There is growing support for the notion that when it comes to assembling your team the broader the mix the greater the chance of innovation and satisfaction
By David Rand
27 July 2007
The world of work is becoming diverse at an ever-increasing rate. The reasons are straightforward: the population in this country is ageing, the ethnic mix broadening, the movement of labour across the EU is continuing apace and many more sections of society are entering the labour force with greater expectations than in previous generations. All of which brings a whole new set of challenges for organisations keen to turn these factors to their advantage.
One way to do this is through diversity management, a concept that recognises there are differences among people and that these differences, if managed properly, can produce a more effective workforce. These may include more obvious, visible differences such as ethnicity and age as well as less visible ones such as sexual orientation and workstyle.
Underpinning diversity management is a belief that those teams which encompass a range of different perspectives are more likely to generate creative, innovative solutions to problems than teams composed of people who are the same. Diverse teams are also more likely to create a positive working environment, which helps with retention and with recruitment by enabling an organisation access to a far larger pool of people.
Diversity is sometimes confused with equal opportunities when, in fact, diversity management builds upon the well-established approaches to equal opportunities to provide an inclusive approach to everyone at work. Equal opportunity has always been concerned with eliminating discrimination by removing barriers to those who might otherwise be disadvantaged on grounds of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion and age. Since the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, however, public authorities have been required to positively promote equality of opportunity for different groups, setting a new benchmark for all employers.
Diversity goes somewhat further in looking positively at the differences between people and working on the principle that a person's different, individual qualities can be used to create a more rewarding and productive workplace. These differences can include gender, ethnicity and disability, which may account for some of the confusion with equal opportunities, but is not limited to these areas; in fact, it can include almost any other characteristic that may help shape an individual's outlook.
One of the major challenges in managing diversity is that success relies heavily on managers being willing and able to allow different perspectives and views to be heard. To do this, managers must appreciate that effective teams are usually composed of people with very different strengths and weaknesses and in building these teams they must avoid surrounding themselves with 'people like them'. This is often easier to say than to do, especially as people tend to feel more comfortable in the company of people who share their own world-view. So how to begin?
1 Review procedure
As equality of opportunity is a prerequisite to diversity, you must ensure that your procedures are not discriminatory. When recruiting, think carefully about the wording of advertisements and the advertising routes - they must attract people who may be under-represented in your current workforce, not merely avoid discouraging certain people from applying. Avoid questions about children, age, etc. Try to ensure that the composition of people involved in the appointment is as diverse as possible.
2 Equalise benefits
Everyone should be treated equally always as this removes damaging discrimination and sends an important message about the equal value to the organisation of all employees. Part-time workers are now, by law, entitled to the same benefits as their full-time colleagues but there may be other areas of discretionary entitlement: benefits to partners, for example, should be apply equally to same-sex partnerships.
3 Stay flexible
Ideally, flexibility should be both formal, (eg, offering more than the legal minimum time-off for, say, maternity/paternity leave) and informal, allowing people to take emergency time off. However, flexibility extends beyond simple matters of the time spent at work. Many enlightened organisations now offer a menu of benefits, including home-working, that attempt to encompass and reflect the differing needs of their people whose individual circumstances will at any one time be quite different from each other.
4 Invest in individuals
This could include contributing towards course books for personal study (even if those studies have no direct application at work) as well as more obvious ways, such as buying Braille keyboards for those who are visually impaired or helping with language lessons for non-English speakers. The level of investment involved is often low yet it is precisely these types of support that make a big difference to people.
5 Keep at it
Managing diversity is a continuous process and may, in the early stages, need careful monitoring. However, try to avoid becoming obsessed with counting and ticking boxes. After all, fundamentally, managing diversity is about treating people as individuals, not as numbers.
Staying diverse
Build teams consciously - don't allow teams to form without careful consideration of the individual attributes; moving people around helps broaden their experience and avoids cliques
Encourage inclusive behaviour - support activities that bring different people together in and outside work (charity walks or a trip to the cinema); bear in mind that no one activity will appeal to everyone
Communicate diversely - try to use a number of different communication routes to ensure that no one is left out: formal and informal meetings, email, newsletters, intranet
Tom Walston is general manager and catering adviser at Cambridge University
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