Valuing Diversity: Workforce Intervention Plan for Nurses

Introduction to Workplace Diversity

Cultivating a diverse workforce can have great power within a corporation. Diversity in the workplace can be brought about by differences in race, demographics, age, geographic location, culture, or language. Therefore, diversity is not limited to these categories alone — it encompasses anything that distinguishes one individual from another, including ideas, skills, thoughts, knowledge, and opinions. An organization can achieve diversity by incorporating the differences among its people when making critical decisions, generating new ideas, and developing solutions to both internal challenges and the needs of external clients (Sabharwal, 2014). It involves encouraging a variety of perspectives, embracing new ideas, and building a culture that fosters innovation through the valuing of existing differences.

Why Valuing Diversity Is an Issue

Research has shown that significant diversity is lacking in many commercial industries. Only a small percentage of companies have 40% or greater diversity representation on their boards. This leads to an underutilization of talent at the workplace — talent that is necessary to innovate at a competitive level.

Moreover, evidence indicates that building a diverse workforce increases productivity and improves employee retention. Consequently, greater diversity can positively contribute to an organization's responsiveness to an increasingly diverse world of clients and customers, while also improving its relations with the surrounding community. In addition, creating a diverse workforce can increase an organization's ability to cope with change and expand its overall creativity.

Available Resources for the Intervention Plan

Creating an intervention plan will require putting several factors in place. For the intervention plan presented to the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) to succeed, the following areas must be carefully considered.

The plan for valuing diversity will demand specific resources, particularly those needed during training. To ensure that employees are well acquainted with the importance of valuing diversity, training will need to occur over several days (Reeves & Haanaes, 2015). This will necessitate expenses such as daily allowances, equipment purchases, and other components required to conduct the training, including basic supplies such as pens, books, and refreshments for breaks and lunch.

Another resource consideration is the inclusion of other departments in the plan. Since the intervention involves valuing diversity, department heads will need to participate and explain what their respective departments entail. Diversity cannot be achieved without understanding the differences that exist among people in the workplace (Sabharwal, 2014). Incorporating other departments will require disrupting their regular schedules, which demands thorough planning and advance engagement.

Time must also be managed carefully so that the organization's daily operations are not completely disrupted. Training will be scheduled during periods when employees are least occupied. Specifically, sessions will be held in the afternoons, after employees have completed the bulk of their day's responsibilities.

Employee Engagement and Change Management

The survival and growth of any organization depends heavily on the energy, engagement, and commitment of its employees. The organization should strive for full employee engagement. Research shows that only approximately 15% of the workforce is actively engaged in their organizations (Mone & London, 2018). Engaged employees invest their talent, time, and energy in their work and in the achievement of organizational goals. By contrast, the 85% of disengaged employees continually contribute to significant losses in productivity year after year. Recognizing that employees are the organization's most important asset, the intervention plan must focus on engaging them fully in their daily roles.

Any significant transformation in the workplace creates challenges for employees. Changes within the organization may involve promotions, job restructuring, capability improvements, and the addition of new skills. These changes can lead to resistance and uncertainty among staff (King, Newman, & Luthans, 2016). Addressing such challenges will require leaders to be deliberate rather than reactive. As the nurse leader, the best approach to managing new changes is to adopt a formal strategy that begins at the top of management and extends to the involvement of every employee and stakeholder. This approach should be developed early and implemented simultaneously with organizational changes. Furthermore, the change management strategy should be fully integrated into daily work design and decision-making processes.

The major principles of change management include engaging every organizational level, creating a sense of ownership, assessing the cultural landscape, and communicating changes clearly and consistently.

References

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Fapohunda, T. M. (2013). Towards effective team building in the workplace. International Journal of Education and Research, 1(4), 1–12.

King, D. D., Newman, A., & Luthans, F. (2016). Not if, but when we need resilience in the workplace. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(5), 782–786.

Mone, E. M., & London, M. (2018). Employee engagement through effective performance management: A practical guide for managers. Routledge.

Reeves, M., & Haanaes, K. (2015). Your strategy needs a strategy: How to choose and execute the right approach. Harvard Business Review Press.

Sabharwal, M. (2014). Is diversity management sufficient? Organizational inclusion to further performance. Public Personnel Management, 43(2), 197–217.