Volkswagen's diversity hiring strategy at the Chattanooga plant

Diversity in the News and Inclusiveness

Almost everyone has heard of Volkswagen, but what they may not realize about the company is that it focuses on and clearly addresses diversity. That was a challenge for the company when it first came to the U.S. To build a factory, but VW knew from the beginning that it wanted to create a diverse workforce so it would be able to represent the community in which it was located (Pare, 2012). What would be expected from VW would be a lot of German people, since Germany is the country of VW's origin. However, when it opened a plant in Chattanooga, TN, it brought in and/or hired people from all over and with all types of nationalities (Pare, 2012). The goal was to make sure the plant and its workers respected and reflected the diversity of the area in which that plant was built. The plant was opened in February of 2012, and since that time VW has been proactive about hiring many different kinds of people from all types of backgrounds and walks of life (Pare, 2012).

While many companies say they are diverse, not everyone in those companies truly embraces that belief (Mujtaba, 2010). Additionally, there can be some issues with diversity because of the differences faced by the people who have ideal and opinions that are often culturally unique and not well understood by others (Mujtaba, 2007). That does not mean that people who are diverse should not work together, though. On the contrary, it is a much better way for individuals to get a company moving in the right direction (Harvey & Allard, 2012). With VW, it was very obvious that the company was interested in diversity. It was also very obvious that the company was working hard to ensure that its diversity was noticed, which may have been unnecessary.

Recommendations / Alternatives

While it is a good thing VW is doing by being diverse and attempting to mirror the community, it is something the company has to be careful of, as well. The reason for the concern is that VW should be hiring the best people for the job, no matter what their backgrounds are. Since that is the case, VW should look carefully at the people it has hired and will hire in the future with the main focus on the skills those people have. Diversity is a very valuable thing to have in a company, but it should not come at the expense of quality job skills (Harvey & Allard, 2012). In other words, each and every company that values diversity and wants to use it as one of the criteria for hiring a person should be sure that diversity is not the only reason that person is hired (Mujtaba, 2010). Instead of focusing only on diversity, the company must focus on hiring diverse individuals who have the skills that are truly needed by the company in that particular job or department.

When a company makes diversity part of the package instead of making it the focus of everything, the company gets diversity and skills. Together, that is a winning combination for any company, including VW. While VW does not currently have any problems, the company should focus on taking care to hire based on skills. There is also no reason that VW needs to tout how many minorities have been hired or brag about the diversity it has. Companies that are serious about diversity do things quietly, and they do not need to draw attention to themselves (Harvey & Allard, 2012). Word of mouth is enough for these companies, and it does not take long for those who are looking for work to realize that diversity and skills are both valued at that company.

Summary

Overall, VW is doing a great thing by making sure its workforce is diverse. When it hires people who fit in with the community and represent the culture and diversity of the area, it shows that it values all types of people and all nationalities. It also shows that every nationality is valuable and that people from every nation can have the skills needed to provide benefit to the workforce. These are all good things, but there is more to the lesson than that. There are also problems with the way VW handles things, or at least it would appear that way from the information located on the issue. In short, VW is very focused on diversity. Companies that want to hire the best workers must focus more on skills than on anything else. While is it true that companies have to be careful about not hiring any minorities because of anti-discrimination laws, those same companies also have to keep in mind the idea that those laws do not mean they have to hire a certain percentage of people from any race or other protected category, as long as they are not turning people away for their inclusion in one or more of those categories.

Employees, managers, and entire companies can all learn from the information that has been presented here. It is easy to err on the side of caution and hire a very diverse workforce that is full of minorities, but that can come at the expense of hiring the best people for the job. Focusing on the skills that the person has and the skills that are needed for the job or position that is open is more significant. All other things being equal between two candidates, diversity should come into play only at that point. When a company hires people with the proper skills who are also diverse enough to represent the culture and makeup of the community in which that company is placed, it is much more likely to be successful and to draw in the kind of talent it needs and wants in order to be successful.