We recognize that a diverse work force gives us the best opportunity to succeed. The greater the variety of ages, cultures, backgrounds and skills brought to a project or task, the greater the likelihood the best possible decisions will be made.

One-third of our employees are minorities or females. In 2009 as in past years, we set diversity targets for females and minorities for management, professional and front-line employees. Placement rates in four of the six job categories exceeded target, but two fell short. For the first time ever, we met our placement target for females in front line jobs, even though the 2009 level of hiring from outside the company was lower than usual. We were just shy of target in that job category for minorities. But we were far from target in the placement rate for minorities in management-level posts.

Our efforts to increase diversity at every level of the organization will continue, and we expect the progress we’ve made to be sustainable. While our goal is to promote from within the company whenever possible, job requirements sometimes necessitate expanding our search outside.

The strides we have made in our diversity efforts are evident in the results of a recent survey conducted by the Great Places to Work Institute. The survey measures employee attitudes toward management, work/life balance, pay and benefits, fairness and camaraderie, among other issues. The same survey was conducted in 2006 and 2008, and the company’s scores improved from two years earlier on 46 of the 58 survey questions.

More than 90 percent of survey respondents said they are proud to tell others that they work for AEP and believe people are treated fairly regardless of their race. Between 85 percent and 90 percent responded that they believe employees are treated fairly regardless of gender or sexual orientation, that they can “be themselves” at work and that people care about each other.

In response to the statement “Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work,” 88 percent responded favorably, up from 80 percent two years earlier. There also were double-digit increases in favorable response to statements about AEP providing a “family or team feeling” and encouraging people to “balance their work life and their personal life.”