How to Handle Diversity Within a Company
To handle workplace diversity, you simply must value it and use it strategically. Gone are the days of hiring people in certain demographic categories to meet quotas. Today's competitive business environment requires you to use your diverse workforce to your advantage. Practically speaking, handling people with many differences is not easy. You will inevitably encounter misunderstandings, tension and outright conflict. Proper training of management as well as employees is the first step to initiating smart diversity practices within a workplace.
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Instructions
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Harness diversity to create better products and make better decisions. Research from the Stanford and Kellogg Schools of Business says an innovative way to use diversity is to pool together different kinds of talent and ideas. Assemble several different work groups in your organization to solve problems. Pay attention to age diversity to mix generations and incorporate different educational backgrounds. If your business is trying to reach new markets, use employees who are from that market and speak your desired customers' language to be your ambassadors.
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Use diversity to create an inclusive culture. Business is not a place to hold hands and sing Kumbaya. It is, however, worthwhile to practice team-building and recognize how much better off your company is because of a commitment to diversity. Create employee resource groups or diversity councils to manage a scorecard on how well the company is doing with diversity and to mediate minor disputes before they blossom into lawsuits. Be sure all employees are protected from discrimination, harassment and retaliation and all employees have the same opportunity for advancement. Remove the obstacles to open communication. Involve all employees in planning extra-curricular activities.
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Celebrate differences. Free food and music are universal connectors. Use activities like potlucks, commemoration days and holiday parties as opportunities to get employees from different backgrounds to share their cultures with each other.
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Use diversity to improve your position above your competitors. Diversity is great for branding and improving your corporate reputation. It garners the respect of communities, as well as customers, and draws positive media attention.
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Diversify your business partners, especially your suppliers. It makes good business sense to ensure you are getting the best deals and best prices from your partners. Don't neglect small, minority and disadvantaged businesses when looking for partners.
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Use diversity to make more money. Researched published in the journal "American Sociological Review" reported that companies with the highest levels of racial diversity earned 15 times the sales revenue than that of companies with the lowest. Gender diversity put $599 million between high- and low-diversity organizations. Companies that valued diversity have more customers, a greater percentage of the market share and better profitability, the report said.
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Tips & Warnings
Ensure you watch who is coming and who is leaving your employ. If you are hemorrhaging minority talent, you need to work on your retention practices.
Avoid applying diversity in a piece-by-piece patchwork. According to Prism International, a diversity consulting firm, doing so will only leave you and your employees frustrated. And you won't get the full effect on your bottom line. Start with training, work on a solid plan, and then implement it entirely.
References
- Kellogg School of Management: Better Decisions Through Diversity
- DiversityInc: Diversity Management
- Multicultural Advantage: What Straight, White Guys Don't Get about Diversity & Why
- Stanford Graduate School of Business: Diverse Backgrounds and Personalities Can Strengthen Groups
- Prism International: A Comprehensive and Flexible Process for Strategically Leveraging Diversity
- American Sociological Association: Workplace Diversity Pays: Research Links Diversity with Increased Sales Revenue and Profits, More Customers
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
