Discovering organizational diversity thresholds
Editor’s note: Fred Bové is president of Mariposa Group, a San Francisco research firm.
Over the past 20 years, most large companies have instituted varying types of diversity programs. In the beginning, many companies did so primarily to be in compliance with the law. As time has passed and evidence of benefits from these programs has been examined, many have found that there are solid business reasons to foster diversity within their organizations. Through this process, careful implementation of successful diversity programs rests on the quality of the organizational research.
Diversity programs, defined as “any effort to acknowledge, educate and promote respect among co-workers with disparate characteristics,” have proven to make the workplace more productive, less conflict-prone and a better place to work. These workplace characteristics, seen as direct consequences of functioning diversity programs, also serve to attract the best talent in the employment marketplace.
Diversity programs have become increasingly important for all corporations and organizations as businesses become even more global in nature. Even for smaller, localized companies current demographic trends almost guarantee that they will eventually recruit and hire from a diverse group of candidates.
While some of the value of creating a respectful and inclusive workplace is intrinsically recognized, what has not been as universally established is the process for creating and implementing these programs and evaluating the success of their outcomes.
Tracking the reduction in employee conflicts and increases in the rate of productivity are broad-stroke measures that have been applied to diversity program evaluation. But before diversity actions can be effectively implemented and the effects of these efforts demonstrated, there are specific forms of employee research that should be done in order to establish the openness of the environment and subsequently the types of actions that can be initiated without backlash.
Only by examining the organization’s readiness to accept and embrace diversity can we create successful outcomes.
Measuring the organization’s openness and the threshold of diversity
Obviously, not all organizations are alike in terms of their homogeneity, tolerance of differences and their understanding of the benefits of an inclusive workplace. Organizations with workforces that have been traditionally homogenous (by social demographic characteristics), may have hidden barriers to change that must be considered. Attempting large-scale and/or radical introduction of any form of change can lead to feelings of resentment and alienation directed at both the company and toward those who are seen to represent minority groups within the organization.
Prior to the implementation of any diversity program, the depth of tolerance for a corporate diversity effort should be plumbed. We refer to the boundary at which even modest change can be introduced in a formal, programmatic way as the threshold of diversity. This is determined empirically on a number of characteristics that are indicative of behaviors and attitudes at all levels of the organization and surrounding community.
The first step in measuring the organization’s openness or resistance to active diversity programming is to conduct personal interviews at all levels of the organization followed by a limited-scale but representative quantitative survey of employees. Areas of inquiry include: employee versus community composition, the perceived role of diversity in the company culture, the perceived advantages/ disadvantages of diversity in one’s personal life and the impact of diversity programs on one’s own work situation.
Outside of the general employee perceptions, it is critical to measure the attitude of senior management and the of the communities within which the company does business. If senior management does not perceive the benefits of diversity or is not supportive of the long-term goals of the program, the level of the organization’s openness will be low and the probability of success diminished. Likewise, if the community within which the company operates is not open or supportive of diversity in business, culture and inhabitants, the overall environment may not be fertile enough to support the seeds of internal change.
These measurements are used to determine not only the level of openness, but also the level of “permission” with which varying levels of change are possible. If there are significant barriers to formal diversity actions does this mean that the company should do nothing? No, it simply means that the type and scope of actions must be commensurate with the environment in which the changes are to take root. In the study of organizational behavior, this conditional step is traditionally known as “unfreezing attitudes” before more substantive programming is instituted.
Even in organizations with an apparently varied and mixed workforce, the level of openness to diversity should still be measured. Sometimes the mix is compartmentalized and the organization is not as ready for change as the demographic statistics might imply. For example, one group within a corporation may be seen by others as providing a less important function, service or product offering compared to other groups. That group may also contain a concentrated number of racial, gender or sexual orientation minorities to which these characteristics are also ascribed - either overtly or subconsciously. By uncovering and acknowledging the existing belief system, and pegging it to scaled question batteries, the researcher is able to benchmark the organization’s correct level of openness to expanded diversity efforts.
The chart shows the varying levels of diversity program acceptance along with typical organizational profiles that indicate this level and example recommendations based on research.
Naturally, these are very sensitive topics. And when sensitive topics are being researched it is imperative that the employees’ responses be held in confidence and that there is no threat of employer retribution for expressing any opinion.
Working with the employer and the diversity training group, the researcher plays a key role in setting the process in motion, and keeping the program functional. Periodic reassessment of diversity openness and program outcomes can be achieved via an abbreviated form of the benchmark employee survey. This instrument should focus on the broad perceptions of the outcomes of the program as well as specific areas of concern identified in the initial research. Revisiting the measurements that originally established the level of organizational openness to diversity is key to this process. Programs that overshoot the level of diversity openness will result in uncomfortable and resistant employees. Undershooting it can result in the perception of tokenism or lack of corporate commitment. Both outcomes eventually reduce the overall program effectiveness.