Mieko Dean
Managing a Diversified Workforce

For organizations to be most effective in their workforce diversity efforts they have to broadly define diversity. Race and gender are the larger factors in diversity issues but there are much broader aspects of the subject such as; age, physical abilities, family status, religion, and social class just to name of few. Understanding the dynamics of race gender are very important, but the view of diversity is much broader. It is important for companies to make employees aware of the individual characteristics that everyone brings to the workplace, and then they can in turn understand why it is important for everyone to be more inclusive.
To be effective, a diversity plan must be created to hold leaders and managers accountable for diversity goals and measurable results. Best-of-class companies align diversity goals and objectives with the organization’s mission and goals. Organizations should also make it a priority to increase the number of underrepresented populations throughout the company. Doing this will help create a larger talent pool, helping the organization to appeal to its diverse consumer market.
Diversifying the workforce would require effective management of inclusion. Prepping employees for anticipated organizational changes through strong and consistent communication, and diversity training is the best practice to reduce tension and provide for a better transition. Implementing inclusion in the hiring process would also be ideal for a solidifying a diverse organization. Inside of company committed to diversity, people are hired based on their sum of qualifications and how they can benefit the organization, with less traditional and more innovative thinking. Practicing inclusion at every level builds a stronger team by including different perspectives across all areas of an organization.
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