Diversity Strategies

Diversity Strategy

One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is sending employees to diversity training.

That's right! Training that is not integrated with the business priorities, the marketing strategic plan and the culture of the organization can be a waste of time.

Organizations need to develop customized diversity strategies that reflect the mission of the organization, the challenges of the industry and the needs of the workforce or the customers.  Identifying and prioritizing specific activities, programs and policies are necessary for maximizing diversity.

Identify and plan for Eight Essential Elements of an Effective Diversity Strategy.  They are:

Expectations and Desired Outcomes

Executive Commitment

Employee Leadership

Environmental Assessment

Education and Outreach

External Stakeholders

Evaluation and Metrics

Explanations and Reference Materials

Anyone who has ever attempted to conduct diversity training in organizations of any size, has encountered such a "review." No matter how good the material, how engaging the exercises, how skilled the group process techniques, there is one obstacle even the most experienced and skilled facilitator cannot overcome... the unexamined negative reactions to the message.

All an organization requires to become jittery about a diversity intervention is to see a few bad evaluations, or listen to a few apocryphal stories, and diversity training becomes the nucleus of all things negative with a half life lasting sometimes several years. Often, the resolution is to avoid confronting anything which smacks of diversity, or at least to insure the next facilitator does nothing to disturb the fragile dispositions of future trainees.

There seems to be a kind of mass collusion which militates against attempts to teach value and respect for people's differences. The coconspirators include:

Inherited Social Systems which unfairly advantage some, and limit others;

Individuals who are reluctant to explore diversity issues;

Organizations who are unclear about diversity goals, and, truth be told,

Diversity Professionals who have not prepared clients to engage in a process capable of achieving significant and abiding outcomes.

A few thoughts about each in hopes of expanding the access to diversity issues:

1. Society is replete with examples of inequitable systems designed to advantage those powerful enough to sustain the illusion of their own preeminence, while restricting the advancement of those held in far less esteem. The challenge is to get people to choose responsibility over guilt, to seek healing over shame, and to engage in a process capable of producing cooperation instead of conflict.

The previously unchallenged success of unfair systems drives the need for diversity work in the first place. One would think the unprincipled advance of inequitable systems, once brought to light, would be ample motivation to refuse to be complicit with them any longer. However, the greatest stumbling block in diversity work is getting people to first acknowledge inordinate system privileges, and then persuading them to give them up.

When confronted with their own complicity in refusing to challenge flagrant systemic inequities, many counter with the rejoinder that people need to "forget about being victims," and get on with their lives. In so doing, they perpetuate the greatest deception of all: claiming to be the only "true victims" in a world trying to promote respect for diversity. Is it any wonder that when asked to confront such inaccuracies, some would choose to dismiss the matter as a "waste of time?"

2. Individuals who regard diversity work as waste of time represent a point of view which, while understandable at some level, is in no way aligned with an organization desirous of becoming distinguished in an increasingly diverse world. The question which should be asked in return is: What does it say about individuals who, when exposed to ideas which propose fairness ... inclusion ... and the creation of new systems to replace biased and unfair ones ... can only manage the response that "it was a waste of time?" Further, what does it say about the character of an organization that would allow such responses to derail further exploration of these critical issues?

The above description does not begin to encompass the breadth of resistance encountered in the field of diversity. One of the more subtle, but no less devastating, forms appears in significant numbers of people who feel they already understand and support diversity. While it is important to acknowledge and cultivate their good will, it is also necessary to expand their developing awareness of diversity issues. They need to learn that it is erroneous to assess diversity issues in a vacuum, using only their personal feelings, assumptions, and experiences as their guide. Further, they must come to understand that good intentions, while noble, do little to dismantle repressive systems already in place. Lastly, they must arrive at an understanding that the only report card that matters is the one generated by people other than themselves.

3. Organizations must be clear about what they are committed to accomplish before launching a diversity program. While this may seem abundantly clear, it is often the case that they respond to disturbing incidents (the distribution of deprecating jokes, disagreements among coworkers, fear of litigation) with no clear strategy in mind, with only the vague notion that something needs to happen to forestall future incidents.

Rather than reacting to periodic events, organizations will be better served by thinking strategically about the level of proficiency and understanding required to achieve its diversity goals. Doing so will help to address negative occurrences in the context of an overall diversity framework, and will prove useful in determining appropriate intervention. Thus, the organization will have the advantage of correlating the chosen intervention to the strategic business purpose that makes it necessary.

When an organization becomes clear on how to articulate its diversity strategy, the chances for a successful outcome go up dramatically. Employees are better able to understand the strategic reasons requiring their personal involvement. Supervisors are better equipped to explain why employee attendance is requested, and leadership becomes clear about how much time, money, effort and personal presence is required to ensure strategic goals are met.

As important as any of the above is the structure which will emerge to serve as a backdrop against which to view noncompliance. A dynamic commitment to strategic diversity goals would render obscure statements like "this was a waste of time," utterly meaningless on the basis that they do nothing to advance the strategic goals of the organization. Individuals would instead be challenged to offer alternatives to meet strategic diversity initiatives. The clear message would be: the diversity goals of this organization will not take a back seat to anyone's personal comfort. Without such an understanding at all levels of the organization, any approach runs the risk of failure through its own entropy, for which there is already ample evidence in the larger society.

4. If organizations are to evolve into inclusive and valuing environments, they will likely need the assistance of diversity professionals from within, or outside of, the organization. Diversity specialists should not be timid in their arrangements. They have a responsibility to help clients understand the depth and complexity of the issues. Their advice should include detailed discussions of the kinds of organizational support required to overcome the negative reactions which inexorably arise. They should help organizations understand the obstacles they are likely to encounter, and more importantly, how to overcome them. This is a task made more difficult by the tendency of clients to want to approach diversity training in much the same manner as they deal with other concerns, and by the tendency of many diversity specialists to allow them to do so.

Make no mistake, successful diversity programs are born of the resolve to deal emphatically with all of the above. Potential clients and diversity specialists must assess the strategies they will employ within the limitations of time, budget, and like considerations. One area which should never be compromised, however, is the integrity of either party to commit to the pursuit of clear diversity values and goals. Working from a common understanding insures the best chance for success. Successful programs rooted in integrity, compassion, and confidence in the future are possible, but they come about by design, not by accident.