Helping employers seize the power and possibilities of a diverse workforce

Three ways to capitalize on a changing labor pool

As a more diverse worker emerges, here are three ways to create competitive advantage now.

Companies equipped to meet the unique needs of diverse employees — “diversity-friendly”companies — will gain a significant competitive advantage in all aspects of their business, from attracting and retaining top talent to meeting the needs of an increasingly global marketplace.

Establish cultural competence

The first step in creating a cultural competence around diversity is to gauge current perceptions. Understanding how diverse markets perceive your company/industry is the first step in bridging any identified gaps.

Once you understand and address current perceptions, it’s time to look inward. Like any other initiative, support for cultivating a culture of competence must begin at the top. Executives must lead the charge by being champions for diversity awareness. Being a champion of diversity awareness requires four things:

• An understanding of the current situation - How is the labor force changing? What do these changes mean?

• The ability to articulate the business case for diversity as it relates to your particular industry

• A true belief in the power and possibilities of diversity

• A visible role in the organization’s diversity initiatives

Once the support from top management is established, organization-wide diversity training is  critical to promoting a supportive culture. Diversity training begins with increasing awareness of the importance of a diverse workforce. It should provide specific information on behavior changes needed to effectively manage and work within a diverse workforce.

Once cultural competence is infused throughout the organization, a competitive advantage begins to take hold, resulting in mutual benefits for your organization and the community.

Restructure recruitment and retention programs with diversity in mind

Another effective way to embrace an increasingly diverse workforce is to review and revisecurrent recruiting and retention programs to ensure that these are crafted with diversity in mind.

Some effective ways of doing this are:

• Designing recruitment campaigns that communicate with potential employees in their native languages via media that targets “native cultural” communities

• Establishing ongoing diversity recruitment and internship programs with colleges and universities

• Partnering with local schools and universities to set up school-to-work mentoring programs and training for diverse segments lagging in education

Build a workplace culture that appeals to and is inclusive of all workers

Keep in mind that employees are continually reevaluating the employer/employee relationship. Employees today are looking for a mutual fit with an organization.

Appeal to these employees by offering what they want. This can be accomplished by:

Investing in Technology

Today’s worker values leading-edge technology. Investment in technology demonstrates a commitment to the success of your employees and pays off for your company with top productivity and dedication.

Leveraging Relationships

Workers have friends and acquaintances within their own communities, making them a good resource for word-of-mouth recruitment of new employees. Educate these employees about the kinds of workers your business is seeking and equip them with the information and tools needed to generate referrals within their social networks and communities. And of course, offer incentives for their part in recruiting a candidate.

Offering Workplace Flexibility

Workers are seeking a balance between their work and personal lives, and flexibility in the workplace is an especially attractive benefit. Emphasize your company’s flexibility and develop an accommodating environment by providing employees with opportunities for job sharing, telecommuting and flex time.

Providing Training Opportunities

All workers want to develop their work skills and knowledge. Giving them room to learn and grow and to make choices is important to their development — and to their job satisfaction. Provide these workers with expanded, on-line training opportunities and consider adding language training to your company’s offerings. Bilingual employees are extremely valuable and this new skill can open the door to increased communication from all groups.