What is Diversity Management at Workplace?


Definition: Workplace Diversity Management

Diversity management is an organizational process to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This process includes the implementation of policies and strategies in the areas of employment, management, training, etc. The purpose of diversity management is to promote fairness and equity and to leverage the strengths of diverse organizations.

Diversity management is defined as the practice of planning, strategizing, communicating and implementing the idea of diversity and inclusion within a group. A group can be an organization, a corporation, a religious group such as a church or temple, a government, or even a nation. Afterall, everything can be improved by being more diverse and inclusive.

Practicing diversity management means acting to address, support and accommodate the needs and lifestyles of identified groups. Diversity management activities include education, promotion and support of various types of diversity. Examples include race, gender, religion, ethnic and visible minorities, LGBTQ, indigenous, etc.

Opportunities in Diversity Management

The diversity of the diversity management opens up numerous opportunities for companies, some significant ones are outlined below:

  • Prevention of the shortage of skilled workers

    There is an increasing demand for underrepresented groups of workers, such as women or immigrants, is increasing more than for men. A large number of candidates are available for selection of suitable professionals and managers. A company becomes more attractive in the labor market, and attributes such as cultural openness and individuality are attributed to the employer brand.

    For example, there is also great potential for Germany in the labor market in terms of free movement of workers within the EU, and immigration has been steadily increasing since 2008. In addition, workers with a migrant background are often willing to work for lower wages and to occupy positions that are not highly valued in society.

  • Increase in creativity and social competence

    Creativity increases due to the diverse knowledge base and diversity of heterogeneous teams. Additionally, through this diversity, a more stable solution is achieved than with homogeneous teams.

  • Advantages of the sales market

    A diverse workforce can respond to customer demands more differently and therefore in some cases better occupy market niches. Communication with customers is also improved by a diverse workforce.

    For example, banks in large cities employ employees with immigrant backgrounds to simplify communication with customers who speak little or no German. In addition, the aforementioned increase in creativity means greater potential for innovation in product policy.

  • Cost reduction potentials

    By observing individual personality development, employees are happier, this satisfaction reduces turnover and costs are saved on recruiting candidates. Direct costs such as discrimination claims are also avoided.

  • Increasing flexibility

    Because of the homogeneity of the disposition factor, monocultural organizations are often relatively inflexible and inflexible to change. A company's high degree of diversity, on the other hand, facilitates dealing with different opinions and thus ensures faster adaptation to changing markets.

Risks of Diversity Management

After considering the possibilities that arise, this tutorial takes an analogous, obligatory look at the inherent risks of diversity management.

  • Economic success not empirically proven − The effect of the increased success of the DiM concept has not been proven, many studies cannot declare the increase in productivity of the DiM concept. Although increased creativity is also beneficial in innovative processes, it has a negative impact on routine tasks. Establishing the concept of diversity management in company structures also inevitably leads to costs.

    For example, recruitment processes must be changed and, if necessary, jobs must be created in large companies to monitor management compliance. diversity

  • Diversity management is too abstract

    The concept of diversity management lacks clarity in terms of content, so there are no uniformly developed objectives. In addition, there are no precise specifications for the design of diversity management, so companies must find individual solutions.

  • Risks of heterogeneous working groups

    There is no scientific agreement on whether or not heterogeneous operating organizations carry out higher or worse than their homogeneous counterparts.

    However, the variety of heterogeneous organizations regularly results in misunderstandings and conflicts inside the group. These are consequently greater vote-intensive and require greater time for meetings. Individuals might also experience excluded from the collective, lowering motivation and productivity.

  • Leadership style

    For a successful integration, the management types of the dispositive aspect ought to additionally be aligned with the variety idea.

    For example, managers must permit open communication, sell cooperation, deal with each worker equally, and more. If the respective supervisor no longer has the specified social competence, a holistic implementation of the variety control idea cannot succeed.

Implementation of Diversity Management

A diverse workplace can enhance productivity and foster a collaborative environment. The blending of various cultures, experiences, and thoughts can improve the office atmosphere and foster workplace creativity.

Unfortunately, the disadvantage of a varied workplace is the likelihood of religious conflicts and misunderstandings caused by divergent views.

Understanding Corporate Diversity in the Workplace

The first step is to develop an institutional diversity strategy. Simply put, organizational diversity refers to a corporate culture in which employers employ people with diverse skills, talents, and experiences to educate their workforce. What is the purpose of organizational diversity? Promote innovation, progress and success by engaging the skills and ideas of as many community groups as possible.

In addition, identification is an important component of organizational diversity that enables modern companies to attract, retain and develop talent that reflects the conditions of people's lives and the markets they serve. How do modern organizations achieve diversity goals such as representation? Business strategy, culture change, intent and accountability are imperative.

Role of Workplace Diversity Management

How are you meeting the diversity goals you have set for your workplace/i> In a sense, diversity and equality in the workplace are ever-changing goals that will last as long as your business. Diversity initiatives are not going away anytime soon and should be a top priority for CEOs and corporate leaders for generations to come.

Interested leaders and managers should start with full management buy-in, which should be supported by facts and figures. Engage independent consultants or use survey tools or methodologies to assess the current state of diversity and equity in your organization. The findings may surprise key stakeholders.

Coordinating with your company's legal or compliance team to get their perspective on diversity, inclusion and equity efforts can also support the push for diversity management in the workplace.

Conclusion

Managing diversity in the workplace should be a part of the company culture. To manage diversity well, we need to engage senior leadership to encourage and support creativity and help followers and their organizations prepare for change.

Updated on: 19-Aug-2022

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