Top 10 Diversity Best Practices in your Workforce

By Dlx Admin | Office | 0 Comments

Today’s organizations are beginning to understand the power of diversity and the key role it plays in business success all the way down to the bottom line, as it allows businesses to draw from the top talent regardless of personal demographics. So now large corporations routinely provide some form of diversity training in their offices space Philippines for their employees which focuses on how people, despite their apparent differences are fundamentally the same and deserve the same form of respect and accommodations as others.

Best Practices in achieving workforce diversity is imperative in order to maintain a competitive business advantage, and here are best practices that almost any organization can implement.

1. Expand its scope of definition.

More and more organizations define diversity broadly. Beyond race and gender whereas any group of people can differ significantly from another group of people — height, weight, the sport you play, socioeconomic status– all of these are things people were sorted by. And it has moved far beyond legally protected categories that are always been looked. For example, if you and your boss play the same sport, that’s fine. But, if your boss plays basketball and you play tennis, you’re subtly disadvantaged, because you won’t get to know the boss as well as your colleague who plays basketball.

This doesn’t mean that companies are spending time tracking the sports their employees playing or their appearance. But more firms are finding that paying attention to differences such as age is becoming central to their efforts retaining top talent. Therefore, it is important for employees to help one another to understand that diversity includes all characteristics and experiences that define each person as an individual.

2. Commitment to diversity starts with the leaders.

Success in workforce diversity begins with an active and visible commitment by the top executives. It’s their job to lead the organization on diversity and there are so many forms of diversity strategies are there. For example, having team-building activities, it opens up an excellent opportunity not only to refresh and encourage employees but also to mingle diverse groups.  In the process, seemingly different individuals may form new bonds, creating a powerful example of exposure to diversity. Diversity strategy without a commitment from the executives or senior leaders will never work out most often, doomed.

3. Set diversity goals and objectives parallel to your company’s mission-vision.

Top organizations align diversity goals and objectives with their organization’s mission and goals. Diversity, thereby, becomes integrated as an organizational priority. But despite the importance, aligning diversity goals and objectives with the organizational missions and goals are difficult to implement. Once in place they often unable to deliver the benefits as promised. Why? The problem might be the attitude of the organization. It might be that the top management team is not making themselves involved and visible with the diversity strategies but is only concern with the organizational mission and goals. Alignment of the two goals is likely to fail if a top team or even the employees are not being involved or visible in either of the goals.

The uniqueness of a workforce begins to emerge when the diversity goals and organizational goals are aligned and encouraged.

4.Draw a clear line between diversity and equal employment opportunity

Affirmative Action is based on legal directives requiring federal contractors to measure employment practices to develop a workforce that is reflective of the community in which they work and it has programs that are designed to correct historical wrongs and which has been instrumental in opening doors of employment opportunity for women and minorities. Also, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws have prohibited discrimination in the workplace. Even though Affirmative Action and EEO help to complement a workforce diversity strategy, they are not synonymous with diversity, and it is important to make this distinction. Diversity is proactive, which opposed to reactive, and calls for change within the culture of the organization. With inclusion at its core, diversity favors everything.

5.Show off your business case for diversity

Diversity is more than just a moral imperative–it is a business opportunity. This message must be clearly delivered and communicated to the workforce. A quick review of demographic shifts with the country’s population and marketplace provide sufficient rationale in support of diversity. However, it is equally important for the organizations to examine and share data related to current and projected demographics within their specific market or community. Get your organization ready in presenting your business case for diversity and generate an answer when asked with these questions. Who are you serving now? Who will you be serving in the future? Will your service be enough for the customers? Does your workforce adequately reflect your customer base? use hard data to support your organization’s business case for diversity by providing an answer to these questions.

6. Create a diversity plan and hold leaders accountable.

When implementing diversity in the workplace leaders and managers are the ones that are responsible to do the initiation in implementing the diversity plan. Leaders should be forward-thinking and understand that in order to have the plan effective they should be working together because diversity must be shared throughout the organization, it is not just a single person’s responsibility. This way when the staff members figured out that their contribution produces great they will feel more empowered to perform their best work knowing that they receive fair treatment and equal process to opportunities while considering the dynamic forces that exist among employees. Lastly, leaders and managers should always be held accountable for diversity goals and measurable results.

7. Reach out to the underrepresented populations within all levels of the organization

Organizations should make it a top priority to increase their number of underrepresented populations throughout various levels of their organization. Most often, this means expanding the numbers of ethnic and racial minorities, female executives and people with disabilities. Put this in mind that a diverse workforce better serves a diverse customer base, enhances innovation, makes the organization more adaptable, and often increases financial performance. All of these could be done if only an organization make an effort and put an eye on increasing the number of their underrepresented personnel.

8. Manage inclusion

Just like any other major changes within an organization, changes in workforce composition as well should be managed. Through strong and consistent communication, information sharing, being open to one another, and diversity education, employees must be prepped for anticipated changes. Demographic shifts create tension in organizations and you don’t want it to happen in your organization because it often challenges the conditioning of the organization. Proper management of an inclusive workforce can result in long term benefits. Therefore, do not trample down and hold it right there, the proper management of inclusion in your workplace. Stay the course and understand that building harmony in your office space Philippines takes time and patience.

9. Appoint an internal diversity committee.

An organization needs to form an internal diversity committee that can serve as an instrument in engaging employees to take an active role in diversity initiatives. The committee can plan diversity awareness events and activities to make employees feel comfortable in the workplace at the office space Philippines which they can participate in and increase their desire to work in the company. Moreover, disseminating diversity education information and materials, which serve in an advisory capacity to the senior leaders. The diversity committee can also help take on responsibilities related to diversity and inclusion initiatives in order to reduce the amount of work on the person who was first responsible for the work.

10. Provide a safe place for dialogue on diversity issues

Your office space Philippines are filled with people who have different backgrounds and perspectives, and many of them play it safe by not discussing events. So they choose to be silent and that is the wrong choice. Instead of being silent, a dialogue in the workplace must be encouraged to promote curiosity and in order for them to find out their differences and to know if they are valued, and with that you can expect them to value others no matter how divergent their views. Employees need to be able to communicate their concerns and satisfaction to the issues about diversity. Honest, open dialogue is healthy for individuals and as an organization, you should provide and accommodate a safe place for your employees where there is a supportive environment for sensitive dialogue. Facilitated study circles, peace circles, or roundtable discussions can be used to implement a productive dialogue on diversity.