A diverse workforce is a fact of life in our changing world and marketplace. Managing diversity in the workplace means creating an organization that values differences and includes everyone. True change begins with managers and company executives and then works its way through the organization. In “Three Steps to Overcoming Prejudice – Part 1” we started the process of recognizing and examining our biases.
Step Three: Time for Reflection
Good intentions only go so far. You have to sit quietly and take time to reflect on your behavior. Ask yourself if you have made good on your goal to eliminate personal biases. How have your behavior and/or words affected others? If you consider the results of your actions you will be in a better position to alter your behavior next time.
Continue reading "Diversity in the Workplace – Three Steps to Overcoming Prejudice – Part 2" »
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February 5, 2009
I’ve said in other posts that the more you understand the people you work with, the easier it is to work with them. Learning to understand cultural diversity is essential for everyone. Communication is critical in any well-run business but it isn’t always easy when you are dealing with a culturally diverse workforce.
Language as a barrier to communication is one of the many topics discussed during any diversity training workshop, such as the ones I lead for businesses around the world.
How important is it to you that your employees understand what is expected of them? It should be pretty important if you want to have a successful business. Good communication not only affects the efficiency of your business, it impacts on the well-being of your multicultural employees. Everyone needs to understand safety regulations, emergency procedures and how to use safety equipment.
Here are some strategies to overcome language barriers in a culturally diverse workforce:
Continue reading "Managing Diversity in the Workplace – Language Barriers: Part 1" »
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February 7, 2009
In the last blog, I gave [I’ve given] you two strategies for overcoming language barriers in a culturally diverse workplace. A multicultural leadership workshop will provide you with many more communication strategies.
I’ll tell you about two other strategies that will help you manage your diverse workforce and build an atmosphere that encourages open communication.
Provide English instruction: You can’t assume that the people working for you will have the resources needed to learn English. If they are new to the country they may lack money to pay for the class or they may be unable to find transportation to the class. A manager who respects the cultural diversity of his employees will support efforts to learn English; provide instruction on the job site and arrange the schedule to allow time for “homework.” Many states will subsidize these classes as part of a workforce development initiative. Support and encouragement is important; most adults find it difficult to learn a new language and will lose interest quickly.
Continue reading "Managing Diversity in the Workplace – Language Barriers: Part 2" »
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February 10, 2009
Knowing your customer is critical for a good marketing campaign. And you really need to do your homework if your target audience is a minority group. A business that wants to tap into the multicultural sector of the population has to be sensitive to cultural differences that drive spending habits.
That means dropping stereotypes and investing time and money in some research. There are research groups out there who gather information about how people in minority groups like to spend their money. According to a Forrester Research report, “there is more to reaching minorities than understanding demographic differences.”
Culture is more than skin color. It is a complicated mix of race, language and religion. It is influenced by immigration experiences and “cross-cultural” marriage. Ethnic identity affects cultural practices, beliefs, and even dress and eating habits. And just to keep it complicated, no matter the ethnic background people are all influenced by age, gender and income.
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February 12, 2009
Minority groups represent a huge part of the North American population. There are 39 million Hispanics in the United States surpassing African Americans as the largest visible minority. In Canada South Asians are now the largest, outnumbering Chinese by a half million.
So why are marketing campaigns still missing the mark with our multicultural populations? In a survey carried out in multiple languages the Solutions Group of Canada found that 52% of people said that they rarely saw advertising they believed was intended for them.
The problem seems to be a combination of corner-cutting and fear that something might be perceived as racist.
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February 14, 2009
A smart business person understands the importance of a productive and efficient workforce. Business experts insist that your employees are your biggest investment.
If you are a manager of a culturally diverse workforce you will have to make an effort to understand what motivates your employees and makes them happy. This requires an understanding of cultural differences; your employees will have many different values and traditions.
A culturally diverse workplace could include people from many different Asian and Latino cultures. I use these two examples only because they represent large numbers of immigrant workers. The following advice can be applied in most situations.
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February 17, 2009
In my last post I said that a culturally diverse workplace has people with many different traditions and values. Managing diversity in the workplace requires you to be sensitive to differences while still being fair to everyone.
One characteristic that is quite common to different cultures is the importance of personal relationships. Your employees may be from countries where life was not easy. A strong family and close friends might have been needed for survival; family and friends are first priority, work a distant second.
Here are two more strategies for managing diversity in the workplace.
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