Managing diversity in the workplace

 

Figure 1: Team Diversity(Source : (Anon., 2019)

 

Diversity is anything that makes people different from one another. Religion, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, political affiliation or opinions, military service, mental and physical conditions, personality, education, favorite sports team – all of these fall under the umbrella of diversity, which, if not managed correctly, can open the door to charges of discrimination or employee relations matters (Robert, 2007).

Building a diverse environment and team has some challenges, but the advantages far outweigh them. Employing people with various backgrounds has the potential to give your company a leg up because it can:

• Spark creativity with an infusion of new ideas and perspectives
• Give you a head start on innovation because you’re drawing ideas from different types of people
• Help you relate better to your target audience
• Align your culture more closely with the reality of our nation
• Broaden the appeal of your sales pitch and provide insight into client demographics
• Improve how your team interacts with clients and the public, and increase customer satisfaction

In order to create and maintain a diverse workplace must learn to:

• Identify with others who are different from you
• Be willing to take other perspectives into account
• Be able to embrace those very traits that make us different
• Recognize everyone’s contributions

According to above factors, how do you handle them?

Hire the most – qualified people

First of all, your goal should not be to force a diverse environment or impose any artificial rules. If you hire the most-qualified people, those with the right education, experience and skill set, a diverse workplace will naturally follow.

Level the playing field by putting uniform and equal practices in place. Are you documenting every interview in a consistent manner? Are all applicants for a position asked the same type of questions?

Managers may need to be trained in the basics of interview techniques, documentation and what can and cannot be asked. For example, questions about an applicant’s personal life, such as how many kids they have or where they go to church, are strictly off-limits (Sastry, 2000).

 

Recruit the outside box

Finding candidates who have different backgrounds and experience can be difficult in some industries or areas. If that’s your situation, look for better, more creative ways to recruit (Ulrich, 2012).

For instance, if you’d like to include highly qualified engineers who are women, expand your recruiting efforts to professional organizations in which they might be members. Try job fairs in other parts of town or other cities.

Put your policies in writing

Confirm that all of your personnel policies include documentation about equality, including hiring, pay and promotions based solely on performance. Your employee handbook should address diversity in the following sections:

• Code of conduct should outline the company’s policy toward diversity
• Communication plan should detail non-discriminatory communication
• Non-discrimination policy lets people know about the laws and exactly what is not allowed
• Compensation and benefits policy
• Employment and termination policy 

Enforce a zero-tolerance policy

Off-color jokes about people’s differences or stereotypical slurs have no place in today’s workplace. Put policies in place to handle transgressions and let it are known they will not be tolerated. Encourage employees to report any instances of this type of behavior. Establish formal grievance policies and procedures so that employees know exactly how to report issues and managers can respond promptly. Managers must be responsible for holding people accountable.

Stay current

Keep abreast of changing employer-related laws and trends. Be sure your human resources policies, especially those around harassment and equal opportunity, reflect the most current information. Remember laws vary from state to state, and they can change at lightning speed. What’s accepted this month may not be the next?

Secure executive buy-in

Executives and upper management need to be on board and model open-minded behavior. For example, they should:

• Treat all employees with respect and not show favoritism toward a particular group
• Act swiftly if there is a diversity breach, such as an employee making jokes about a pregnant woman’s weight gain
• Communicate about the value of diversity at company-wide meetings

If you meet resistance, you may want to counter with a list of ways that diversity in the workplace can be good for business and a reminder of the legal consequences for ignoring it.

Figure 2 : Conclusion (Source : (Anon., 2015)

Conclusion

A diverse workforce is a reflection of a changing world and marketplace. Diverse work teams bring high value to organizations. Respecting individual differences will benefit the workplace by creating a competitive edge and increasing work productivity (Robert, 2007). Diversity management benefits associates by creating a fair and safe environment where everyone has access to opportunities and challenges. Management tools in a diverse workforce should be used to educate everyone about diversity and its issues, including laws and regulations. Most workplaces are made up of diverse cultures, so organizations need to learn how to adapt to be successful.

 

References

 

Anon., 2015. enisa. [Online] Available at: https://www.enisa.europa.eu/news/enisa-news/conclusion-for-the-european-public-private-partnership-ppp-for-resilience-scheme [Accessed 25 november 2021].

Anon., 2019. Adecco. [Online] Available at: https://www.adecco.ca/en-ca/employers/resources/managing-diversity/ [Accessed 29 november 2021].

Robert, R., 2007. Role of human resource management in staff retention. International Journal of Personnel Management, (May (2007) ).

Sastry, N., 2000. Women Employees and Human Resource Management. 1st ed. Hyderabad: Universities Press.

Ulrich, D., 2012. Future of Human Resources. [Online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/07/18/dave-ulrich-on-the-future-of-human-resources/#400f3f693b0a [Accessed 14 February 2017].