As the 15th largest city in the United States, and the crown jewel in the largest metropolitan region in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle is part a thriving area that headquarters business giants like Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon.com, Nordstrom and T-Mobile. Given this, and the fact that the city is perched as the continental U.S. gateway to British Columbia, Alaska and the Pacific Rim, it’s not surprising that Seattle’s a busy place.
Much of that traffic, of course, is centered around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the Port of Seattle. Every year millions of people pass through these gates to the Emerald City, including business travelers, vacationers and cargo ships from all over the globe, and even the crews and cameras behind the popular “Deadliest Catch” TV series. This year, port officials expect to welcome 220 cruise ships carrying international travelers to the heart of the Puget Sound region, and they’ll provide safe harbors for countless pleasure craft at area marinas.
All that traffic, by plane and by all manners of ships, brings with it a large responsibility for the Port of Seattle, the special purpose government body that manages Seattle’s airport and seaport. Fortunately, the Port of Seattle has 1,600 dedicated employees who are well-trained for their tasks, namely managing parking, ensuring airfield security, leasing food service and concession contracts and providing landing gates.
That’s a diverse mission for Port of Seattle officials, but fortunately they have a diverse group of people ready to contribute. With a twin emphasis on leadership and diversity, port officials are creating training, partnerships and development opportunities to keep everyone engaged and involved.
“Whether you’re male or female, a person of color, someone who’s had the advantages of good education, we try to weave something for everyone into all of our programs,” said Annalee Luhman, Ph.D., Learning and Leadership Manager for the Port of Seattle.
Using solutions like coaching, mentoring and integrated learning and performance curriculums, the Port of Seattle pulls together diversity, organizational development and learning as part of ongoing change efforts.
“As far as we know, we’re unusual in marrying those disciplines together as we have,” said Marjorie Hillson, Senior Manager of Diversity for the Port of Seattle. “Learning and individual employee development are often the keys to access and individual opportunity. The place where learning and development and diversity are linked is around access.”
That’s fitting, of course, since providing access is exactly what ports and airports are designed to do. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that the Port of Seattle workforce leaders don’t have to take that trip alone.
Port of Seattle leaders have created, as part of its workforce development efforts, a Development & Diversity Council, an 18-member council representing (and including) members from across the agency in coveted two-year terms. Their mission is to integrate development and diversity opportunities across the workplace.
That diversity training begins at the beginning, with a mandatory new-hire course called Foundations in Diversity. Creating equal access and a barrier-free workplace is a serious mission. As Luhman said, diversity isn’t viewed as a problem, but as a solution.
“We’re not naïve and we didn’t fall off the turnip truck last week,” she said. “We really believe that gives people hope for the future.”
“We want this to be a place where people from many kinds of backgrounds can contribute fully,” Hillson added. “That only makes sense given that we’re a public agency and one with such a diverse group of partners.”
The Development & Diversity Council is just one way Port of Seattle connects with its workers in specialized ways. The Port also hosts another cohort group, the five-member Administrative Services at the Port (ASAP) group, which helps manage the needs of the Port’s administrative professionals.
Both groups help serve the same purpose: Keeping employees involved and engaged in the Port of Seattle’s mission.
“It develops mastery and pride,” Luhman said. “It’s really learning by doing, that’s how we like to think about it. It’s another way of growing our employees, a really important way.”
