MARKETING AFRICA MAL 18/17 mal 18:17 online | Page 86

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Training is essential in
institutionalizing diversity in the
organization.
A Diversity Council can be an
effective culture change agent, if
structured and staffed
appropriately.
Accountability for managing
diversity is a shared
responsibility, with expectations
to be met.
Measuring and celebrating the
measures of organizational
success.
Benefits of Workplace Diversity
An organization’s success and
competitiveness depends upon
its ability to embrace diversity
and realize the benefits. When
organizations actively assess their
handling of workplace diversity
issues, develop and implement
diversity plans, multiple benefits
are reported as enumerated here-
under:
Increased adaptability:
Organizations employing a
diverse workforce can supply a
greater variety of solutions to
problems in service, sourcing, and
allocation of resources. Employees
from diverse backgrounds bring
individual talents and experiences
in suggesting ideas that are
flexible in adapting to fluctuating
markets and customer demands.
Broader service range: A
diverse collection of skills and
experiences (e.g. languages, cultural
understanding) allows a company
to provide service to customers on a
global basis.
Variety of viewpoints: A diverse
workforce that feels comfortable
communicating varying points of
view provides a larger pool of ideas
and experiences. The organization
can draw from that pool to meet
business strategy needs and
the needs of customers more
effectively.
84 MAL 18/17 ISSUE
‘‘ There are always
employees who will
refuse to accept the
fact that the social
and cultural makeup
of their workplace is
changing. They want
to stick to the old way
of doing things and
this mentality silences
new ideas and inhibits
progress. ’’
More effective execution:
Companies that encourage diversity
in the workplace inspire all of their
employees to perform to their
highest ability. Company-wide
strategies can then be executed well;
resulting in higher productivity,
profit, and return on investment.
Challenges of Diversity in the
Workplace
Communication: Perceptual,
cultural and language barriers
need to be overcome for diversity
programs to succeed. Ineffective
communication of key objectives
results in confusion, lack of
teamwork, and low morale.
Resistance to change: There are
always employees who will refuse to
accept the fact that the social and
cultural makeup of their workplace
is changing. They want to stick to
the old way of doing things and
this mentality silences new ideas
and inhibits progress.
Implementation of diversity in
the workplace policies: This can
be the overriding challenge to all
diversity advocates. Armed with the
results of employee as sessments and
research data, they must build and
implement a customized strategy to
maximize the effects of diversity in
the workplace for their particular
organization.
Successful Management of
Diversity in the Workplace:
Diversity training alone is not
sufficient for the organization’s
diversity management plan. A
strategy must be created and
implemented to create a culture
of diversity that permeates every
department and function of the
organization.
Steps for Implementing a Culture
of Diversity
Recommended steps that have been
proven successful in world-class
organizations include the ones
listed here-under:
Assessment of diversity in the
workplace: Top companies make
assessing and evaluating their
diversity process an integral part
of their management system. A
customizable employee satisfaction
survey can accomplish this
assessment for the company
efficiently and conveniently. It
can help the management team
determine which challenges and
obstacles to diversity are present in
the workplaces and which policies
need to be added or eliminated.
Re-assessment can then determine
the success of the diversity in the
workplace plan implementation.
Development of diversity in
the workplace plan: Choosing
a survey provider that provides
comprehensive reporting is a key
decision. That report will be the
beginning structure of diversity
in the workplace plan. The plan
must be comprehensive, attainable
and measurable. An organization
must decide what changes need to
be made and a timeline for that
change to be attained.
Implementation of diversity in