IBDM

Here are the 6 best workplace diversity trends for 2018.

1. Adopting a more diverse definition of diversity

Although gender and ethnicity are still the major focal points, organizations are starting to invest in
multiples areas of diversity.

The most recent HR survey by Harvey Nash asked, “Which areas are your organization actively
pursuing to be more diverse?”

 60% Gender

 41% Ethnicity/culture

 38% Age

 14% LGBT

With aging populations and more people delaying retirement, age discrimination is gaining attention
and will be a big topic in 2018.

2. Using technology like AI to avoid unconscious bias

Biases related to demographics such as race, gender, and age can be triggered by information on a
resume such as the candidate’s name and the dates they’ve held previous positions.

In 2018, AI adoption for diversity will increase as AI can be programmed to avoid unconscious
biases by ignoring demographic information when sourcing candidates and screening resumes.

Furthermore, technology like AI can be tested for bias by checking the demographic breakdown of
the applicants it sources and screens. If the AI is disproportionately excluding a group of people, this
oversight can be corrected through human intervention.

3. Sourcing candidates with non-traditional credentials

With unemployment at a 16-year low, there’s a general talent shortage, but one industry that’s
really feeling the hurt is tech.

In 2018, there will be less of a focus on traditional majors (e.g., computer science) to open up the
candidate pool to those with non-traditional credentials who are still able to show evidence of the
desired skill set.

Whether this means candidates with non-STEM degrees who taught themselves how to to code or
learned from a coding boot camp, tools that better assess candidates’ skills and knowledge are going
to be more widely adopted in the new year.
4. Testing diversity initiatives with data

One of the big bottlenecks for increasing workplace diversity has been relying on practices that
sound good on the surface but haven’t proven to be very effective.

Companies are recognizing that they need to start testing their diversity initiatives by collecting the
data.
In 2018, companies are going to stop accepting things on face value and start using data to see how
effective their initiatives actually are.

5. Standardizing the interview process to reduce bias

As Airbnb learned, standardizing your hiring by asking the same set of questions to candidates and
then rating their answers on a scale is one of the best ways to reduce bias and objectively assess
which candidates are the most qualified.

Companies can still create a personal connection with candidates through small talk and rapport
building at the beginning of the interview.

In 2018, recruiters can prevent their first impressions of a candidate from disproportionately
weighting their decision making by “throwing out” or ignoring candidates’ answers to the first few
questions.

6. Putting your money where your mouth is

Industry experts like Bersin argue the most effective way to move the needle on diversity is to create
personal accountability.

Bersin suggests that one way to do this is to tie compensation to diversity and inclusion outcomes, a
practice only 6% of companies they surveyed do.

A Forbes Insights survey found that senior executives are held accountable for their diversity and
inclusion programs performance through a variety of metrics including:

 66% performance reviews

 51% bonuses

 48% business/department reviews

 42% salary increases

These five steps will help you to manage diversity effectively.
Five Key Steps

1. Emphasize communication: Ensure that all employees understand your policies, procedures,
safety rules, and other important information. Work to overcome language and cultural
barriers. Have key materials, such as safety information, translated when possible. Use
pictures and symbols on warning signs so that everybody can understand.

2. View employees as individuals: Avoid both positive and negative stereotypes. Don’t make
assumptions about employees from different groups. Judge successes and failures
individually. Respond promptly and firmly when employees express prejudices or
stereotypes. Remind them of your policies that prohibit discrimination. Encourage
employees to view co-workers as individuals and judge them on their work, not on personal
factors.

3. Encourage employees to work in diverse groups: Assure that work teams reflect the
diversity of your workplace. Diverse work teams let employees get to know and value one
another as individuals. Diverse teams also expand the experiences and views of all the
workers on the team and help them recognize the strength of their combined talents and
perspectives.

4. Base decisions on objective criteria: Expect all employees of all backgrounds to meet
required standards and perform to the best of their ability. Don’t set different criteria for
different groups. Don’t make excuses or allow employees to make excuses for shortcomings.
Base all employment actions, including discipline, on specific, performance-related criteria.
Always focus on job-related issues, not personal issues, when dealing with employees.

5. Be open-minded: Recognize, and encourage employees to recognize, that one’s own

experience, background, and culture are not the only ones with value to the organization.
Set an example of encouraging diversity by developing relationships with colleagues whose
backgrounds differ from yours. Look for ways to incorporate diverse perspectives and talents
into efforts to achieve organizational goals.

7 Tips to Manage a Diverse Workforce

1. Understand discrimination

2. Determine one’s preconceptions

3. Invest in diversity training

4. Create an empowered atmosphere

5. Provide orientation

6. Outline acceptable job descriptions

7. Team building and free flow of communication

6 Steps to Evaluating Your Organization’s Performance
1. Prioritize what needs to be assessed/evaluated. If your organization is new to the concept
and baby steps are in order, make a list of measurable objectives and prioritize them. Take
the bottom two and top one on the list and make them a priority. The bottom two made
the list because of its importance and if it’s important and it’s not doing well, then give it
more attention.

2. The Governance Committee can oversee the evaluation process but it is always a good idea
to involve a neutral third party to administer the tool and report the results. This de-
personalizes the results and gives everyone a chance to participate in the exercise.

3. Keep it simple. The tool doesn’t have to be lengthy to be meaningful. Focus on at least 10
multiple choice questions and a couple of open ended questions.

4. Approach is as important as the decision to evaluate. Yours may be a paper-n-pencil culture

or an electronic one. Determine what’s best based on everyones’ schedules and
flexibility. The goal is to get responses.

5. How the results are discussed can help create a culture open to constructive feedback or
close the door on feedback completely. Again, a third party professional can facilitate this
process and help the organization stay focused on feedback and creating an action plan
rather than turning the exercise into a witch hunt to find out who said what.

6. Recognize and celebrate the successes. Evaluations are just as much about recognizing
what the organization is good at as well as finding out what isn’t going so well.
Why diversity is important in organisations?
✔ Diversity in the workplace promotes the individuality within an organisation, acknowledging
that every person can contribute with different, creative and new ideas and solutions. Employees
with different backgrounds and experiences can bring together a variety of perspectives on matters
and thus increase the productivity and deliver better results. Diversity brings in diverse different
talents together working towards a common goal using different sets of skills that increases their
retention and productivity.

✔ Diversity within a company helps in building a stronger brand and makes the company more
interesting and desirable employer. With a diversified workforce an organisation gains even good
reputation and image because it is seen as having fair employment practices.

✔ Workplace diversity increases creativity and problem solving. Having a variety of different
people from various backgrounds together is essential for finding and implementing
creative solutions to business problems. With diverse mindset coming together many more solutions
will arise as every individual brings in their way of thinking, operating and solving problems and
decision making.

✔ A diversified organisation encourages personal growth and development. Having expats or

persons with international background working for the company can help employees learn new
ideas, perspectives and connect professionally with different people. That enriches the employees
and gives them another point of view on how the market and the business work.

✔ Interacting with diversified staff improves their ability to work in a diverse environment, with
different styles, cultures and personalities.

✔ Diversity in a workforce can optimize an organisation’s ability to meet the needs of each
different market. Representatives of specific country or demographics can be paired with clients of
the similar backgrounds, helping clients feel more comfortable and in a way to create customer
loyalty to the company. For example having an employee who is actually part of a specific culture or
a region where a given business is conducted is a great advantage for the organisation.

✔ A diversified company can attract and retain talents, young and as well experienced
professionals and thus add a competitive edge to the organization. Possessing different set of skills
and having a good command of different and/or exotic languages and being appreciated for that
increases the feeling of belonging. This enables the company to compete in the international market
or to increase its diverse customer base and market share.