Workforce Diversity





Diversity in workforce has become a global discussion in the recent years. Even in the world arena and in the organizational view point diversity in workforce promoted aggressively. What this means is that the employer or the organization adopts a policy wherein they do not differentiate between applicants on the grounds gender, colour, disability, caste or ethnicity but the merit and skills are the sole criterion when deciding the suitability of a potential recruit. 



Organizations have now understood the imperatives of diversified workforce and its impact on the productivity and growth of an organization. Workplace diversity goals can require modifications to recruitment strategy or outreach to identify a diverse pool of qualified applicants. Following could be identified a few of benefits which an organization going to reap by bringing in diversity. 


1. Wider talent pool and skills set


Individuals from diverse backgrounds can offer a selection of different talents, skills and experiences, that may be of benefit to the organisation and their work performance. Cross functional skills can be beneficial when it comes to assisting each other. A variety of skills and experiences among the team also means that employees can learn from each other. 

2. Innovation and Creative ideas

Working alongside with people of different backgrounds, experiences and working styles, creative concepts can be born from bouncing ideas off of each other and offering feedback and suggestions. 

3. Employee Performance

Equality in the workplace is important for encouraging workers from all backgrounds to feel confident in their ability and achieve their best. The higher the team morale, the more productive employees are.

A company who embraces diversity will attract a wider range of candidates to their vacancies, as it will be viewed as more progressive organisation and will appeal to individuals from all walks of life. Naturally, as the number of applicants for each vacancy rises, the chances of finding an exceptional candidate increases too! It can also help with employee retention, as people want to work in an environment who are accepting of all backgrounds and promote equality.

Whilst there been lots of positive side of diversity there are negative side of it as well. hence managing diversity, itself is a challenge for organization.  Companies must take these challenges sensibly to create some acceptance and respect each other in workplace regardless of their gender, country or culture and ethnicity more importantly. Conflicts arises when there is a lack of acceptance of culture diversity and beliefs among employees.

Managing diversity is important as otherwise the performance of the organization takes a hit and worse, there can be possible lawsuits and legal tangles from disaffected employees who feel aggrieved because of instances of discrimination and harassment based on their ethnicity or gender.

Conclusion

As we explore the benefits compared to the issues being equal opportunity provider, the benefits are more then the latter. Therefore, its indispensable for organizations find ways to be more diversity tolerance to open its door for talents rather being prejudiced to one group of people of any culture or gender or ethnicity.  

References 

Hood A (2017), 7 Biggest Diversity Issues in The Workplace, https://www.thiswayglobal.com/blog/diversity/top-diversity-issues-in-the-workplace [Accessed on 21st June 2018]

Management Study Guide (no date), Diversity in Organizations, https://www.managementstudyguide.com/diversity-in-organizations.htm [Accessed on 21st June 2018]

UNDERCOVERECRUITER (no date), What Are the Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace?, https://theundercoverrecruiter.com/benefits-diversity-workplace/, [Accessed on 22nd June 2018]

Comments

  1. RR27 June 2018 at 06:28

    Hi Ajfar, Thanks for sharing this nice article on Diversity, with us. As a HR person I find it really important as a person working in a multi diversified work environment. I think now a days companies are more working towards employee diversity not only to show it to the world, but also they have now understood that diversity matters a lot and this has become a business necessity when organizations shift into global market. Other than the benefits you have mentioned , I would like to share some more benefits with you all. Thus some more benefits of diversity are,
    Job Promotion
    In today’s dynamic business environment, businesses are open globally as well. These global markets provide employees with opportunities for job promotions and career development. A global market place opens doors for employees with diverse language skills. Employees those who are really interested in learning multinational business strategy and those who are available for possible expatriate assignments can also find new and challenging career opportunities in this competitive knowledge era.
    Mutual Respect
    When an organization possess diversified workforce, it inevitably fosters mutual respect among employees. Whether there are employees from various religions, cultures, nationality, employees do not care about it. Instead they work together respecting each other as a team, in order to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
    Business Reputation
    In the long run, a diversified work environment can lead the organization towards increased profitability and career opportunities for workers. When an organization encourages diversity within their workplace, it automatically increases that particular organization’s reputation as well. An organization who is known for its fair treatments to employees, fair employee practices and respected diversity, automatically possess the ability to attract wider pool of qualified employees to their organization, as the potential employees think that this place would be exactly a great place for them to work without any disputes or conflicts.
    Increased Exposure
    When diversity exists within the workplace, it offers more exposure. Employees tend to learn from other employees whose work style and attitude about the work is different when compared with others. Traditional generation employees can learn new technological facts from new generation talented employees. Likewise, employees are exposed to various work styles and behaviours within a diversified work environment.
    Reference
    Mayhew, R (2018). Why is Diversity in the Workplace is Important to Employees? Available at http://smallbusiness.chron.com/diversity-workplace-important-employees-10812.html [Accessed on 27 June 2018]

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown28 June 2018 at 18:04

    Hiiii could you please explain the negative effects of diversity in hrm ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown28 June 2018 at 18:28

      Obviously, there are many, in some occasions the time spent on managing diversity may outweigh the benefits derived out of it as well.

      People from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds can have very different views concerning lifestyle, religion and politics that can lead to tension and conflict when these concepts are introduced into a work environment. Even a predominately male work culture that attempts to diversify by hiring more women can experience an unwelcome change in the workplace dynamics, also potentially leading to tension. When people fail to fundamentally understand each other,tension can arise.

      There may also be communication issues, such as employees needing more explanation on projects due to language barriers. Or, generational or cultural prejudices may exist, which could lead to power struggles or decision-making conflicts. This happens when a younger employee dismisses an older employee's ideas, thinking she's not as hip or in-the-know about pop culture, for example. Or, a Baby Boomer might refuse to embrace a new way of doing something and, therefore, bring down morale by dismissing ideas from younger coworkers.

      References
      Finn L (2017), The Effects fo Workplace Diversity [On line], Avaialbe at https://careertrend.com/effects-workplace-diversity-2980.html [Accessed on 29th June 2018]

      Joseph C (no date), What Are Some Negative Aspects of Diversity in the Workplace? [On line], Available at http://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-aspects-diversity-workplace-3029.html [Accessed on 29th June 2018]

      Delete
  3. Unknown28 June 2018 at 18:04

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

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