Diversity management: the importance of cultural diversity

In the workplace, Diversity Management is a type of management that aims to prioritize the strengths and unique characteristics of each individual so as to generate a situation of open dialogue and balance within the company. Diversity Management is based on a set of policies that aim to bring diversity to the forefront in the corporate environment, such as:

• Gender;
• Cultural differences;
• Sexual orientation;
• Religious orientation;
• Political orientation;
• Age;
• Disability (physical or mental).

Today Appvizer will show you the benefits of Diversity Management and how to apply it within your company. You will need, in fact, to choose a specialized team that will be in charge of implementing all the policies of occupational psychology.

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Diversity Management: definition

Diversity management is a type of management that includes all those practices and policies that aim to respect all diversity within the company, taking into consideration different lifestyles and showing attention to the needs of each employee.

Diversity management is based on the concept that each person has specific character traits that make him or her unique, both in the sphere of human relations and in the work and professional sphere.

The need to introduce diversity management is not only due to an ethical discourse, but it has been ascertained that the company's productivity can benefit from a high cultural diversity environment, not only financially but also in terms of innovation and image.

In order to put diversity management policies into practice, the diversity management figure is charged with promoting and encouraging corporate integration, seeking to overcome barriers of all kinds.

Benefits of Diversity Management

The benefits of Diversity Management are undeniable, as numerous case studies published each year prove. The gender, age and cultural differences present in top management exponentially increase the opportunities to generate above-average profit. Ethnic and cultural diversity also guarantees better results in terms of business performance.

As we have said, not only the financial sphere benefits from diversity management policies. In fact, integration and inclusiveness are key pillars in building a company's image and reputation for customers, investors, and possible new employees.

Even at the work level, employees who are in a multicultural environment that is open to inclusion and diversity will be able to feel more comfortable, working to the best of their abilities. A calm and tension-free climate that aims to prioritize differences instead of eliminating them makes for a more stimulating and productive environment that is highly beneficial in terms of corporate reputation.

The employer brand research 2020.

The issue of inclusion is increasingly important, as employer brand research demonstrates.

The employer brand research 2020 is a study conducted on a sample of 185 thousand respondents, from 33 countries around the world. The question behind the analysis is this: what are the factors involved in choosing a company?

One of the main reasons is precisely diversity and inclusion, along with the company's reputation.

This scale of values is well established in Generation Z: 23% of respondents from this generation say they would like to work in a company that puts diversity and inclusion first. For 17% of millennials, this scale of values is also confirmed.

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How to introduce diversity management in the company

Studies on diversity management have shown that affirmative actions are not part of a broader diversity and inclusion policy. Rather, they are isolated interventions by human resources that do not have an overall effect on all departments of the company and professional sphere.

In the early days, the method most often used was creative recruitment, which allowed for the inclusion of talent in the corporate mosaic that was different from the normal personnel selection framework. However, staff turnover remained high and minorities were unable to gain access to the most coveted positions in the corporate hierarchies. And those who had been hired through affirmative action were seen as underqualified in the workplace.

For this reason, diversity management aims to intervene in several areas of corporate responsibility, namely:

• recruitment,
• the compensation system,
• training plans,
• internal services,
• corporate communication,
• the work environment.

First, the company must examine whether and in what position a minority can be included, thus defining an overall strategy for the company. Then, through a SWOT analysis, it must analyze the minority's ability to accommodate. Following the introduction of certain minorities, there may be a moment of tension that should be managed as intelligently as possible. Finally, if the company accepts the introduction of minorities, it is revealed to be ready for change to a more open and inclusive environment.

The diversity manager is responsible for managing the whole procedure: he will, in fact, have to integrate diversity management policies within the company's modus operandi. His decisions will have to be accepted in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect.

Each diversity management strategy is different from the others because they are created and contextualized according to the type of company.

For many companies, trainings on diversity policy awareness issues are a key link in the change process. In addition, companies have also implemented company policies that aim to humanize the work environment and experience of their employees. Among these policies, we find anti-bullying and workplace safety policies, and the ability to work from home. All these ways of improving the corporate environment are recorded to analyze the progress made with a view to a corporate equity project.

Step 1: Create a coordinating committee on diversity.

Top management is tasked with creating a team of people with different backgrounds in order to have a more diverse range of opinions. Obviously, the flip side of the coin will be an increase in conflict as cultural, linguistic, character, economic, and professional differences will lead to proposals that are likely to be at odds.

Step 2: Predict possible future scenarios

In collaboration with top management, key investors, and heads of various company departments, the committee should engage in a workshop in which all possible future scenarios are considered.

Step 3: Establish your vision and strategy.

Once the future scenario to be adopted has been defined, a collective vision and strategy for the company to adopt must be established. At this stage, top management and stakeholders are primarily concerned.

One must move on to analyze the strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities that the chosen scenario presents for the company.

Once this SWOT analysis has been performed, the committee must decide on the company's strategy, taking care to properly apply diversity management.

In order to arrive at developing a proper diversity management strategy, the company should be aware of the current situation regarding diversity and inclusion. For this reason, it is advisable to perform a diversity audit.

Step 4: Diversity Audit

The diversity audit will help you measure the current degree of inclusion and diversity in your company. At this stage, it will be helpful to ask yourself questions such as:

• What is the attitude of top management and employees toward diversity and inclusion?
• What is the corporate culture applied to current in your company?
• How "inclusive" are your company's processes and structures?

The diversity audit is routinely conducted through personal interviews with all company personnel. The result should be analyzed by the committee in order to decide on the most appropriate strategies to adopt.

Step 5: Set corporate goals

Top management and the committee are responsible for outlining the overall goals of the company if the proper application of diversity management is to be achieved as a result. The goals must be with the strategy decided in Step 4 and must ensure the proper implementation and participation of all departments. Obviously, each department will be able to customize the goals according to its own situation, specifying clear and quantifiable criteria in order to be able to accomplish the set goals.

Step 6: Implementation of Diversity Management Policies.

As diversity management policies are put in place, the committee is responsible for overseeing and guiding the activities of the company's various departments.