Unlock your company’s potential - Inculcating cultural diversity practices in the workplace - An HR’s Guide to Holism

The art of managing and directing people in the optimal light of status, workload, grievance management, and cooperation is called Human Resource Management. A company becomes successful not only because of its leaders but because of the companionship and teamwork of the employer and employees. The most integral part of a firm lies in its workforce, the human capital that helps forge professional and personal relationships with clients, stakeholders, and the media. Interpersonal bonds that are built on the foundational course of team spirit and trust foster a holistic environment in the organization. Human resource managers are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining an equilibrium of an equitable and inclusive environment that promotes impartial advocacy of inclusivity of all employees irrespective of their personal backgrounds, race, and previous work experiences.

The need for diversity awareness and sensitivity training within the organization is crucially assessed by human resources, one of the first departments to advocate diversity training. The first of many steps for the HR department leader is to advocate for executive support of diversity training, as in supporting the decision that the workforce will benefit from training that encourages inclusiveness and broadens the organization's diversity goals for marketing its goods and services.

The question lies here what does cultural diversity mean in its entirety and how does HR play an important role in maintaining it?

Cultural diversity in a workplace lies in maintaining a diverse ratio of the people in the workforce that includes individuals from different racial groups, ethnicities, cultures and sexual orientations. Diversity inclusion plays an important role in the responsibilities of HR as they have to constantly engage with policies and activities that enforce a diverse equilibrium in the work environment. A 2021 McKinsey study found that organizations with diverse boards and top leadership make more money. In particular, organizations with the most gender diversity were more likely to earn 25% more than those with the lowest gender diversity. Additionally, the most profitable ethnically and culturally diverse companies beat the least profitable ones by 36% and fared 50% better than the industry median.

As the companies grow to enter the international markets and become cosmopolitan, cultural and racial diversity becomes a prerogative. The exigent part lies in building diversity and inclusion when the company knows it is going to be challenged to alter its norms and embrace the transformation with open hands. However, a lack of D&I would cost the company the mutual trust that the masses have in them. An organization must understand that today people devote their loyalties and time to a company that shows customer and social centricity and not just an image of a profitable enterprise. Therefore diversity and inclusion are the need of the hour. Let's discuss how HR executes the functionality of having a workforce immersive in a myriad and all-encompassing environment.

Strategies and practices by HR to maintain a varied and all-embracing workplace ecosystem.

1) Optimizing Job Performance:

Your company's employees are its beating heart, yet when they perform poorly, nobody benefits.

While worker churn is nothing new for some businesses, the more you can do to keep yourself around, the more time and money you'll save. Additionally, assisting your staff in succeeding in their jobs is one of the finest methods to keep them on board.

The following four suggestions will help you improve employee performance at work.

Facilitate communication. Effective communication is a two-way street. Make sure your staff members can easily communicate with you and one another to improve performance.

Regularly provide feedback. Make sure you provide regular feedback to ensure that communication between you and your staff is effective.

Encourage acclaim. Create a monthly employee of the month award or recognize staff accomplishments like birthdays, anniversaries, or sales targets.

Make use of a simple communication method. Use the app included with your workforce management solution for centralized, simple communication rather than requiring your staff to reach out to you by text, email, or phone call.

2) Build awareness amongst the managers about the benefits of Workplace Diversity and Inclusivity:

Managers and employees need to get along. The main reason why people quit their employment is because they don't like their supervisors. Only a select few managers are knowledgeable in managing a diverse team and are aware of its value. Give them the instruction they require to build and manage a diverse team to aid them. An effective first step is scheduling sensitivity training for cultural and other considerations.

The second step lies in building a communication model that helps managers and the other staff such as the supervisor and employees to give feedback and receive constructive criticism for their work. Creating a channel of dialogue allows initiating conversations between the top levels and the lower levels of management that helps the team understand each other and unlocks the company’s hidden potential of soaring to great heights.

3) Nurture Cross-Culture Competencies:

An HR must hire and train individuals from varied backgrounds and different walks of life. The essence of a cross-cultural workplace lies in the collective spirit that the higher authorities hold and embrace. It is important for an HR to constantly engage the staff in activities that promote cross-cultural interactions Here are certain practices that contribute to the same,

Create diversity and inclusion training initiatives.

Top-down training on diversity and inclusion should be given to all employees in your company. Begin by requesting assistance from your leadership in developing your training program.

Raising people's awareness of implicit bias and reducing prejudice that could have a detrimental impact on managerial decisions should be part of training.

Make diversity education a volunteer endeavour. Just make sure it's widely accessible and well-publicized within your company.

Examine all HR issues that have an impact on diversity. Think in terms of systems rather than gestures to avoid the tokenism trap. Examine all facets of human resources that have an impact on diversity, including hiring, salary, career mobility, and benefits for financial wellness.

4) Recruitment, Selection, and Development of a High-Value Candidate:

To promote a holistic inclusion of various backgrounds in the workforce, HRs should identify the gap between the vacancy and the needs of the individual. Data-driven approaches that are backed by demographic analysis about the individual race, ethnic identity and gender orientation help build diversity. Furthermore, HRs should engage in methods of hiring and recruiting that aggressively look for people from various backgrounds. This entails expanding the talent pool by posting job openings on various websites, utilizing social media, going to job fairs targeted at underrepresented groups, and collaborating with groups that support diversity.

Streamline the Interview Process - Using digital, structured interviewing to create a team is an excellent strategy. You may lessen the possibility of hiring discrimination and ensure a fair, consistent interview process by posing the same questions to all job seekers in the same order and format. You can hire individuals who are more accurately and objectively representative of the human race using this method.

Recognize and Value Every Difference - Recognize and value each employee's skills, regardless of variances. Regularly expressing your appreciation to your staff can be done by just having a conversation and paying attention to what they have to say. Get to know each of your staff. When workers feel valued and welcomed, they will go above and beyond.

Conclusion

Human resource management plays an integral part in the coherent functioning of any organization. When a firm ensures the peaceful coexistence of divergent groups of people from different walks of life working in partisanship and makes them feel welcomed, it not only keeps the team enthusiastic but also sets an exemplar of a non-toxic and evolving work environment that people want to be a part of.