Manager’s Guide to Managing a Diverse Workforce
Most businesses boast of having a diverse workforce but often stumble when it comes to their management. The fact of the matter is that many managers are untrained and ill-equipped to deal with a diverse workforce.
This presents unique challenges for organizations as employees are caught unawares regarding etiquettes of workplace diversity.
But it’s necessary for organizations and their managers to be ready for an ever-diversifying workforce. No workplace can reach optimum productivity levels while employees feel misunderstood and underrepresented.
As such, we will walk you through the manager’s guide for managing diversity in the workplace.
But first, let’s understand what diversity looks like in an organization.
Understanding Diversity in the Workforce
The concept of diversity is easy enough to understand. Diversity means the differences between people from age, race, religion, color, gender, or any other human characteristics.
A diverse workforce, therefore, is one that is a collection of all sorts of people who are incredibly different from one another. The one unifying factor for such a workforce is the people’s skills or abilities that bring them together to strive for a common goal as set forth by the organization’s business.
Businesses need to create an inclusive culture and environment to get the most out of such a diverse workforce. This culture should allow each employee to feel like they belong within the company regardless of their differences.
However, fostering such an environment is neither easy nor straightforward. And many businesses often fail to develop a feeling of equality and belongingness for their employees.
That is why so many organizations face lawsuits filed by employees for workplace discrimination.
We have put together a guide for managers to avoid such unfortunate circumstances and make all kinds of employees feel included and cared for.
Start Diversity Management at the Door
The first and often most common mistake managers make in managing a diverse workforce is starting diversity management too late.
A common misconception within and across organizations is to incorporate diversity management once a candidate has been hired.
But diversity management needs to start at the door – in the hiring process.
Interviewing a diverse slate of candidates for a job opening is the first step to ensuring the organization is ready to accommodate various employees.
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Companies cannot expect managers to know how to deal with diverse employees if they never interview different candidates, to begin with.
This step is also essential as it eliminates any biases in the hiring process.
As hiring managers come into contact with all sorts of people, they are compelled to hire based on skills and experience rather than familiarity.
Solidify Company Policies Against Inequality & Discrimination
Where there are humans, there is conflict because, without conflict, there can be no cooperation. And managers often face a conflict between employees or work teams.
Without stringent company policies against inequality and discrimination, things can quickly get out of hand.
Another benefit of solidifying company policies against inequality and discrimination is that it empowers employees to speak up against offensive or uncomfortable instances.
Managers must ensure employees their plea will be heard and investigated under company policies for managers to manage diverse employees effectively.
Not only does this foster trust and inclusivity among the management and employees, but it also maintains discipline within the company when it comes to preserving respect among employees from different backgrounds.
Foster an Empathetic & Tolerant Culture
The next step in managing a diverse workforce is fostering a culture of empathy and tolerance. Everyone in the company is on the same team.
That’s why managers need to develop a feeling of understanding and unity between the employees.
An effective way to develop such a culture is by conducting team-building activities. Besides, seminars that inform office staff regarding workplace interaction between employees are also useful.
Working in diverse teams can also bolster a more inclusive and tolerant workplace culture. We will talk more about this later on.
Identify Your Shortcomings
Employees always look towards managers for leadership and guidance when faced with uncertain circumstances. And when it comes to interacting in a diverse workplace, uncertainties are high.
That’s why managers need to lead by example by showing how and what is acceptable.
But before managers can do that, they need to identify their shortcomings. This involves taking stock of where your own biases lie and where they stem from.
Similarly, not knowing the proper conduct or language is another common shortcoming for managers and employees.
For organizations, it is essential to establish a hierarchy of information that flows directly through managers.
This information is vital in equipping managers with the know-how of dealing with employees having different backgrounds and leading the way for the rest of the workforce.
Encourage Diverse Project Teams
We mentioned developing diverse project teams earlier. This activity is essential in the development of soft skills among employees. As employees from different backgrounds learn to work together in small groups, they learn to respect differences.
However, managers need to ensure that all employees are given thorough diversity training beforehand.
Creating diverse teams without providing relevant diversity training beforehand is merely asking for trouble.
Managers cannot expect employees to cope with each interaction perfectly and remain sensitive to diversity characteristics on their own.
As such, diverse project teams can only be effective if employees are well versed in cross-team coordination and communication, emphasizing interactions with members of various groups.
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Diversity Training is a Must
Finally, practicing diversity training is essential to maintain a diverse workforce. Diversity training comes in many forms, but the most effective one is awareness training. People are often unaware of their own biases and can fall into unseen bias traps. That’s why it is essential to educate employees on the benefits of diversity and methods of achieving it.
But it’s important to remember that employees have to be willing to adopt the training and implement it in everyday work life.
Otherwise, even the most effective training is not useful and could end up backfiring.
Summing Up
Managing a diverse workforce is difficult, but managers can achieve cohesion and coordination among employees by following the basics.
By integrating diversity in the hiring process, organizations can encourage managers to take a bird’s eye view of diversity in the workplace.