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Cultivating Diversity in the Workplace
In an industry notorious for its high employee turnover rate,
effective recruiting is an issue forever on the minds of publishers'
HR staff and management. Key to assembling an effective team
is diversity, a topic covered at AEP's June Summit by John Meeker
of Meeker & Associates and Bobbie Baird of Texas Instruments. Here
are the highlights from their management session.
Diversity defined
The first step in
developing a diversity initiative is for management
to agree on a definition and set goals. The main thing to keep in mind is that
diversity refers to more than just physical attributes
such as race, gender, and age; other facets of a candidate's
background, such as education and cultural upbringing,
are also important aspects of creating a diverse workplace. Then,
company-wide anti-discrimination policies and training
must be put firmly into place, ensuring existing employees
understand the initiative and the reasoning behind
it.
Where to start
"It's hard to be conscious of our tendency to
surround ourselves with people like ourselves," said
Baird, who currently heads the Strategic Alliances
division of TI's Educational & Productivity Solutions
Group. "And it's also hard to break that
habit when you DO recognize it."
According to Meeker, president and founder of executive
search firm Meeker & Associates, the most successful
searches are those that start in the right place, such
as a college with a historically diverse enrollment
or professional organizations that develop diverse
employees. He also suggests recruiting tactics
such as internships, scholarships for potential future
employees, and referral bonuses.
The benefits
People from different
backgrounds will bring different perspectives to a
project, which will create a workplace conducive to
fresh ideas and unique solutions. A
diverse staff also enables a company to cater to the
needs of diverse communities, a competitive advantage
in any industry, but particularly important in education,
where the target audience may come from a myriad of
backgrounds. For example, when writing a word
problem for a math workbook, the names and situations
could become less homogenous and more reflective of
the actual diversity in schools.
Retention
Being sensitive to employees'
needs is the key to success in any workplace environment,
but this becomes much more difficult when people from
different cultural, ethnic, and/or religious backgrounds
are brought together. Meeker
recommends sponsorship/mentorship programs for new
employees and frequent meetings, as often as every
4 to 6 weeks.
"Leaders and management staff need to know what
the culture of the workplace is really like," he
said. "People tend to tell you what you
want to hear, but it's up to you to know what's going
on."
Diversity can be a major factor in successful business
strategy, which is why larger companies such as TI
have endorsed corporate-wide diversity initiatives. But
for smaller firms, it may simply be a recruiting strategy
to keep in mind in the future, as staff members leave
or numbers expand.
Questions, ideas, or
in need of more information? Please contact Stacey
Pusey at 302-295-8349. |
Click here to download a PDF of John Meeker's Summit
PowerPoint presentation. |
