Effectively Managing Diversity In The Workplace: 7 Tips For Managers

Diversity in the workplace is a concept that’s been thrown around a lot lately, but what does it really mean? What are the benefits of having a diverse workforce? How can managers effectively manage diversity at workplace? To help you get started, we’ve put together 7 proven tips to practice. But first, we will help you understand the concept and its benefits in detail.

What is Diversity in the workplace?

An organization that intentionally employs a workforce comprised of individuals with a range of characteristics, such as gender, religion, race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, education, and other attributes, is referred to as diversity in the workplace.

Adults, ethnicity, culture, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and capabilities are the primary dimensions of diversity. Secondary factors include socio-economic status, education, religion, geographical affiliations, and marital status. According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Diversity is a term that refers to those various qualities that make people different from one another. These differences can include racial and ethnic heritage, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status.

There are many benefits of diversity in the workplace including improved communication and problem-solving skills among co-workers. It also leads to creativity and innovation as employees are more likely to think outside the box when working with others who are different.

Issues in managing Diversity

However, not all diversity is welcomed and some employees may feel uncomfortable or alienated in a diverse workplace. This can lead to decreased productivity and morale as well as higher levels of stress. For example, a mining corporation or beauty cosmetics industry cannot have much gender diversity at their end.

Hiring diverse genders for working in such gender-specific areas may lead to unfairness for one gender or the other. Similarly, Gen-Z employees will be more efficient in handling tasks like social media management over millennials or Gen-X, so if employers will be hiring millennials or Gen-X for those roles, they will definitely uncomfortable or alienated. Therefore companies should be very careful while hiring diverse employees. They should make sure that it’s fine if the employee will bring cultural diversity into the organization but he/she should still be hired just if they are fit for the job in order to ensure an inclusive workplace.

At the workplace, all these different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs may lead to clashing opinions or different ways of doing things. This diversity is often a source of friction in the workplace. A culture that brings together all types of people can bring out the best in everyone, is what Diversity Inclusion is all about. But some people just don’t fit into such a scenario. They may believe that working for an organization with diverse employees means compromising their own identity and individuality.

To ensure a positive experience for all employees, managers need to understand the benefits of managing diversity. They also need to understand how to best cultivate it within their workplace. This blog will further give 7 tips for all managers to effectively manage Diversity at work. 

Benefits of managing Diversity in the Workplace 

Diversity management benefits associates by creating a fair and safe environment where everyone has access to opportunities and challenges. Respecting individual differences will benefit the workplace by providing a competitive edge and increasing work productivity. Diversity brings new ideas and experiences, and people can learn from one another, which leads to better problem-solving. Working in diverse teams opens up the dialogue and promotes creativity. 

This diversity of talent allows employees to have a wider range of skills. It also brings a diversity of experiences and perspectives. A diverse workforce is more likely to better understand your customers’ needs and come up with ideas to address them.

A diverse and inclusive workplace has been shown to have a number of benefits. These include Higher employee productivity, Increased revenues, and better connection to customers. Some of the financial benefits include higher retention levels as workers in a diverse work environment prefer to be employed by multinationals that possess diverse resources which can help them maintain their social networks outside the workplace. 

There are many more benefits of Managing workplace diversity. To claim those benefits, Managers should be aware of how to effectively manage diversity in the workplace. This blog will further provide you with 7 tips on how to effectively manage diversity in the workplace.

Tips for effectively managing Diversity in the workplace 

1. Fully understand diversity in the workplace and appreciate the value of different perspectives.

Diversity in the workplace ensures a wide range of different perspectives. Managers should understand the meaning of diversity and appreciate that all perspectives are valuable. Furthermore, managers need to be aware of their own biases. This will help them to avoid unconscious discrimination against employees because they do not share a certain perspective. 

Here are a few of the benefits of seeking diverse perspectives: Diversity IS creativity, and the more wide-ranging the perspectives, the more opportunity for new ideas. Diverse perspectives can keep groups honest. Diverse Perspectives’ goal is to gain a better understanding of the interrelationships between multiple perspectives such as personal, social, cultural, disciplinary, environmental, gendered, economic, local, and global. So, by appreciating and welcoming different perspectives, managers can effectively make their organization’s culture even stronger.

2. Create a safe environment where individuals can be themselves.

Diverse employees have skills that are different from their colleagues in terms of knowledge and experience. Although that does not mean that they should feel unwelcome when sharing a different point of view or introverted rather than being outspoken about some issues.

Diversity in the workplace entails the acceptance and inclusion of employees of all professions. A diverse workplace is an important asset because it recognizes each employee’s individual strengths and potential. The key to dealing successfully with diversity is to communicate openly and with respect to others in a diverse workplace. We should be able to tell each other when something bothers us without overreacting.

Employers should ensure that diversity is valued as employees’ values, communication styles and expectations will differ from those who hold similar experiences or share the same gender. The workplace environment must therefore be structured in a manner where individuals can feel comfortable being themselves. They are not only there to earn money but share knowledge about their personal experience so others could benefit from it with respect & dignity.

3. Show appreciation for contributions made by individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Acknowledging individual contributions makes everyone feel appreciated and supported, which allows people from diverse backgrounds to feel comfortable expressing themselves openly and contributing their best at work. The lack of acknowledgment may cause anxiety and issues among individuals from diverse backgrounds. That can cause distress in the work environment because they will then feel uncomfortable working around their colleagues.

Employees should then provide informative training seminars with various topics to different employee groups, examples being sex differences or gender identity. Employees will be equipped better at co-existing together harmoniously in a multicultural environment that employers created where people are judged by individual contributions, not looks.

4. Seek input from employees on ways to better reflect and celebrate cultural differences, particularly at worksite events or celebrations.

Whether an event is organized by employers or not, Diversity And Inclusion can be incorporated into company activities so that celebrations are held at times and levels of cultural sensitivity. Such events will help keep harmony in the workplace environment since workers from diverse backgrounds such as different ethnicities and nationalities may appreciate more positive interactions with colleagues who have different backgrounds, values, and beliefs than them. Such events will provide universal employee experiences with other colleagues and relationships, which hospitals seek to establish in their delivery of care.

Cultural celebrations encourage respect and open-mindedness for other cultures, as well as the celebration of our differences and common interests. They help us unite and educate ourselves. The HR team Should know by taking inputs from employees about how to plan events to celebrate with festive activities, so employees can benefit from the most diverse and accepting workplaces.

5. Promote a welcoming environment for all employees, regardless of background or ethnicity/race/nationality.

Employees from diverse backgrounds should not feel isolated or detached in their workplaces. All employees should be encouraged to become part of various and varying networks such as the schools, private organizations, and businesses they participate with regularly. Companies that recognize diversity within their workforce promote an inclusive climate. In that climate, all employees work together optimally and achieve equality at every level. Recognizing differences can be crucial to ensuring a productive workplace culture. 

Individuals belonging to a particular nation will bring their own set of cultural values. That will impact on work efficiency and communication. Companies can reinforce this by ensuring that all employees feel welcome and valued for who they are as well as what they contribute towards the success of its projects domestically or internationally. This recognition is particularly important when intersecting with international countries; especially in today’s world where citizens from diverse backgrounds make up more than 50% of the world’s population.

Conversely to this, companies should encourage workplace diversity of other ethnicities as well; allowing all employees extra opportunities for networking or building bonds within their different communities. HR teams can make a significant impact on employee engagement by providing inclusive and meaningful programs. These programs should promote interactions between cultures and personal growth in cultural identity through social activities throughout each year.

6. Make sure that policies and procedures relating to diversity in the workplace are in place to identify types of discrimination and harassment

Policies should be including discrimination against people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Many small and medium-sized businesses are poorly prepared to respond appropriately when they encounter workplace harassment or discrimination. Many studies show that employees who experience such activities are more likely to leave their organizations. It is recommended that any written, electronic or verbal communication about an employee’s race, ethnicity, national origin. Sexual orientation or gender identity be recorded through the use of a nickname or made anonymous in order to reduce possible retaliation.

To prevent discrimination and harassment they should train their staff on how to address such incidents in relation to complaints against management. Diversity initiatives should be taken throughout hiring processes that attract applicants from different ethnic backgrounds. Also, the organization should explicitly define what constitutes discrimination and harassment.

Policies should clearly communicate the organization’s expectations in relation to these kinds of behaviors. Examples of acceptable conduct must be introduced such as if a person is rude or offensive with women they do have the right to present any explanation or If a waitress spills food on your clothes, you are not expected to pay for it.

It should be made clear that they do not have the right to act like what happened is your fault. They are not allowed to taunt you, it doesn’t matter how small or insignificant something may appear. when one of their employees acts in this way it can make a lot of other people feel uncomfortable by staying quiet and waiting for management. If an employee makes another individual uncomfortable there must be action taken instead of just ignoring them on purpose keeping them away from the rest of their coworkers.

7. Invest in employee training and development to help individuals understand their rights and responsibilities related to diversity at workplace.

Management should provide a diversity policy for employees including information about the organization’s record on discrimination and harassment. Management must also have clear goals, timelines, and targets to address these issues at work. This makes it very impactful so that equal opportunity is achieved amongst their workforce. They may also choose to host workshops on various topics that arise during different times when they are needed and there is a big demand in their workplace.

They must have an annual review of their diversity program including the company’s progress towards its goals, targets, and strategies. That way the effectiveness of this can be seen each year by all employees. If it does take place, morale will improve amongst those involved and everyone will feel more valued in a sense because these programs are well-publicized so, more people will take notice of them and it will become something that helps.

Management must also provide instruction on cultural competency training with the entire organization. That way everyone can understand their roles in these programs too which means all levels are included i.e., front-line supervisors, CEOs, and personnel managers. These things need to be done for greater results in managing diversity at work. They may also include mandatory anti-discrimination training as part of all employees’ initial orientation.

The legal requirement varies depending on whether or not the organization has an Equal Employment Opportunity policy as well as several other workplace policies which would include; anti-harassment and discrimination, employee handbook, online bystander training course, sexual harassment prevention workshops, etc. In general, organizations have personnel handbooks that state what is expected of each member. It also states how to best serve their company in order to gain a better position in workplace diversity.

Conclusion

Diversity is the key to success. It helps a team to be more creative and productive. Managers should manage diversity in the workplace to bring in a healthy environment where everyone can work as an individual with different thinking. We have shared 7 tips that can help managers effectively manage diversity in the workplace. We hope this blog proves to be helpful for all the readers. stay tuned for more relevant content.

References

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222621903_Dissemination_of_diversity_management_in_Germany
2. https://www.routledge.com/Picturing-the-Social-Landscape-Visual-Methods-and-the-Sociological-Imagination/Knowles-Sweetman/p/book/9780415306409

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