Through its Best Practices website and in partnership with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the National Industry Liaison Group (NILG) is committed to mentoring small and mid-sized federal contractors by featuring “best practices” from ILG member companies. Periodically the NILG website will feature, one company’s program, process, initiative or activity designed to remove barriers, expand employment opportunities and create an inclusive work environment for minorities, women, veterans or individuals with a disability.

The featured “Best Practice” is intended to help contractors ensure compliance with federal equal employment opportunity laws and affirmative action regulations and to enhance diversity within their organization.

Criteria:  To qualify as a best practice, the program must (1) produce measurable results and (2) must be able to be replicated by other companies.

How Does the Program Work?
The program consists of three separate “best practice” categories:

1. Affirmative Action  (honoring programs related to efforts to attract, recruit, employ, advance and retain qualified minorities, women, veterans or individuals with a disability)

♦ Outreach and Recruitment: (example: local or nationwide recruitment methodology that resulted in a significant increase in the number of minority or women hires, or a significant increase in the number veterans or disabled employees for two consecutive years).
♦ Retention: (example: a program that resulted in a significant increase in the number of high performing minorities and women retained by the company for a three year period).
♦ Training: (example: local or nationwide training program that measurably increased the employability of minority or women workers who were displaced).
♦ Mentoring and Networking: (example: successful mentoring programs, involving a significant number of minority and women participants as both mentees and mentors of persons from different sex and race groups, that help prepare mentees as future leaders and improve their retention).
♦ Leadership and Career Development: (example: programs that provided women and minorities with tools, skills or development opportunities to realize their full potential, that resulted in a significant number of promotions for program participants over a three year period).
♦ Self-Audit Programs: (example: programs designed to proactively identify, assess and mitigate risk).

2. Equal Employment Opportunity (honoring programs designed to ensure fair and consistent treatment of all individuals with respect to employment decisions).

♦ Performance Management: (example: a program or process designed to monitor performance management for fairness and equity).
♦ Dispute Resolution Program: (example: a neutral internal program employees use to resolve matters involving company policies and procedures).
♦ Programs for Older Workers: (example: a program that provides for the employment of workers over 50 who have either retired or been displaced).
♦ Programs for Displaced Workers: (example: local or nationwide recruitment, training or retraining methodologies that increased the utilization of protected group employees who have been out of the workforce for one or more years).
♦ Programs for Underprivileged Youth: (example: programs designed to provide opportunities for disadvantaged youth to gain the skills and experience needed to succeed in the work world).
♦ Compensation Equity: (example: a process designed to monitor pay to ensure that there are no gender, race or ethnicity based pay disparities).

3. Diversity (honoring programs that effectively create a comfortable and inclusive work environment in which employees feel valued and respected for their individual contributions).

♦ Cultural Diversity Awareness: (example: programs that resulted in changing the company culture to reflect openness and acceptance of individuals from different races, cultures, ethnic groups and backgrounds).
♦ Diversity Measurement: (example: programs that measure and monitor workforce representation for holding management accountable for diversity).
♦ Work Life and Family: (example: programs or policies designed to provide flexibility and balance between work and family).
♦ Global Diversity Programs: (example: programs that recognize “one size does not fit all” and can be expanded to consider multiple issues)
♦ Diversity Training: (example: programs that provide understanding and awareness of the importance of diversity and links diversity to the business need).
♦ Business Integration of Diversity: (example: programs that show how diversity has been integrated into business and/or human resources processes).
♦ Support for Individuals Called to Active Duty: (example: programs that facilitate the call-up of employees to active duty through benefit continuation, EAP services or payment of salary differentials).

How Are Best Practice Programs Selected?

Best practice nominations are solicited from each of the six ILG regions several times a year. A particular program may be featured during any calendar month, depending on the category in order to showcase a number of different types of programs throughout the year. A designated NILG Board Member from each region will send a reminder to all ILG Chairs within his or her region, indicating when nominations for the best practice spotlight will be accepted, and asking them to begin soliciting nominations from their member companies.

The ILG Chairs should begin to solicit nominations from their member companies at
least one month prior to the due date. After receiving completed nomination forms from their member companies, the ILG Chairs should review the forms to ensure they meet the “best practice criteria,” before forwarding them to their NILG Board Member.

The NILG Board Member will immediately forward all completed nomination forms to the NILG Partnership Committee. The Partnership Committee will convene a subcommittee, entitled the Best Practice Selection Committee, to determine which best practices will be featured on the NILG website. The Best Practices Selection Committee will consist of one board member from each region.

The Partnership Committee is responsible for receiving all nominations from each board member, convening the Best Practices Selection Committee to select the best practice, advising the OFCCP and ensuring that the best practice is featured on the website. The Partnership Committee will also notify the appropriate board member, ILG Chair and member company representative of the particular month when the best practice will be featured.

The NILG Chair will send a congratulatory letter to the ILG member company, thanking them for their participation and recognizing and acknowledging the best practice.