Due to increasing globalisation, customer bases and workplaces are becoming ever more diverse, with the business world recognising the value of these differences. Diversity within a company can bring innumerable benefits when managed successfully, including financial gain, increased innovation and higher employee satisfaction.
Firstly, what does diversity actually mean? For many, the initial words to spring to mind are ethnicity and gender. However, diversity also covers many other aspects of human life, all of which bring a rich tapestry of experience to the workplace. These include (but are not limited to): sexual orientation, mental or physical abilities, parental status, age, educational level, socio-economic status and political ideologies. To put it another way, a diverse work environment simply means that each employee will bring different ideas, approaches and perspectives to the position. These differences, if utilised effectively, can contribute to company profitability, customer satisfaction and employee wellbeing.
For example, research by McKinsey found that the top quartiles for gender diverse and ethnically diverse companies are 15% and 35%, respectively, more likely to financially outperform the bottom quartile. So, diversity makes good financial sense. Further to this, a study by Dr Harold Andrew Patrick and Vincent Raj Kumar found that successfully managed diversity can also lead to better satisfied, committed and higher-performing employees. Lastly, the Catalyst Information Centre analysed multiple studies and found that diversity in a company led to increased innovation and more effective problem solving. As these examples show, when diversity within a company is managed successfully, both the company and the employees stand to benefit.
Some of the ways in which managers and team leaders can successfully manage diversity within a company include the following:
Foster an environment that values employee differences:
If the company does not value the benefits of diversity, the employees won’t either – leading by example is an effective way of creating a welcoming, respectful work environment. One way to show a commitment to diversity is through employee training. Dell, a company known for its successful approach to diversity management, provides mandatory diversity training to all staff. These include e-learning modules and one-off workshops that teach employees to understand and better assist both each other and their diverse customer base. Open communication is key, so if there is a break down between colleagues due to diversity (for example, due to cultural misunderstanding or prejudice) there should be policies, procedures and additional training opportunities in place to address this, allowing all employees to feel safe and supported in the workplace
Know that treating everyone fairly does not mean treating them equally:
A one-size-fits-all approach to management is becoming a relic of the twentieth-century, and rightly so. Dell, for example, provides a flexible working environment that allows employees to manage their own workloads, leading them to feel empowered. This approach is particularly beneficial to working parents, who are better able to juggle work and family responsibilities, and are therefore more motivated and committed to the workplace. Further to this, successfully managing diversity also means ensuring workplace accessibility for all employees. Language barriers due to differing backgrounds may mean that company information is delivered in a variety of ways, such as through visual aids rather than block text, while those with mental or physical disabilities may require additional software or tools in order to complete their job functions.
Develop an official diversity management strategy:
This is crucial in successfully managing diversity within the workplace. Three of the top organisations for diversity (Dell, Toyota and the Coca-Cola Company) all have official diversity management strategies in place. These include policies on not just how to manage a diverse workforce, but also how to grow a diverse workforce (through more inclusive hiring practices), how to retain staff from diverse backgrounds and how to make the most of all employees’ talents. Having an official strategy allows for a working document that sets clear policies, expectations and procedures in place. These can then be evaluated for effectiveness and, if goals have not been reached, adjusted accordingly.
Of course, while managers and team leaders should be aware of and responsive to diversity within the workplace, those who successfully manage diversity do not assume an employee requires a particular approach based on their background alone. All employees are individuals, with different learning styles and approaches to tasks.
Diversity within a company is more than just differences in ethnicity and gender; it encompasses the myriad of backgrounds and life experiences that shape each individual’s approach to the workplace. Successfully managing diversity leads to a happier, more effective organisation that values and utilises employee differences.
Kaylia Payne
Sources
http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/why_diversity_matters_catalyst_0.pdf
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2158244012444615
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&context=student