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Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences among people in an organization. That sounds simple, but diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more. Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others. Those perceptions affect their interactions.

For a wide assortment of employees to function effectively as an organization, human resource professionals need to deal effectively with issues such as communication, adaptability and change. Diversity will increase significantly in the coming years. Successful organizations recognize the need for immediate action and are ready and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the workplace now.

Benefits of Workplace Diversity An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its

ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits. When organizations actively assess their handling of workplace diversity issues, develop and

implement diversity plans, multiple benefits are reported. These might include:

� Increased adaptability: Organizations employing a diverse workforce can supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing and allocation of resources. Employees from diverse backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer demands.

� Broader service range: A diverse collection of skills and experiences (e.g., languages, cultural understanding) allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis.

� Variety of viewpoints: A diverse workforce that feels comfortable communicating varying points of view provides a larger pool of ideas and experiences. The organization can draw from that pool to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more effectively.

� More-effective execution: Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all their employees to perform to their highest

Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions By Josh Greenberg

Careers & Workforce Diversity

Careers & Workforce Diversity

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At Belk, we believe our collective differences are our biggest strengths. That’s why we’re committed to creating

a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Learn more and see exciting career opportunities at belk.com.

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ability. Company-wide strategies can then be executed, resulting in higher productivity, profit and return-on-investment.

Challenges of Diversity in the Workplace Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is

not without its challenges. Some of those challenges might include: � Communication: Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communi- cation of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork and low morale.

� Resistance to change: There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The “we’ve always done it this way” mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress.

� Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies: This can be the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. Armed with the results of employee assessments and research data, they must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their particular organization.

Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace Diversity training, alone, is not sufficient for your organization’s diversity

management plan. A strategy must be created and implemented to create a culture of diversity that permeates every department and function of the organization.

Recommended steps that have been proven successful in world-class organizations are:

� Assessment of workplace diversity: Top companies make assessing and evaluating their diversity process an integral part of their management system. A customizable employee satisfaction survey can efficiently and conveniently accomplish this assessment for your company. It can help your management team determine which challenges and obstacles to diversity are present in your workplace and which policies need to be added or eliminated. Reassessment can then determine the success of your workplace diversity plan’s implementation.

� Development of the workplace diversity plan: Choosing a survey provider that provides comprehensive reporting is a key decision. That report will be the beginning structure of your workplace diversity plan. The plan must be comprehensive, attainable and measurable. An organization must decide what changes need to be made and determine a timeline for that change to be attained.

� Implementation of the workplace diversity plan: The personal commitment of executive and managerial teams is a must. Leaders and managers within organizations must incorporate diversity policies into every aspect of the organization’s function and purpose. Attitudes toward diversity originate at the top and filter downward. Management cooperation and participation are both required to create a culture conducive to the success of your organization’s plan.

Recommended diversity in the workplace solutions include: Ward off resistance to change with inclusion: Involve every employee

possible in formulating and executing diversity initiatives in your workplace. Foster an attitude of openness in your organization: Encourage

employees to express their ideas and opinions and then attribute a sense of equal value to all.

Promote diversity in leadership positions: This practice provides visibility and realizes the benefits of diversity in the workplace.

Utilize diversity training: Use this as a tool to shape your diversity policy. Launch a customizable employee satisfaction survey that provides

comprehensive reporting: Use the results to build and implement successful workplace diversity policies.

Start Today As the economy becomes increasingly global, our workforce becomes

increasingly diverse. Organizational success and competitiveness will depend on the ability to manage diversity in the workplace effectively. Evaluate your organization’s diversity policies and plan for the future— starting today.

About the Author Josh Greenberg is president of AlphaMeasure, Inc., which is located in Boulder, Colorado. AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful Web-based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement and increasing employee retention. The AlphaMeasure Employee Survey System is fully customizable and allows for targeting the organizational topics and challenges facing your staff today. Designed by human resource professionals from the ground up, the survey system provides an affordable, feature-rich solution for deploying fully customized employee satisfaction or employee engagement surveys.

Source: http://diversity.sdce.edu

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