By Aleeshia Webster, Human Resources Associate Relations Representative

At Perdue’s Georgetown, Del., harvest plant, we are hanging in the associate entrance hallway more than a dozen flags representing the many nationalities working here. Those flags have special meaning for me, because I had the honor of organizing the Georgetown plant’s first “Diversity Day” celebration this past summer. “Diversity Day” followed the model set by our sister plant in Milford, Del., where I previously worked in HR.

On Diversity Day, most countries represented at the plant had a booth. Associates put together displays about their home countries, they brought in native foods, they dressed in their country’s costumes and performed their dances to their native music. All of our associates get a chance to participate and learn about their team members’ countries, and we also invite representatives of the community.

This is something Milford has done for years, but it was the first time for us at Georgetown, so we had start from the very beginning. It was a big undertaking.

The first step was to put together diversity day teams for both day and night shift. We had volunteers representing the countries. We had people who were from the same country, but never met because they worked in different departments. Once they found out where they were from, they automatically connected, sometimes finding out they knew the same places and people. The associates were so involved, getting their displays, ordering their costumes and preparing their food.

One Big Diversity Team
But we were also one big diversity team made of all the different countries. The associates helped each other, saying “We’re from different countries, so we’re going to help each other.” We have some countries with only one or a few associates, and associates from other countries volunteered to help them, saying things like, “I don’t want to see you dance alone; I’ll learn your dances.”

On Diversity Day, it all came together. I felt like a proud mom. The associates showed hidden talents; some were artists. You could go into one booth and be in Haiti, turn around and be in Honduras, turn again and be in the Philippines or Puerto Rico. 

Our Associates Are More Than Their Job Roles
We have that same respect for our associates every day. It doesn’t matter where you’re from; it doesn’t matter what language you speak, we’re going to treat everyone the same. Diversity Day is important because we believe that our associates are more than the roles they have on the plant floor, and the chicken we produce is not the only thing that matters.

We’re also one big Perdue family. For example, one of our associates from Puerto Rico is learning Creole so that he can better communicate with his team mates, and he’s teaching them some Spanish.

Diversity Brings a Stronger Sense of Unity
The lasting impact of Diversity Day is that we have an even stronger sense of unity at the Georgetown plant. And our associates are already planning for next year’s Diversity Day.