Embracing diversity
Date: 20 February 2009
Authors: Margaret Mannell
Issue: Vol 159, Issue 7357
Categories: Opinion, Employment, Practice areas, Discrimination
Here’s a little challenge. Visit 20 major
Reality and rules
Of course, diversity-related employment policies—in simple terms, formal recognition and accommodation of difference in the workplace—are now underpinned by legislation. Even if they weren’t, diversity makes obvious business sense. Organisations need talented people and it’s absurd to reject talent simply because of irrational prejudice.
Commercial DNA
From my perspective, although
There are many benefits of this approach. A diverse workforce will appeal to a wider customer base and, therefore, help the business retain and attract more business—a crucial issue in these turbulent economic times. Also, an open and inclusive workforce, where people are encouraged to be different allows ideas to flourish and creativity and innovation to shine. This helps the firm to handle changes in the market and—perhaps most importantly of all—to make it a much more stimulating and rewarding working environment. And the result? You have a much better chance of keeping and attracting the best of the best.
Lessons from the
The main lesson to learn from the
I’d recommend that if a firm is seeking to be truly diverse it should start by carrying out a comprehensive diversity survey among its employees. This will allow it to find out firstly, whether its employees believe the organisation is diverse, and secondly what they think needs to be done about it if it isn’t. A word of warning though, while a firm might not like some of the answers it gets, it should be prepared to act on them if it is serious about improving diversity, otherwise it is likely to make the problem worse.
Diversity training
Many firms have responded to the challenges posed by diversity by initiating well- meaning but often fruitless training courses. Training has a part to play but it has to be exactly that, a part of the whole. Diversity training will not be able to change people’s beliefs and will only work if accompanied by a change in culture at a firm, something that will normally only happen when diversity comes to life. It is the reality of interacting with people and living with real diversity that changes people’s views and creates a level of understanding that everyone is different and as such deserves respect and understanding from their colleagues.
If the
Clear objectives
The most important point for any firm is to be clear about why it is trying to achieve diversity. If it is for the right reasons, a firm will be seeking a rich and broad range of employees to reflect its customers and also one that will be a fertile breeding ground for creativity, innovation and enthusiasm. The right recruitment and training process coupled with a determination at the highest level to demonstrate diversity and openness will take a firm a long way down the road to achieving its goals. The benefits of diversity will remain elusive if a firm is simply trying to tick all the boxes.
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