Not many companies or their executives have acted on the management of diversity. Worldwide, several organizations struggle to recognize the value of organizational diversity. And it reflects in their management style. Many have taken it as a trend and sidelined the cultural and social benefits to the work culture. Understandably, managing diversity and inclusion could be tricky. HR management and business leaders must develop policies and strategies that do not make their diversity management shallow but successful.
Before we walk you through the practical steps to diversity management, let's understand workplace diversity and diversity management briefly.
Related: 15 Activities Of Diversity And Inclusion In The Workplace
What is Workplace Diversity and Diversity Management?
Diversity in the workplace is a method of creating a diverse environment in which individuals' diverse talents, cultural experiences, and backgrounds are respected. People's diverse viewpoints are influenced by several characteristics, including age, race, gender, disability, language, religion, identification of origin, intersex status, life phases, education, and sexual preferences.
Diversity management is the organization's structured and designed responsibility to hire, compensate, encourage, and maintain a diverse workforce with inclusivity and blend the individuals' unique cultural characteristics for the greater good.
The key importance of diversity management is as follows.
- Diversity leads to economically stimulating employer-employee relationships.
- Diversity leads to creating and establishing positive consumer connections.
- Diversity promotes ingenuity, imagination, and versatility in an organization's functioning.
- Diversity helps in stabilizing balanced corporate growth and economic benefit.
Here are the 7 Steps To Effective Diversity Management
1. Effective Communication
To keep a diverse workforce engaging and all the members on the same page, it is vital to building effective communications at all levels. HR management must emphasize communication, take feedback, and use the data to create inclusivity and a positive work environment.
Ensure that staff understands the practices, processes, guidelines on security, and other related details. Emphasize overcoming cultural and linguistic challenges. If necessary, have translated critical materials, such as security information. Use warning signs with photographs and icons to make everyone understand.
2. Equality
Treat every member of the organization with equality and respect.
Stop stereotypical assumptions that are both positive and negative. Please don't make assumptions based on their cultural background or class. Keep your prejudices aside. React promptly and firmly to biases or stereotypes by workers. Know that you are prohibiting discrimination in your laws. Encourage staff to consider peers as individuals and evaluate them for their work rather than on personal considerations. Often our unconscious biases and beliefs could make us misread a situation. Therefore the management must be sincere and mindful about it.
Related: Understanding and Driving Equality in the Workplace
3. Encourage Diverse Teams
Encourage the uniqueness of your diverse workforce by making them work in diverse teams. Diverse working teams encourage workers to get to know each other and respect each other. Diverse groups also extend the team's viewpoints and beliefs and appreciate the strength of their shared abilities and insights. This is the beauty and power of having a diverse workforce, and organizations must take advantage of it. And it all starts with inclusivity and giving members equal opportunities, and working together in diverse teams.
4. Maintain Transparent Policies
Confirm that your equality documentation, including hiring, payment, and promotions, is included in all of your staff policies. The employee manual should concentrate on diversity and address the following:
- The code of conduct must outline the company's diversity agenda.
- The communication strategy should detail non-discriminatory communication.
- A policy of non-discrimination for people to understand the regulation and understand what is not allowed.
- Policies on wages and incentives.
- Regulation on unemployment and cessation on behavioral grounds.
5. Sensitivity Training
If your organization is new to workplace diversity, it is your responsibility to give them the proper training. The old employees may be reluctant to follow the new norms since they are used to a hom*ogeneous culture.
Invest in sensitivity training and imbibe a culture of respect and equality. You may also provide online awareness training to understand the dos and don'ts of heterogeneous work culture. The activity could focus on:
- How to respect different opinions?
- How to react when people are offensive?
- How to be open-minded and adapt to beliefs that are different from them?
6. Leadership
Workplace diversity can succeed if the company's top management takes up a collective goal. The organization's leaders are responsible for policy formulation. Based on that, they can promote or eliminate workplace diversity depending on the policies they make. If the management does not display a contribution to action, the diversity initiative is significantly limited.
7. Hiring
According to a Glassdoor report, 67% of job seekers said a diverse workforce was relevant when assessing employment offers, and 57% felt their employers should be more diverse. Hiring diverse labor pools fill jobs quicker with skilled applicants. A variable workforce also helps their employer brands achieve the right talent.
Therefore, it is crucial to hire and recruit talent from diverse cultures to create a diverse workplace. It includes leadership and those who make choices on interviewing and testing expertise to address prejudice. Companies should transcend their biases and employ the most skilled individuals; those with the right qualifications, credentials, knowledge, and abilities can create a diverse workplace.
Related: Best Hiring Strategies to Recruit Top Talents
This article is written by Braja Deepon Roy. He works as a Content Creator and Digital Marketer at Vantage Circle. He actively participates in the growth of corporate culture and keeps himself updated in this space. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com
