Effective Methods For Managing Diversity In The Workplace

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If you have noticed a marked change in the makeup of your workforce, you are not alone. Research shows that the U.S. is rapidly trending toward a dramatic demographic shift away from one single majority group.

The workplace reflects this diverse population growth and social shift throughout the country. Fortunately, many employers are devoted to ensuring that every voice is heard, every accomplishment is acknowledged, and every need is met to guarantee success for all employees and your business.

Employers Strive to Find Effective Diversity Management Strategies

The stakes are high when it comes to managing workplace diversity and inclusion. Employers must ensure that all employees enjoy a safe, open and friendly workplace, complying with legal, social and ethical standards; some official and some based on principles and basic consideration.

In this relatively new territory, you might need some assistance to ensure that you are managing cultural diversity in the workplace in a way that works for all your employees. It is also vital to find, adopt and implement methods that you and your team can sustain with ease, comfort and respect, while complying with official regulations and policies.

3 Approaches to Managing Diversity in the Workplace

As a dutiful and caring employer, you are probably searching for the best ways to ensure that you and your executives are managing employee behavior toward diversity in your organization.

Fortunately, there are several methods for managing diversity in the workplace. Here are three ideas to get you started.

1. Provide DEI Education for Executives, HR, Managers and Employees

As the workforce population has become increasingly diverse, many organizations have made great strides in creating, enhancing and streamlining diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. Still, most organizations and staff could use deeper insights. What’s more, some organizations are only now starting to create designated DEI programs to guarantee employee satisfaction and legal compliance. In either case, ongoing awareness with professionals — such as the CoachDiversity Institute team — could help make your DEI program easier to implement.

The cornerstone of all DEI education focuses on providing employees with positive ways to interact respectfully with co-workers, regardless of their:

  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Race
  • Age
  • Religion
  • Sexual orientation
  • Physical traits
  • Socioeconomic status
  • Mental ability

As your managers and employees learn more about the value of DEI, you should note a decrease in reports or instances of biases and prejudices in your workplace.

2. Hire With Diversity In Mind

One of the best times to focus on diversity within your organization is during the hiring process. It is just as important to hire diversity-minded employees as it is to hire diverse employees. You and each team member you bring on board need to approach workplace diversity with an open mind, embracing all the differences that each staff member adds to the corporate environment.

At CoachDiversity, we help our clients overcome bias in the assessment and interviewing process by working together to develop a diverse interview panel. With this team in place, the candidate selection process can ideally remain free from biases and prejudices at every step.

Here are some things you can do to remove prejudices and biases during the hiring process:

  • Adjust the language in job descriptions away from words that are more masculine, such as “competitive” and “determined,” to those that are neutral and inclusive, such as “cooperative” and “collaborative.”
  • Use software to “blind” the resume process, removing demographic data that could spur unconscious biases and prejudices.
  • Provide work sample tests to determine future job performance based solely on the candidate’s existing abilities and potential for success.
  • Ensure that interviews are standardized, focusing on factors that determine the candidate’s success in your organization.

3. Create Policies and Practices That Support Your DEI Efforts

Just as your employee manual lays out general conduct as a term of employment and your technology policies ensure proper usage of your company’s various technological assets, your DEI policies and practices should set standards for conduct within a diverse organization.

Here are some essential considerations for developing your policies that are inclusive of everyone and do not favor some employees while discriminating against others:

  • Consider the impact that your practices and policies might have on the diverse segment of workers — good, bad or otherwise.
  • Gather feedback and find out your employees’ understanding of your company’s written and unwritten rules to continually ensure inclusion.
  • Gauge your management team’s willingness to make changes in order to overcome any remaining barriers perceived by diverse staff members.

Develop a Strategy That Ensures Inclusion

At CoachDiversity Institute, our team of professional coaches is here to help your organization develop a strategy that makes diversity and inclusion a natural practice in your workplace. We use DEI as a framework to help everyone see the value of a diverse workforce, and we strive to foster a warm, inviting, supportive, productive and profitable workplace for all.

Contact us today if you would like to learn more about our methods to help you bring diversity and inclusion to the forefront in your company.