Advantages of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace August 8, 2018 by Sonia Johnson Cultural diversity in the workplace occurs when a company hires employees from a variety of backgrounds, race, gender, age, or religion. A diverse working culture benefits companies in countless ways. It can contribute to an organization’s efficiency and create a competitive advantage. Here are some benefits of a workplace that hires teams with cultural diversity in mind: Cultural Diversity leads to Higher Morale When diversity is managed well, and employees are subject to cross-cultural or diversity and inclusion training, the result is that all people feel validated and considered important no matter their differences. Giving employees the opportunity to work with people who bring different skills and views to the table helps them recognize that everyone is important for different reasons. Feeling valued improves the morale of each worker and promotes positivity in the workplace. Cultural Diversity gives you Different Perspectives When people from different backgrounds and cultures work together, they are exposed to varying viewpoints and ideas. This helps people become accustomed to hearing and sharing different perspectives and presenting their ideas. Allowing culturally diverse employees to brainstorm brings a wide variety of solutions to the table. Solutions based upon different experiences and schools of thought. With more ideas to choose from, the chances of finding the best possible final solution is improved. Cultural Diversity has a Global Impact In an increasingly globalized economy, workforces that are culturally diverse can help companies expand their business in. Being able to communicate effectively in different parts of the world is a key benefit, as well as knowing how to create relationships and understand the cultural nuances and differences in doing business in foreign countries. With a workforce that understands these concepts, you create the opportunity to effectively develop your business in a global market. Cultural Diversity increases your Community Relations Many communities are becoming increasingly culturally diverse. It’s important that companies recognize this and mimic the communities that they serve. Companies need to be able to communicate effectively with customers and understand their needs, no matter the customer’s language or culture. Having people on staff who have the background and skills to do so are vital to an organization. Communities and customers also prefer to engage with those that employ people who are similar to them. For this reason, hiring and managing diverse cultures is an advantage in a competitive market space. Culturally diverse workers are one of the greatest assets your business can have. Although workplace diversity comes with some challenges, the benefits more than outweigh the difficulties you may encounter, especially with the use of proper management techniques and training.
Diversity Doesn’t Stick Without Inclusion July 8, 2018 by Sonia Johnson Leaders have long recognized that a diverse workforce of women, people of color, and LGBT individuals confers a competitive edge in terms of selling products or services to diverse end users. Yet a stark gap persists between recognizing the leadership behaviors that unlock this capability and actually practicing them. Part of the problem is that “diversity” and “inclusion” are so often lumped together that they’re assumed to be the same thing. But that’s just not the case. In the context of the workplace, diversity equals representation. Without inclusion, however, the crucial connections that attract diverse talent, encourage their participation, foster innovation, and lead to business growth won’t happen. As noted diversity advocate Vernā Myers puts it, “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” Numerous studies show that diversity alone doesn’t drive inclusion. In fact, without inclusion there’s often a diversity backlash. Our research on sponsorship and multicultural professionals, for example, shows that although 41% of senior-level African-Americans, 20% of senior-level Asians, and 18% of senior-level Hispanics feel obligated to sponsor employees of the same gender or ethnicity as themselves (for Caucasians the number is 7%), they hesitate to take action. Sponsors of color, especially at the top, are hobbled by the perception of giving special treatment to protégés of color and the concern that protégés might not “make the grade.” The result: Just 18% of Asians, 21% of African-Americans, and 25% of Hispanics step up to sponsorship (and 27% of Caucasians). Another difficulty in solving the issue is data. It’s easy to measure diversity: It’s a simple matter of headcount. But quantifying feelings of inclusion can be dicey. Understanding that narrative along with the numbers is what really draws the picture for companies. For example, we worked with a Chile-based firm that would seem to have no problems with diversity. After all, one of their most valued employees is an indigenous Peruvian, a man who is respected, well-paid, and included in the leadership team’s decision-making discussions. Yet in a one-on-one interview he confided that he saw no future for his ambitions at that firm. “I know they value me,” he said, “but I am an indigenous person, and they are white, legacy, and Spanish. They will never make me a partner, because of my color and background.” Conventional measures would never flag this talented man for a flight risk; it’s up to the narrative to tell the tale. At the Center for Talent Innovation, we have constructed a unique, robust framework for measuring the things that matter. Our methodology relies on three streams of information: wide-ranging, anonymous, quantitative surveys provide the statistical foundation; Insights In-Depth sessions, a proprietary web-based tool used to conduct facilitated focus groups within companies, provide the stories to flesh out the statistics; and one-on-one interviews enrich the statistics with deeper meaning. Within that framework our research has uncovered four levers that drive inclusion. Inclusive leaders. This kind of leadership is a conglomeration of six behaviors: ensuring that team members speak up and are heard; making it safe to propose novel ideas; empowering team members to make decisions; taking advice and implementing feedback; giving actionable feedback; and sharing credit for team success. Of employees who report that their team leader has at least three of these traits, 87% say they feel welcome and included in their team, 87% say they feel free to express their views and opinions, and 74% say they feel that their ideas are heard and recognized. For respondents who reported that their team leader has none of these traits, those percentages dropped to 51%, 46%, and 37%, respectively. Authenticity. It’s not surprising that everyone expends energy by repressing parts of their persona in the workplace in some way. But according to our research, 37% of African-Americans and Hispanics and 45% of Asians say they “need to compromise their authenticity” to conform to their company’s standards of demeanor or style. Our research on women in the science, engineering, and technology industries shows that, regardless of gender, acting “like a man” can provide an advantage in becoming a leader in these fields. What a waste of employees’ energy, let alone their employers’ diversity dollars. Networking and visibility. For women and people of color, the key to rising above a playing field that remains stubbornly uneven is sponsorship. A sponsor is a senior-level leader who elevates their protégé’s visibility within the corridors of power, advocates for key assignments and promotions for them, and puts their reputation on the line for the protégé’s advancement. For those who feel marginalized by their gender, ethnicity, age, sexual identity, or educational and economic background, sponsorship is particularly crucial in invigorating ambition and driving engagement. Having a sponsor increases the likelihood of being satisfied with the rate of career advancement. Conversely, lack of sponsorship increases someone’s likelihood of quitting within a year. Clear career paths. For women, LGBT individuals, and people of color, the map to career success is murky. Our research shows that 45% of women off-ramp to take care of children, although elder care is increasingly pulling women off the career track, with 24% leaving to care for aging relatives. But a significant number of women also feel pushed off the ladder: 29% say their career isn’t satisfying, and 23% feel stalled in their careers. Comments from women in focus groups note that they’re frustrated by being passed over for high-profile assignments, and they have a general sense of missing out on the right opportunities. LGBT individuals and people of color, too, struggle to name a simple solution to open up a blocked career path. Ironically, it’s usually the majority group that presumes to identify the reason these people aren’t advancing, which too often results in the problem being oversimplified. Companies should start from the simple but fundamental understanding that there are different perspectives, each of them valuable, and work to explore and identify the range of barriers holding these individuals back. Organizations can then formulate plans and programs that offer options and provide signposts that help women, LGBT people, and people of color find the path that’s right for where they are in their lives and careers. Focusing on these four levers can elicit real change. Our research finds that employees with inclusive managers are 1.3 times more likely to feel that their innovative potential is unlocked. Employees who are able to bring their whole selves to work are 42% less likely to say they intend to leave their job within a year. Those with sponsors are 62% more likely to have asked for and have received a promotion. And 69% of women who off-ramp would have stayed at their companies if they’d had flexible work options. Diversity without inclusion is a story of missed opportunities, of employees so used to being overlooked that they no longer share ideas and insights. But diversity with inclusion provides a potent mix of talent retention and engagement. Authors: Laura Sherbin, PhD Ripa Rashid
Gagging Political and Religious Discussions At Work. Why?? September 20, 2016 by Sonia Johnson Religious and political discussions are a part of cognitive diversity. There is no sturdy evidence or body of work that supports the perplexing belief that religion and politics are emotional topics, that provide employees permission to act savagely and without respect for other people’s ideas.Cognitive, emotional and other forms of diversity, have been repeatedly shown to improve workplace financial profits, growth and creativity. It is therefore unproductive and damaging at work to gag political and religious discussion, under the unsupported and tolerated premise that it is emotional, and could result in “riotous” banter. Cognitive diversity and diversity in general, typically increase corporate profit and employee engagement. Twenty First century organizations interested in obtaining tangible financial profit from diversity and inclusion, must invest in promoting healthy diversity initiatives. Restricting opportunity for expression of cognitive diversity by limiting proper expression of diverse ideas, leads to tension, untested assumptions by employees of one another, and stymies creativity and productivity. This is hardly surprising as tense or hostile workplaces have low producing employees. Recruiters that make adverse hiring decisions based on polite political discussions (or reject applicants based on vocalized party affiliation, or vigorous religious disagreements as expressed on LinkedIn or other social media) are suppressing employee/applicant freedom in sharing ideas, and could be exposing themselves and their employers to loss of creativity, employee attrition and even discrimination claims. It is important to note that a hiring manager can reject a job applicant who is a bloviating and disruptive online boor. If such an applicant’s lack of control is evidenced in political/religious outbursts, name calling and general brutish communication— there is ample justification and legal protection for rejecting such a job applicant. There is a bright orange line that differentiates barbaric hysteria, from polite and civil intellectual disagreement, and courteous discussion of religious and/or political issues. To enable your organization promote cognitive, emotional and other diversity— and inclusivity, healthy expression of ideas— and to avoid abridging employee rights to Free Expression without good reason, the following best practices are beneficial: Do not provide any cover for employees who use invective, abuse and other animal like conduct in political and religious discussions. These unwarranted outbursts affect the sharing of ideas in a healthy manner, and could quell a healthy debate of ideas in a creative environment. Consistently train all employees on the benefits of inclusivity and diversity. Remember not to use outdated training material which do not fully cover the girth of 21st century diversity. Diversity training should always include the consequences of acting against employees who express their religious or political beliefs in a civil manner. Conduct regular tests on implicit and explicit bias for all employees, with more frequency for hiring managers and recruiters. Implicit and Explicit bias tests are necessary safeguards for sustaining the benefits of cognitive, gender, racial and other forms of inclusivity within organizations. Guidelines should be provided to all employees on how to manage and overcome biases. Learn more about implicit bias by clicking HERE. Employees who show minimal impulse control when issues or religion and/or politics are discussed should be supported with employee relations coaching and other 21st century tools. Such employees that lack impulse control could have larger emotional or other related problems, problems that are less obvious, but still damaging and could be harming your organization and other employees. Diversity and inclusivity according to extensive, muscular and continued research, increase workplace engagement and profits. Political and Religious differences are components of cognitive,emotional and broad diversity and inclusivity, and should be encouraged and effectively managed. Meaningful discussions of political and religious issues, advance part of a needed cognitive and intellectual exchange which enhance a healthy and knowledge based, successful workplace. Despite the much touted divisions and hysteria fanned by the media, politicians and religious extremists— understanding differences in opinions, culture and behaviors enrich our minds, encourage creativity and enhance a healthy work environment. Politics and religion are part of a cognitive exchange of ideas in the new global workplace—a workplace in which knowledge and creativity of employees, provide needed competitive advantages and bolster organizational financial profit. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it”— Aristotle I wish you well. ****The Society For Employee Relations (SFER), a successful non-profit organization, offers a free course to members and non-members on conducting Respectful discourse at work. The free course includes how to conduct successful political and religious discussions to promote cognitive diversity. For more information contact us at info@societyforemployeerelations.com