Mandy Mann, CHRP Candidate
Yes, diversity is good for business and can increase bottom-line profitability. At the November 18th Fraser Valley Roundtable, guest speaker, Erica Pinsky discussed just how diversity can make a difference to a company’s profits. Pinsky is the author of Road to Respect: Path to Profit How to Become an Employer of Choice by Building a Respectful Workplace Culture.
As we pick-up from the recession and create new strategies to improve business and weed out inefficiencies, the culture and diversity behind your workforce may be something to think about. Companies are looking to change results and improve performance, and as the old saying goes, “you cannot change your outcomes without changing your inputs . . . same inputs equal same outputs.” Implementing diversity and inclusion practices seems the only natural answer when living in multi-cultural Canada, and with a few helpful pointers, it can be done smoothly and effectively.
A good starting point, as noted by Pinsky, is to shift from assumption to curiosity and companies can start by asking themselves:
1) Is our workplace culture dominated by one group or by the tradition or standards of one group?
2) What messages does our workplace culture send about difference?
3) What kinds of differences exist in our organization? How do those differences affect an individuals’ ability to contribute?
Busting myths that exist within the workforce will help dispel common misunderstandings that impact decision-making and practices within the workforce. Myths affect the decisions we make and impact the discussions we do and do not have with certain employees in our company. One example from Pinksy is the myth that older people are technologically inept may exist within your organization. In fact, people over the age of 50 access the Internet more often than their younger counterparts and women over age 50 are the fastest growing group that access social media and social networking. Another myth is that older people miss more work, but in fact they miss less work than their younger co-workers. Actually, older workers of age 45-55 stay on the job on average twice as long as workers in the 25-40 age group, according to Pinsky’s research. Having discussions to provide a truth to such myths may change the assumptions and decisions individuals make which in turn affects performance, turnover, productivity and ultimately the bottom line.
As noted in Pinsky’s book, “It is myths, which flow from our historical framework of inequality, that in fact prevent those that are ‘different’ from getting a chance to participate and this is a key obstacle to diversity.”
To successfully implement inclusion practices, an established conflict management system is essential. Companies must discuss how to resolve and normalize conflict in respectful ways. Every conflict derives from differences, small or big, and when issues of age, sex, race, sexual orientation are added to the mix, the results can be discerning. It is by acknowledging the diversity in thought and in perspective that we can create a safe place to speak and express differences in a respectful way. It is these steps that are invaluable to implementing diversity in companies.
Strong communication ensures all the parts of a company speak the same language, and it is important to ensure the right conversations take place so that changes simultaneously shape and grow business and culture. Another example from Pinsky is KPMG which initiated the “Dead Moose on the Table” conversation which began with the senior management team and funnelled through the organization and became the cultural norm. Micro-inequalities, differences and myths were discussed and slowly issues were filtered through the organization and now they continue to be part of the culture. Culture is always shifting; thus, carrying out conversations like the Dead Moose on the Table will enable companies and their cultures to be responsive to changes in employee population, demographics and their environment.
Companies will inevitably need to mirror the diversified population of their surroundings to remain competitive and profitable today. To continue to grow their business they will have to look outside borders and it is the diversity within organizations that will enable them to be successful outside to capture new global markets. Moreover, it is this diversity that will improve innovation and decision-making. One of the biggest obstacles to innovation and creativity is group think. To decrease this it is important that teams are diverse; diverse in experience, culture, gender and upbringing. These factors affect the bottom-line and will help companies during this downturn. The world is becoming a global community and having diversity in organizations will make them better global players.
For more information about Road to Respect: Path to Profit , please visit www.ericajpinskyinc.ca.
About the Author:
Mandy Mann, CHRP Candidate, is an HR assistant with City of Abbotsford and is in her first year on the BC HRMA Fraser Valley Advisory Council.