Strong diversity management can provide organizations with a competitive advantage in the market. As
global and regional demographics change, the continued growth of an organization may be dependent
on attracting and retaining qualified employees who offer different perspectives and are better able to
understand the diverse backgrounds of the customers, clients, and communities they serve. In order to
attract and retain these highly desired employees, organizations need to work diligently to incorporate
an effective diversity program into the workplace. Below are five strategies to help organizations
develop and leverage their diversity programs.
1. DIVERSITY PROGRAMS MUST BE ALIGNED WITH STRATEGIC PLANS – One of the keys to the
long-term success of a diversity program is to develop a diversity strategy using the same
deliberate goal-setting processes used to formulate traditional business-related goals. What is
the goal of diversity at your organization? How broad is your diversity focus? Strategic plans
around diversity should include quantitative goals along with specific timelines for reaching
benchmarks and measuring progress, all of which provide direction and promote action by
employees. And, having a well-defined strategy will help your business attain its goals, whether
those goals are to provide better service to clients, create a more inclusive workplace culture,
recruit and retain highly-qualified and talented diverse employees, and/or implement programs
which will create a pipeline of talent for the future.
2. CREATE A DIVERSITY COMMITTEE – Employee buy-in is essential to accomplishing the goals of
your diversity program. One way to achieve this buy-in is to create a stand-alone diversity
committee comprised of members representing all facets of your organization’s work force, not
just your top executives, and make sure your organization’s leadership plays a visible role.
Empower the diversity committee to develop a diversity statement which is consistent with your
strategic goals and empower the committee to develop programs to support diversity. Such
programs may include lunch and learns with featured speakers, diversity workshops, mentoring,
community outreach programs and the creation of workplace affinity and employee resource
groups.
3. BECOME INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY – Encourage employees to participate in professional
and civic organizations that promote diversity. Involvement with these organizations not only
provides excellent networking opportunities, it also fosters collaborations that may enhance
access to a larger pool of diverse candidates. Community involvement has the added benefit of
strengthening relationship among employees as they come together to serve groups they are
passionate about. Many organizations in South Carolina exist that recognize the benefits
afforded by a diverse workforce. For example, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the
Greenville Chamber of Commerce and the Riley Institute at Furman University have come
together with a group of businesses in South Carolina to create the Diversity Recruitment Consortium. The DRC works together with businesses to develop innovative programs,
practices, and processes to increase the diversity of professional and executive talent in South
Carolina based organizations.
4. BE DELIBERATE WITH HIRING PRACTICES – Growing a diverse work force doesn’t just happen - it
requires deliberate, intentional conduct. If the pool of qualified applicants you are seeing does
not reflect the diverse demographics of the region or the clients you are serving, you may need
to expand your search beyond traditional hiring sources. For example, in the legal field, a source
for potential candidates is historically black law schools or through regional job fairs, not just
recruiting at traditional venues. Of course, diversity goes beyond gender and race. Does your
candidate have a passion for the arts or music? Does he or she self-identify a particular religious
preference or cultural interest? Many times a candidate won’t accept a job because of
misperceptions about the diversity (of lack of diversity) of the organization or geographical area.
How do you combat those misperceptions? One way is to expose the candidate to a broad
range of personnel in the recruiting process; another is to provide your candidate with access to
information and people who can address any unique issues or concerns he or she may have.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box to “seal the deal.”
5. USE COMPANY INTRANETS – If you have a company intranet, include a diversity page where the
diversity committee can post updates and information about what the organization is doing
from a diversity standpoint, upcoming community events and other relevant programs. At
Gallivan, White & Boyd (GWB), we introduced an initiative called “Sharing Our Story” which
features interviews of different members of the GWB team, highlighting what makes them
unique. As our office has grown from one to three locations, this initiative has provided us with
an opportunity to get to know employees at our other offices who we don’t get a chance to see
very often.
Workforce diversity and inclusion promotes employee productivity, retention, team collaboration and
commitment, all of which ultimately add value to the services provided to clients. In an increasingly
competitive business environment, every advantage is important. A successful diversity program can
give organizations an edge if the program is managed correctly, supported by leadership and employees
at all levels, and aligns with the business strategies of the organization.