Diversity Hiring: Better for Business

For a successful management of workforce diversity there are several steps: attracting, recruiting, hiring and retaining. Each step of these human resources practices must be accompanied by anti-discrimination-and diversity-awareness. Diversity hiring is different for each organization. Today diversity in the workplace encompasses more than the traditional view that focuses primarily on gender and race. It has taken on a much broader definition. Diversity may not be limited to few aspects, i.e. gender, but rather be approached with a well-balanced perspective such as diversity of race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, social class, disability, accent, and the list goes on. Companies need to determine what "types" of diversity they are lacking, before determining strategies to achieve a healthy balance. The changing demographics of the labor force and marketplace are making it necessary for companies to step up their diversity hiring or minority jobboard programs. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, leveraging workplace diversity is increasingly seen as a vital strategic resource for competitive advantage.

Diversity hiring frequently implicates making fundamental organization changes of the kind that will require consensus-building. For example, if the goal is to promote more diverse women over a five-year span, then the organization will have to figure out ways to enroll, retain and promote talented female leaders such that, over a five-year period, there will a measurable increase in female leadership within the organization. Minorities are the fastest-growing part of the labor force. The growth rates for diverse groups are projected to be faster than the rate for whites. In today's workplace, we hire an employee for her talents and thinking; the external "diversity" is a bonus. Gender and religion do not matter. Age and ethnicity do not matter. Thinking matters. And the right thinking that drive results may show up in an extraordinary employee whose age, gender, religion or ethnicity is not one that you expected. It is today's manager's role to find, hire and encourage the best thinking employees from whatever backgrounds and unite them into a performance powerhouse of minority jobs or black employment. Many diverse candidates simply may not think of applying at an organization due to the lack of visibility or the image of the organization. If an organization's goal is to diversify the workforce of minorities or black jobs, a proactive approach will be necessary, no matter what the reasons may be that diverse candidates in the past have not applied or were not hired at that organization. Locating the diverse talent that is a good fit is the organization job. It is important to communicate that the organization values diversity also when it comes to promotions. Employees want to feel that hard work is what determines promotions, not office politics, discriminatory or unrelated factors.

An effective diversity hiring program can provide companies with a valuable competitive advantage. Diversity is great for business. It expands our thinking, connects us to our world and encourages great individual contribution.