The Business Case for Diversity

Transcription

1 The Business Case for Diversity

2 Why are YOU here today?

3 What is Diversity & Inclusion?? Diversity in its broadest context includes all the characteristics that make us unique: race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, ethnic culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, parental status, educational background, intellectual perspective, socioeconomic status, organizational level, etc. Diversity by having it we are able to access all the performance advantages our diversity offers.

4 What is Diversity & Inclusion?? Inclusion the facilitating conditions that integrate diverse perspectives and empower the corresponding diversity of thought into the organization. Inclusion the means by which we leverage our diversity and empower all voices to contribute to the public service mission.

5 The research shows that Equal employment opportunity (EEO) is more than a legal mandate it is a business imperative.

6 Two Cardinal Precepts EEO is foundational to achieving workforce diversity. Inclusion is the key to achieving high organizational performance.

7 What s The Opportunity? A changing workforce - diversity management has become a critical human resource management tool. Private firms argue that diversity management practices increase their competitiveness by attracting key talent.

8 What s The Opportunity? Diversity improves financial performance. Diversity programs on the rise - multifaceted in nature and designed to blend organizational structure with recognition of cultural diversity and representation through training, mentoring and diversity advocacy initiatives.

9 What s The Opportunity? Numerous scholars assert that planning and managing for diversity is key to addressing changes in the demographic make-up of the workforce. Approaches to deal more effectively with cultural diversity in the workplace guidelines for managing diversity - far from being very practical in the public sector.

10 More Observations Changing demographics in the United States, such as the growth in the number of ethnic and racial minorities, increase the importance that local government managers recruit, hire, and retain a more diverse workforce. Increasingly more diverse workforce brings new challenges and exciting opportunities.

11 More Observations Miscommunication due to language differences or cultural misunderstandings as well as organizational factionalism. Accessibility to a wider array of viewpoints and increased tolerance for different work styles.

12 The Business Case for Diversity An exercise

13 The Business Case For Diversity The field of EEO has evolved from an exclusively legalistic model to the more proactive, business-driven framework of diversity management. Resulted from both seismic demographic shifts in our population and burgeoning globalization of the marketplace.

14 The Business Case For Diversity Fierce competition for market share = organizations that must recruit a diverse, culturally competent workforce that reflects the rapidly changing market. Empirical research studies have affirmed that workforce diversity in the private sector is associated with higher productivity and greater financial returns.

15 The Business Case For Diversity Though not driven by market share, the public sector also benefits from the performance advantages that a diverse workforce offers. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that in the year 2043 our Nation will no longer be characterized by a single demographic majority.

16 The Business Case For Diversity Foreign-born individuals and people of color will constitute the majority of our population. To remain relevant, public service agencies must reflect the growing diversity of the communities we serve.

17 Diversity programs a strategic advantage Article - Diversity and Profit: Working the Fundamentals, research illustrates that the more diverse executive management teams are, the greater profits and revenues they generate. (Rebecca Sausner et al. U.S. Banker; Oct. 2008, Vol. 118 Issue 10, p.8)

18 Employee Engagement The concept of employee engagement (EE) in government has gained traction. The employee s sense of purpose that is evident in their display of dedication, persistence, and effort in their work or overall attachment to their organization and its mission. Studies show that employee engagement is a core driver of performance as well as lower rates of turnover, complaints, accidents, and absenteeism.

19 Employee Engagement Engaged public sector employees are: (1) twice as likely to stay in their current jobs, (2) two-and-ahalf times more likely to feel they can make a difference, and (3) three times as likely to report being satisfied in their jobs Drivers of engagement - autonomy, empowerment, recognition, communication, transparency, psychological safety, and trust Inclusion is an essential precursor of employee engagement; before you can engage, you must first include.

20 The Inclusion Imperative The Center for Creative Leadership found that diverse teams are more creative, perform better in problem-solving, and result in better decisionmaking than homogeneous teams. The Diversity Research Network found that gender diversity results in more effective group processes in people-oriented performance environments.

21 The Inclusion Imperative The caveat to these findings was that diversity alone was not sufficient to achieve the performance advantages. Absent the facilitating conditions that integrate diverse perspectives and empower the corresponding diversity of thought into the organization, the aforementioned outcomes were reversed.

22 The Inclusion Imperative Simply put diversity without inclusion will not work. To achieve full inclusion, governments must replace rigid institutional processes that impede optimum participation with the drivers of inclusion fairness (equal opportunity), openness (transparent communications and information sharing), cooperativeness (collaboration), supportiveness (integration of differences), and empowerment (autonomy).

23 Some tips Realize that improvement evolves over time and is not an overnight transformation. Treat diversity the same as any other strategic initiative. Benchmark and share lessons learned. Encourage involvement at all levels.

24 Something to think about Human. Kind.

25 Something to think about Human. Kind. Be Both.

26 Close The Butterfly Effect

27 Thank You!!! JER HR Group LLC S. Swing Rd. Greensboro, NC (336)