Managing the Mosaic - Workforce Diversity

What do we mean by diversity in the thought

process ??????

Let’s find it out with a little magic trick!

1. Select a card mentally.2. Don’t just look at it…concentrate on it!!!...Now memorize and remember your card !!!

• Is your card there ????????

• Is this magic ??? Did we manage to read your mind ????

• Well, the things are not always as they appear and at times you need to see moments, situations and things beyond they appear.

• So what's the magic secret ???

• So did you consider the bigger and more important aspects while selecting your card ?

• This happens when most of us think only of our own objectives and miss the bigger picture…

• Diversity does not lie in gender, age, religion… it actually lies in one’s thought process. So perceiving a wider horizon is the key !!

• Conclusion : Never “hear” a person but “understand” his point of view. It can be even more difficult when the environment is more diverse.

WHAT MAKES US DIVERSIFIED?

Are You a Seer? Hearer? Feeler?

• Diversity is defined as differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and other human differences(Kathy Castania,1996)

• Today, the workforce comprises people who are different and share different attitudes, needs, desires, values and work behaviours (Deluca and McDowell, 1992; Morrison, 1992; Rosen and Lovelace, 1991).

If we could reduce the world's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

THE WHOLE WORLD AS 100 PEOPLE

SOME OF THE FUTURE TRENDS …

DIMENTIONS OF DIVERSITY

Internal Dimensions Of DiversityThe characteristics that everyone is born with and that are visible andeasy to identify

External Dimensions Of DiversityDifferences or characteristics that we acquire, change or discardthroughout our lives and that distinguish us from people who possess a different world view

Organizational Dimensions Of Diversity Which evolve from the position a staff member holds in an organization

Managing diversity means establishing a heterogeneous workforce to perform to its potential in an equitable work environment where no member or group of members has an advantage or a disadvantage (Torres and Bruxelles, 1992).

MANAGING DIVERSITY

WHY DIVERSITY MATTERS?• Diversity matters because multiple studies have linked greater

gender diversity to better financial performance. • Diversity matters because increased diversity can lead to

increased innovation.• Diversity matters because diversity includes diversity of

thought and avoidance of “groupthink.”• Diversity matters because it is linked to increased

productivity, “collective intelligence,” and group’s problem-solving abilities.

• Diversity matters because diversity and inclusion is connected to overall employee satisfaction/engagement.

• Diversity matters because clients are demanding it. • Diversity matters because it allows companies to fully

represent their client base and better connect with different communities of people.

• Diversity matters because companies that don’t take control of making diversity effective internally risk expensive discrimination and harassment lawsuits, lower company morale, and loss of reputation.

• Diversity matters because it has a positive impact on recruitment, retention, and an organization’s ability to get the best people (women and men). Reference: Catalyst Information Center November 2, 2010

HISTORY OF DIVERSITY VALUE CHAIN IN CORPORATES

• Corporates believe that diversity and inclusion are key drivers of creativity, innovation and invention.

• The paradigm in the 1960s and 70s was to establish a workplace free of discrimination, focusing on equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.

• The focus in 80’s was directed to affirmative action by initiating proactive behaviors and actions in making EEO a reality for everyone.

• The era of 90‘s was focusing on work force diversity by creating an inclusive work environment that values all employees.

• The newest or 21st century model for managing diversity lets the organization internalize differences among employees so that it learns and grows because of them. It ensures global diversity by putting differences to work at the market place, work place and community.

FIVE KEY DRIVERS FOR WORKFORCE DIVERSITYThe Need for a New Set of Competencies

Five key trends are driving changes in the diversity and inclusion professional’s role, thus defining a need for new thinking regarding competencies.

•Globalization•Demographic Shifts•Technology•Socio-Political Climate•Legal Environment / Regulation

DIVERSITY INITATIVE: Element of a workforce and diversity plan

THE CONFERENCE BOARD

STAGE ONE: SCAN AND UNDERSTAND

•Leadership statement supporting workforce and diversity strategies•Clients, client services and critical projects identified•Evidence of internal and external scanning for factors impacting the company•Evidence of consultation with different divisions within the agency regarding business priorities, skill requirements, training needs and gaps etc.•Evidence of external consultation•Evidence of links to the agency’s strategic goals•Identification of possible implications for service delivery•Agency specific priorities

Element of Workforce And Diversity Plan

Element of Workforce And Diversity Plan

STAGE TWO: ANALYSE AND INTERPRET

•Evidence of profiling (data about workforce demographics,

•services provided and client demographics)

• Evidence of workforce forecasting and/or modelling (e.g. 5–10 year

workforce projections and workforce scenarios)

•Workforce data improvement initiatives (e.g. data integrity reviews)

•Workforce and service demand/supply analysis and Interpretation

•Gap analysis and interpretation

Element of Workforce And Diversity Plan

STAGE THREE: DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT

•Diversity initiatives integrated in plan (to meet Equal Opportunity policies)

•Communication strategy included to engage all staff and key stakeholders

•Measures of success (which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant,

time-bound [SMART]) for each initiative

•Inclusion of initiatives, timelines, responsibilities

•Evidence of commitment from different divisions within the agency to

implement the initiatives

Element of Workforce And Diversity Plan

STAGE FOUR: MONITOR AND EVALUATE

•Evidence of a reporting and communication strategy for achievements and

updates on the plan

•Monitoring and evaluation component included

•Capacity to review and amend individual strategies and the

•plan as a whole

•Overall monitoring and implementation responsibility for the plan included

OUTCOMES

• Discrimination and Fairness paradigm : Provides equal opportunity but assimilates heterogeneous workers so thoroughly that their potentially diverse perspective are diluted.

Example : Armed forces

• Access and legitimacy paradigm : Matches a diverse workforce to an equally diverse customer group but doesn’t integrate its different underlying work approaches into the rest of the organization.

• Learning and effective paradigm : Attempts to harness the varied perspectives of heterogeneous workforce to benefit the entire organization.

Reference: Thomas, D.A. & Ely, R.J., Making Differences Matter.pp.79-90 . Harvard business review

• According to the resource-based view, a firm can gain a sustained competitive advantage if it takes advantage of its valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable (VRIN) resources (Barney 1991).

• Workforce gender diversity is associated with resources that can provide a firm with a sustained competitive advantage. These resources include market insight, creativity and innovation, and improved problem-solving. Men’s and women’s different experiences (Nkomo & Cox 1996) may provide insights into the different needs of male and female customers. Further, men and women may have different cognitive abilities, such as men’s proficiency in mathematics and women’s proficiency in verbal and interpersonal skills (Hoffman 1965; Maccoby & Jacklin 1974).

• A mix of cognitive abilities in a gender diverse team may enhance the team’s overall creativity and innovation. Moreover, a gender diverse team produces high quality decisions (Rogelberg & Rumery 1996).

http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/

Effective Workforce And Diversity Planning Employs Strategies To:

• Attract A Skilled Workforce

• Retain Valued Employees

• Build Capacity In The Business Sector

• Provide Strategic Leadership

• Meet Regional Needs, And Ensure An Efficient And

Flexible Business Sector.

DIVERSITY INITIATIVE FEATURES

• Leadership Involvement as Agents of Change

• Well-Articulated Diversity Strategy• Partnerships Between Minorities and

Non-Minorities• Supplemental Developmental Structures

for Minorities• Alignment of Management Practices• Accountability Structures

ROLE OF MANAGEMENT

Leadership Involvement as Agents of Change

Consistent and sustained attention and investment from the senior leaders of the organization will have a positive impact on psychological outcomes for employees which will increase the effectiveness of a workforce diversity initiative:•Having leaders who proactively address the power dynamics that hinder progression for racial minorities in the firm •Having leaders who signal the importance of the initiative to the firm•Having leaders who counter resistance that can occur in reaction to the diversity initiative

Defining the Attributes and Processes that Enhance the Effectiveness of Workforce Diversity Initiatives in Knowledge Intensive Firms

CHALLENGES FOR DIVERSITY

• Divergent paths taken to reach the same goal

• Internal resistance to Diversity efforts

• The quota issue• Limited talent pool• Biases in recruitment and

selection• Limited career resources• Negative attitudes and

behaviors in the workplace

A longtime diversity leader, both globally and nationally, IBM shines in its succession planning, mentoring, talent development and efforts to include LGBT people.

• IBM recognized Diversity as a market based issue its about understanding markets which are diversified and multicultural

• IBM establishes a market development organization, They relizaed that diversity was an untapped business resource

• In 1995 IBM created 8 executive led task forces each focused on a different group from the diversity dimensions with the goal of uncovering and understanding the differences among the groups and find ways to appeal to a broader set of employees and customers

• The organization activates counted for more than $300 million in revenue in 2004 compared with 10 million in 1998

• CONSTRUCTIVE DISRUPTION: New approach of calling attention to differences with the hope of learning from them and making improvements to the business and it was a radical departure.

MANAGEMENT SUPPORT• To be eligible for the workforce task group: based on executive rank and

member of the constituency and groups with few representations got exceptions like mid level managers

• The SVP of IBM supported the groups in their tasks• The advantage of having a sponsor not from the same group means that they

will have to learn from their differences. The SVP had to dig deep into the taskforce issues to represent its views to other WMC members

• The groups also got assigned with 2 hr. employees and 1 hr. senior executive for administration support also with support from the child's global workforce diversity organization who was responsible for the program

• The taskforces focused on : communication-staffing-employee benefits-workplace flexibility training and education advertising and market place opportunities and external relations

• The task forces received support from all the organization even each employee by interacting with emails and evaluations and ides.

• They faced skepticism from within the company white and black executives.

http://hbr.org/2004/09/diversity-as-strategy/ar/1

WHAT HAPPENED?• The forces frequently met discussing issues and concluding the main issues• In end of 1995, in 1 December, the management chose this date to send a

message to employees it was the 40th anniversary of Rosa parks refusal to give up her seat in a bus to a white passenger which raised up the modern u.s. civil rights movement. This date indicates the true desire for the radical new approach to diversity

• The findings made it clear that the workforce diversryt was the bridge between the workplace and the marketplace-greater diversity in workplace could help ibm attract a more diverse customer set and it was a major business opportunity

• After two years, they created THE network for diversity between employees.

• EXTERNAL INNTITATIVES: what can IBM do to influence your buying decision? To become a preferred service provider? Found out: they were not positioned well to minority entrepreneurs and females owned business : they changed their sales and marketing strategies to support these segments

• Result: billions of dollars as revenues• Appropriate representation of constitutions in all aspects of companies

marketing

KEYS FOR IMPLEMENTING:

Pillars of change:•Demonstrate leadership support which is a performance indicator for executives •Engage employees as partners•Link diversity goals to business goals:After they did the minority segments entrepreneurs, they focused on other sectors which resulted in billions of dollars•Supplier diversity program

SUPPLIER DIVERSITY•IBM’s supplier-diversity program, which started in 1968•IBM’s first-tier suppliers are required to have supplier-diversity programs, to provide opportunities to suppliers, and to track and report resulting expenditures.  Flowing supplier-diversity-program requirements through the supply chain is the result.•One example: IBM’s Technical Services business council utilizes best-practice techniques for ensuring the flow of supplier-diversity requirements through the supply chain. Additionally, a contractual requirement of Technical Services’ large core suppliers is that 25 percent of their subcontracted spend that supports IBM’s requirements be with diverse-owned suppliers. Mid-sized core suppliers have a 15 percent requirement.

• Sodexo, best known for providing a wide range of integrated services spanning facilities management to food AND service operations, has been recognized by DiversityInc as the

#1 company on their 2013 Top 50 Companies for Diversity List for an unprecedented second time in four years.

• DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti says that Sodexo's top level has almost 30 percent more racial/ethnic diversity and 38 percent more gender diversity than the DiversityInc Top 50 companies.

• Sodexo’s diverse workforce reflects its clients, their customers and the communities it serves, and creates strategic value by bringing a wealth of unique perspectives and experiences to its clients.

http://www.sodexo.com/

DIVERSITY DRIVEN FROM THE TOP

DIVERSITY VALUR BEHAVIOUR CRITERIA

BELIEVES IN • Equal Employment Opportunity Sodexo is committed to affirmative action and pledge its full

support to equal employment opportunities for all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability etc.

• Commitment to Affirmative ActionSodexo is committed to a policy of affirmative action and

facilitates the placement of qualified women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans at all levels of the organization.

All of Sodexo’s affirmative action plans include targeted research, recruitment, upward mobility initiatives, annual goals and timetables for women and minorities.

• Promise of Respect and Fair TreatmentSodexo is committed to the fair treatment of all employees.

They have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination, harassment or retaliation of any kind and Sodexo employees have a variety of ways to report and resolve any of the aforementioned.

• The Office of Employment RightsThe Office of Employment Rights (OER) has been in operationfor nine years. Its central mission is to reinforce Sodexo’s

policies against discrimination, harassment and retaliationin the workplace.

• Supplier diversitySodexo is committed to bringing diverse suppliers including

minority-; women-; disabled-; veteran-; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-owned businesses into our network of suppliers. Currently, Sodexo has more than 1,700 national and regional diverse vendors.

OTHER EFFORTS TO DIVERSIFICATION

SodexoMAGIC, a joint venture between Sodexo and Magic Johnson Enterprises, is dedicated to addressing the specific needs of multicultural communities and improving the quality of life for those served.

•Nana Management Services:NANA Management Services (NMS) is a joint venture between Sodexo and NANA Development Corporation. NMS is nationally certified as a minority business enterprise and, for the past four years, has been recognized by Diversity Business.com as “Top 50 Diversity Owned Businesses in Alaska: #1”

Partnership with GLSENSodexo partners with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education

Network (GLSEN) in the fight against bullying in K-12 schools won the Educator of the Year award.

This honor is awarded to an educator who has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to GLSEN’s mission of ensuring safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

SO HOW IS DIVERSITY MEASURED ??

• Sodexo uses “Diversity Scorecard” which is a strategic management tool that measures company’s progress in increasing diversity and inclusion within management.

• It allows to direct attention to key focus areas; 2 tiers Senior Leaders and Managers.

• It has indexes which are designed yearly to workforce diversity for internal and external labor force availability.

• Also measures diversity progress quarter-by-quarter as well as year-over-year .

Accenture plc is a multinational management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland which employs over 275,000 employee people across 56 countries.

Reference: www.accenture.com

Accenture and Diversity

Accenture enjoys an authentically diverse culture. Its workforce spans countries, cultures, languages, generations, perspectives, backgrounds and educational experiences.

•36% of workforce—more than 90,000 people—are women•In fiscal 2012, 40% of new hires were women.•17% of managing directors and 17% of Global Management Committee are women. •Three women serve on Board of Directors.•In fiscal 2012, directed USD $521 million—nearly 27%—of US procurement spending to small and minority-, women- and other diversity group-owned businesses.•During fiscal 2012 (ended August 31, 2012), directed nearly to 27 percent of its procurement spending in the United States to diverse businesses.Reference: www.accenture.com

Diversity Programs• Accenture in France offers a helpline, “Accent Sur Le Handicap,” that any

Accenture employee can call—anonymously and at no charge—for information and advice on disability-related topics.

• Accenture in India host webinars and workshops featuring motivational speakers and training on how to support the needs of PwD.

• Through our procurement practices, we track and encourage purchases with diverse suppliers.

• developed a number of networks designed to help attract talent that has been traditionally underrepresented, for example, the Afro-Caribbean Network, South-East Asian Network, and Chinese Network.

• Provide same-sex domestic partners with accompanied cross-border assignment benefits and a global medical plan for long-term assignments and some transfers.

• Each new employee receives an inclusion and diversity induction as part of their welcome to the company.

• There is also a week long ‘‘inclusion and diversity’’ campaign called ‘‘ID Week’’.

Reference: www.accenture.com

Key Challenges

• A Changing culture :

Accenture has a chief leadership officer who reports directly to the chairman and CEO, and senior figures all give their full support, making the acceptance of the program unavoidable.

• Changing the perception that diversity was ‘‘non-critical’’:

Accenture reward employees who give their time to support diversity initiatives.

• Gaining and sustaining momentum;

Accenture claim the key to this success has been the promotion of the campaign both internally and externally, and that using employees as ambassadors has encouraged involvement from other business areas.

Reference: Amla, I. (2008), ‘‘Managing and sustaining a world of workplace diversity: the Accenture experience’’

Awards and Recognitions

Reference: Amla, I. (2008), ‘‘Managing and sustaining a world of workplace diversity: the Accenture experience’’

AND AND SOME OF SOME OF THEM THEM FAIL…FAIL…

Companies who were of the diversity leaders list, started declining in position until they are pulled out of the list of diversified companies…

• Company 1 : The main reason for the decline: a change in CEO resulting in reduced efforts/accountability.

• Because the CDO did not track participation in employee-resource groups or have metrics for mentoring and supplier diversity, there was no way to assess what was working and what was not—and what ramifications it was having on the bottom line. The chief diversity officer did not have frequent access to the CEO or to his direct reports, reporting in two levels down to the head of HR. The CDO was viewed strictly as a staff person whose business advice was not considered.

• The Results: As other companies innovated and added diversity-management practices (and the DiversityInc Top 50 changed to reflect the importance of these new practices), this company actually dropped best practices. The CEO no longer met with employee-resource groups or signed off on supplier-diversity goals. Alternative career tracks for employees with long-term family concerns weren’t offered. Management participation in formal, cross-cultural mentoring declined dramatically.

http://www.diversityinc.com/

• Company 2: decided to eliminate any compensation pay related to diversity because its leaders believed progress would happen intrinsically. A new CEO decided not to continue monitoring or signing off on executive accountability. At the same time, the company eliminated mandatory diversity training for its workforce, determining it was no longer necessary. Its leaders used the phrase “Diversity is in our DNA.”

• The Results: Representation percentages in the workforce, new hires and management of Blacks and Asians have fallen dramatically, at a time when competitors, especially in this industry, have seen significant increases. The company is committed to using its employee-resource groups as a means of reaching multicultural customers, but their participation numbers also are declining.

http://www.diversityinc.com/

• Company 3: this company’s CEO determined that diversity was a goal that had already been accomplished and an enhanced effort wasn’t necessary, despite the presence of increased competition.

• The Situation: This company’s lack of diverse representation at its senior levels didn’t have a major impact five years ago because the other companies faced a similar lack of diversity. But as other progressive companies instituted strong efforts to develop diversity rapidly in their succession planning, this company did not and felt it wasn’t necessary. The company also failed to keep pace with its competitors, which increasingly rely on employee-resource groups as both sources for talent development and to identify gaps in the corporate culture that need addressing.

• The Results: Leadership at the top of the organization remains all white and 90 percent men, while other companies on the list have made significant inroads. The 2010 DiversityInc Top 50 average 14 percent Blacks, Latinos and Asians and 24 percent women at the top level—and those percentages increase each year and at a higher rate than companies not on the list.

• This company has seen its percentage of employees participating in employee-resource groups cut in half (from 10 percent to 5 percent) while the DiversityInc Top 50 average has increased from 16 percent to 24 percent in the last year alone (and was 5 percent five years ago).

http://www.diversityinc.com/

Recommendations• Without constant attention, progress stalls—and can dissolve.• Diversifying the diversity office : Don’t restrict leadership and involvement to

women and minorities. Create rotational tracks in roles that include employees of all backgrounds, including white males.

• Acknowledge your own blind spots: Studies show that people make approximately 11 judgments within the first seven seconds of meeting someone new. Examine and neutralize any unconscious bias that may underlie your own decision-making process.

• Start the dialogue: Demonstrate that diversity and an environment of inclusion are important by initiating conversations. Often, leaders wait for others to bring up those subjects, even in the form of complaints. The more open and authentic the dialogues that take place, the easier it becomes to promote change.

• Search for behaviors of exclusion: Whether exhibited by yourself or others, many exclusionary behaviors are unintentional—or even well-intentioned, such as assuming a working mother would refuse a weekend travel assignment. Constantly seek out and eliminate such behaviors.

• Create an environment of advantages: Small, unintentional inequalities can become pervasive in a culture. A culture of inclusion fosters an environment of small advantages—such as candid feedback, special assignments, and invitations to contribute at meetings—that are available to all. Keep a record of those who are given such advantages and the impact that it has. Make a conscious effort to include everyone on your team.

• Be a visible champion of cultural dexterity: Show your commitment by what you say and do. Broaden your perspective by becoming involved with people and groups outside your normal personal and professional social circles.

CONCLUSION• Analyzing the aspects of Diversity and studying case studies, we can conclude

that profits gained from diversity management reflect in gains in productivity, creativity, innovation and employee welfare. Although implementing diversity management on a large scale and along all the groups, departments, levels and areas of business is the most crucial factor.

• The management needs to understand that diversity is no longer limited to race and gender but can affect individuals on basis of color, education, skill, sexual orientation etc. They need to ensure trainings, seminars and performance appraisals cover and include aspects of Diversity.

• In today's world of globalization with increasing markets, employees need to hire people with demanding and specific skills to serve and deal customers from all over the globe. As a result conglomerates are now aiming for diversity not because of moral interests but from economic strategy.