto the programme as well as encouraging participation
• Monitoring the progress of participants over a three-year period and highlighting successes