Managing Workplace Diversity: Benefits and Measurement

Introduction to Workplace Diversity

Workplace diversity can significantly improve a company's working environment in several ways. At its core, it enables employers to tap into the knowledge, talents, and experiences of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, which can in turn lead to improvements in a company's products and services.

Five Advantages of a Diverse Workforce

The first advantage of workplace diversity is that it allows employers to draw on the varied knowledge, talents, and experiences of a broad range of individuals, ultimately improving the quality of a company's products and services.

The second advantage is that diversity can lead to improved rates of employee retention. According to a national survey conducted by Linkage, Inc. and Diversity Best Practices, ninety percent of the employers surveyed believed that diversity helped their companies retain employees (Goodison, 2003).

The third advantage is that diversity fosters more inclusive working relationships among coworkers, especially among those engaged in teamwork initiatives. This occurs as employees begin to appreciate learning about the experiences and lifestyles of people from different backgrounds.

A fourth advantage is that a company valuing workplace diversity will be more likely to attract female and minority applicants, according to a survey conducted by San Francisco-based WetFeet.com (Leonard, 2001). This can help protect a company's image from accusations of intolerance and discrimination. The survey by Linkage, Inc. and Diversity Best Practices revealed that seventy percent of respondents believed that workplace diversity initiatives helped prevent employment discrimination lawsuits from being filed.

Finally, a fifth advantage is that companies that value workplace diversity are better positioned to serve customers from diverse backgrounds. This has become increasingly important in order to maintain a competitive advantage in today's multicultural society. According to projections by the U.S. Census Bureau, one in three Americans would be African-American, Hispanic/Latino, or Asian-American by 2005.

Implementing Workplace Diversity Initiatives

Implementation of workplace diversity initiatives can be measured in several ways. Van Eron (1995) lists steps that a company should take when assessing the impact of its diversity efforts. Prior to conducting any formal assessment, a company should first review its organizational culture to identify which aspects need to change in order to enhance workplace diversity.

This review ensures that a company develops initiatives unique to its own organization rather than simply adopting strategies used elsewhere. An understanding of organizational culture can be developed through HR systems records, employee surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Based on this information, a company can establish an internal baseline against which it tracks progress in implementing diversity initiatives.

After understanding its current situation regarding workplace diversity, the organization must identify methods for improving it. It should then track the progress of change by recording follow-up findings from surveys, interviews, focus groups, and other data-collection methods, comparing these findings to those gathered before diversity initiatives were implemented. Any new issues or absence of change reflected in the new findings must be promptly addressed.

Conclusion

Workplace diversity offers measurable advantages for organizations willing to invest in assessing their culture and tracking meaningful change over time. From improved employee retention and more inclusive relationships to stronger recruitment of underrepresented groups and better service to a multicultural customer base, the evidence indicates that well-managed diversity initiatives are both ethically sound and strategically beneficial.

References

"By the numbers — diversity training" (May 2003). T+D. Retrieved April 22, 2005.

Goodison, D. (April 2003). "Workplace diversity job fair; bosses link success to diversity." Boston Herald. Retrieved April 22, 2005.

Leonard, B. (April 2001). "Diverse workforce tends to attract more female and minority job applicants." HR Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2005.

Van Eron, A. (August 1995). "Ways to assess diversity success — on a diverse organizational culture." HR Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2005.