Enhancing Team Synergy Through Cultural Awareness
August 5, 2021
The Caterpillar Asian Indian Community (CAIC) employee resource group (ERG) has over 900 members located around the world who are working to support business needs while spreading cultural awareness and driving inclusion.
Leveraging Culture to Drive Impact
Sushil Gupta, CAIC’s global chair, has been part of the ERG since its inception in 2008. Born and educated in India, Sushil was the first in his extended family to gain a professional degree. “My struggles motivated me to support others who have come from other countries because I know what they are going through. That’s what sparked the creation of CAIC. I have gone through the journey and am honored to have served as a member, vice chair and now global chair,” said Sushil, who joined Team Caterpillar more than 20 years ago.
The goal of the CAIC is to maximize enterprise value through active engagement and innovative diverse contributions from our members. “We strive for our members to be professionally and socially engaged so we all feel more connected,” he says. Ultimately, the ERG is looking to support business initiatives and attract and retain talent that exists in the group’s extensive network of members.
Sushil Gupta
Members of CAIC
The group drives impact through focus areas that foster collaboration like communication, leadership mentoring, community service and recruiting. Sushil explains that the group serves to complement HR efforts, and provides support to recruitment efforts to increase awareness of the opportunities at Caterpillar for talent from India who have key skillsets.
Inclusion as a Journey
Members are mostly of Indian descent, but membership is open to any employee. Sushil speaks to the many benefits of non-Indian employees connecting with the Indian culture.
“Diversity isn't impactful without inclusion. It’s not about increasing culturally diverse headcount; it's cultivating cultural awareness. Cultural misperceptions and unconscious bias fuels my passion for this. They create unnecessary turbulence that can be avoided through proper education and awareness.”
We know that the backgrounds and experiences of Caterpillar employees are the driving force behind an inclusive environment. Learn more about our commitment to inclusion and join the team today.
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