ZAYO GROUP GOES GREEK

Our challenge is to attract more women to Zayo Group in order to create a more diverse workplace.

December 8, 2015

Katelyn Strub, Monica Burich, Sabrina Sahney, Michael O’Hearne, and Paris Mues

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Table of Contents

3 5 10 16 20

page page page page page

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Introduction What? Why? How? Conclusion

Works Cited

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What is the Challenge?

We have been presented with a challenge by Zayo Group

which is a telecommunications company headquartered in

Boulder, Colorado. The challenge is to help Zayo Group by

presenting a plan that will get them more women college

graduates to apply for entry level positions at their

company. Right now they have a ratio of 30% women to

70% men and ideally they would like to get to 50/50.

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Keep it Greek

“There is nothing permanent

except change.”- Heraclitus

What?Highlighting Zayo Group’s many strengths.

Presenting at mandatory sorority chapter meetings.

The Zayo Group

Gifting promotional handouts.

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What is the recommendation?

The way to recruit more women

to Zayo Group is for the company

to present and network at the nine

different sororities affiliated with

the CU Boulder campus.

Once a week, each sorority house on

campus has a mandatory chapter

meeting, where each member is

required to attend. At these meetings,

many different guest speakers have the

opportunity to come in and speak to the

sorority on a number of topics.

We want to send women employees

from Zayo Group into each sorority

house because women respond and

connect better with other women. We

want Zayo Group to have a game plan

when going into these chapter meetings.

Also, Zayo must market their company to

these sorority women by highlighting

their many strengths and providing

promotional handouts.

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What company strengths could Zayo Group present to the sorority women?

Zayo Group has a great

location in the Boulder area, located

in the 29th Street Mall. This will

attract women because of the many

amenities that the mall has to offer.

In a 2014 Times article on the 50 best

places to live in the United States,

Boulder ranked 23.

Zayo Group provides many

scholarships at CU, such as the CU

Computer Science for Women and

the Women in Engineering at CU

scholarships. Zayo Group also offers

internships starting at the high

school level. They often hire from

these internships to either full-time

or part-time positions. This appeals

to women because it provides them

with supportive mentors.

Zayo is involved in the

community by fostering innovation

inside and outside the workplace.

They team up with Boulder Startup

Week, promote entrepreneurship,

promote STEM opportunities, and

promote diversity and inclusivity in

the workplace. This commitment to

corporate social responsibility

appeals to women according to an

article by BSR weekly. In their article

it is quoted, “We have strong data

that make a connection between CSR

and females. Net Impact (the

association of MBA students

committed to CSR) has over 60%

female membership. Women are

more likely than men to indicate that

"making a contribution to society"

contributes significantly to their

satisfaction on the job. In the U.S.,

women are overrepresented as

volunteers in their local communities.

They are also more likely to

participate in employee volunteer

efforts and in company-sponsored

social responsibility programs.”

Zayo Group has so much to offer to

women and has so many strengths.

We believe that they need to be

highlighted to these sororities. Our

plan does not require changes to Zayo

Group. Our main goal is to promote

Zayo; to make them a prominent

company within Boulder.

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Zayo’s Strengths that Appeal to Women Continued...

Zayo Group offers a very flexible schedule, with the opportunity and option to work from home.Furthermore, Zayo Group prides themselves in their solid work life balance, along with their very relaxed culture with no strict dress code. All of these things appeal to women according to several studies. In a U.S. News article written by Robin Madell in 2013 it is quoted, "If we are really committed to supporting women integrating their lives and getting ahead in their careers, and we say we want to help women make their mark in their company, career and community, then we have to include that they have a need to get home."

Also, in “a 2012 survey of 1000 women cosponsored by ForbesWoman and TheBump.com found that an increasing number of women view staying home as the ideal circumstance.”

“What do working women want? They want equal pay. Supportive mentors. More opportunity to hold positions of power. Flexibility. An end of the need for gender quotas. They want to be heard.” - Peggy Drexler

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What Promotional Handouts?

Following the talk by

Zayo Group at chapter

meetings in the different

sororities, they would leave

them with a departing gift. The

options would be a USB flash

drive, chapstick, or a phone

case card holder. All of these

are often used by women at CU

allowing Zayo Group to be

continuously promoted around

campus.

Why? Greek life is the biggest women’s organization on CU Boulder’s campus.

Sorority women are representative of what Zayo Group is looking for.

Promotional handouts do actually work!

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Why is this idea going to work?

Greek life and more specifically sororities are the largest

women’s organization on campus with around 1,800

women involved in the nine different sororities. According

to CU Planning, Budget, and Analysis, 16% of

undergraduate women at CU are involved in sorority life.

In the Zayo Q & A, Emily Euclide quoted, “I’ve had 95

applicants and 22 of them were women...half of them I had

already met in person.” This plan allows Emily Euclide and

other women recruiters from Zayo to have the opportunity

to meet about 1,800 women on campus and talk to them

personally. This will increase dramatically how many

women actually follow through and apply to Zayo.

There is no better way to recruit women than sending women in to talk to women. In a study done by Yale and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, at symposiums where teams of only men were presenting, only 25% of the speakers attracted were female. When those teams presenting contained one or more women, 43% of speakers attracted were female.

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Why are sorority women the perfect group to target?

Lauren Knight, a sales operations analyst at Zayo Group,

was a Delta Gamma at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The

stereotypes about these women are not true! Sorority women

are intelligent and qualified for Zayo Group. Most sororities have

GPA requirements to become and stay a member. For example,

Delta Gamma requires a 3.3 GPA in high school to be considered

as a new member and it requires each member to keep a 2.25

GPA or higher to be a member in good standing. Furthermore, if

a member wants to run for the executive board or be a “big

sister” to a new member, they need a 2.5 GPA or higher. In

addition, to be a member in good standing, one must perform

five hours of community service per semester.

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Sample of our Survey

This survey was posted on the

private facebook pages of each

sorority on campus that includes

every member of the sorority on

them.

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This data is a compilation of 350 responses from females in all

nine sororities around campus. Jobs currently available at Zayo

Group are largely in the Business and Engineering fields, therefore

this plan will be worthwhile for Zayo Group because almost half of

the responses are majors that are of interest to them and 100% of

the responses were female.

Business/Communications

Engineering

Undeclared

Other

Majors of CU Sorority Women

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Why have Promotional Handouts?

Promotional handouts, like

the useful ones that Zayo

Group would distribute, allow

for students to be reminded

of Zayo Group and the

impression that the company

made on the women. These are the best products to gift

because according to a study

conducted by the British Promotional

Merchandise Association in 2012,

they discovered that USB Flash

Drives were voted most useful and

wanted in their survey. Chapstick is

also very useful in the dry climate of

Boulder. As well as students use buff

cards, which allows them to eat, get

into sporting events, laundry, to rent

out books, and get into their dorm

rooms.

The study done by the British

Promotional Merchandise

Association found that after giving

out promotional handouts: 66% of

participants in the survey

remembered the brand of the

product after 12 months or receiving

the promotional handout, the return

on investment was equal to that of a

TV promotion and printed

advertisement and was greater than

that of a radio promotion and

outdoor advertisement.

Furthermore, 79% of the participants

claimed that they would return to do

business with the company following

this interaction and that 87% of the

participants kept the promotional

item for more than a year. They also

found that 56% said their opinion of

the company improved after

receiving the promotional product

and 94% of the participants stated

they would remember the promoter

and what the promoter advertised in

the long term.

How? Risks of this plan will be discussed, as well as a possible exit strategy.

Production costs will be explained.

The timeline of this plan will be outlined in terms of local, statewide, and nationwide expansion.

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Timeline, Implementation, and Expansion of Zayo Group Plan

Most likely it will take one semester

to one school year to see the effects

of implementation. This is because it

is possible that many of the sorority

women might not be in a position to

or have a desire to apply for a job

within the first semester of

implementation. To evaluate if the

plan is working, the company can

simply count the number of women,

particularly sorority women, that

have applied and began working at

the company.

The great thing about this plan is

that it can be repeatedly

implemented from year to year if it

works. There are new members

every year to present to and, also,

girls who may have heard the

presentation the last year have

grown a year older and may now be

more interested in applying because

they are getting closer to graduating.

.

This plan can continuously be

implemented at CU and can also be

taken to other college campuses

across the state and the nation.

Colorado State University has 17

sororities, School of Mines has 3, and

University of Northern Colorado has

5. This leaves room for great

expansion in the state. Other states

where Zayo Group has offices, such

as Virginia, have large percentages of

women on campus involved in greek

life. Washington and Lee University

ranks #1 with 81% of women in

sororities.

Implementation is as easy as nine

emails away. We have already reached

out to the Delta Gamma president. She

loved the idea and was excited for the

possibility of Zayo Group coming into

chapter to present. This plan can be

executed as early as next semester.

Sorority chapter meetings occur every

Monday, so there is potential to speak

to each and every house.

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Contact Information For Each Sorority on Campus

Alpha Phi

Website: coloradoalphaphi.com

Chi Omega

Website: chiomeg8.wix.com/chi-

omega-boulder

Delta Delta Delta

Email: trideltacu@gmail.com

Website: http://ec2-54-81-65-83.

compute1.amazonaws.

com/trideltacolorado/index

Delta Gamma

Chapter President: Chloe Remington

Email: Chloe.Remington@colorado.

edu

Website: colorado.deltagamma.org/

Gamma Phi Beta

Chapter President: Erin Bode

Email: Erin.Bode@colorado.edu

Website: gammaphibetaucb.com

Kappa Kappa Gamma

Chapter President: Ashton

Email: boulder.president@gmail.com

Website: colorado.kappa.org

Kappa Alpha Theta

Website: colorado.kappaalphatheta.

org/

Pi Beta Phi

Email: coalphapr@gmail.com

Website: pibetaphi.

org/pibetaphi/colorado/

It is important to note that the Chapter President will change from year to year, but contact information for them can always be found on each individual sororities website.

Alpha Chi Omega

Chapter President: Lexi Tonascia

Email: Lexi.Tonascia@colorado.edu

Website: axoboulder.org

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Costs/ Risks The total cost of production

for the handouts would be $5,820.

This number came from the websites

4imprints.com and ePromos.com.

These websites allow companies to

customize products with their own

logo and buy them in bulk for low

costs. This number was calculated by

assuming the company would

purchase 1,000 of each handout

(flash drives at $4.19 each, chapstick

at $0.68 each, and cell phone card

holders at $0.95 each). There is also

a possibility of having travel

expenses if you decide to expand

nationally.

Since the main aspect of this plan

costs the company no money at all, it

has a very low risk. The company

would be putting little money into a

plan that has great potential to be

effective. However, it is difficult to

predict if the future new member

classes will be in the majors the

company is looking for or if the

women will even have interest in the

company.

Also, the handout production

creates small risk because although it

is possible that the company will

have a surplus after presenting to all

of the chapters, the products will not

go to waste. They could be given

away at other events if the company

chooses to exit this specific plan.

Exiting this plan is as simple as Zayo

Group deciding to stop going to the

chapter meetings. They will not lose

any money if they choose to exit.

Going to each sorority house

and speaking to these women

costs zero dollars. It is just as

much of an opportunity for them

as it is for Zayo Group.

Go Greek.Go Orange. “When you have diverse teams,

you have innovative teams. That is all you really need to

remember.”-Rachael Donaldson

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AnnualReport.pdf About Alpha Phi. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from http://www.alphaphi.org/AboutUs Best Places to Live 2014: 23. Boulder, Colo. (2014, September 19). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://time.com/money/3312333/boulder-co-best-places-to-live/

CU-Boulder Common Data Set 10-11. (2011). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from http://www.colorado.edu/pba/cds/cds11/student.html

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"Facts and Information on Greek Goddess Athena." Greek Gods & Goddesses. Greek Gods and Goddesses, 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. <http://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/athena/>. Glass, N. (2012, May 8). Examining the Benefits of Greek Life. Retrieved November 18, 2015, from

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Works Cited Cont.