Selecting a Workable Diversity Program

• Is there a need for diversity?
• What is the purpose of the diversity program?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses regarding diversity?
• Where do you need to focus your initiatives and why?
• How will you create a goal-oriented plan that is specific to your company?

In asking these questions, you should now know what your company’s needs and desired outcome of the program are. Now you should be ready to move on to the next step-selecting a workable diversity program.

The key word here is workable. There is no point in attempting a diversity program if it doesn’t fit your company. When selecting a program, the first and most important question that you need to ask is, “will this work for my company?” There are diversity programs that focus on “glass ceilings” (inability for minorities to advance into upper levels of the company), diverse recruiting, management, and much more. Educating yourself about diversity will help you decide if a program will work for your company.

Educate yourself by learning more about various aspects of diversity. If you are a government contractor, come to Berkshire Associates’ Fundamentals of Affirmative Action Planning Seminar.

This class not only teaches you how to do an affirmative action plan, but also what affirmative action is and its purpose. If you need to focus your initiative’s attention on increasing the number of Hispanics in your workforce, research where you can find qualified applicants for the positions that you have and what Hispanics look for in the workplace. There are many websites that can help guide your research.

When selecting a program, focus on your company’s strengths and weaknesses. You want to be able to show what you are doing right now as an initiative, as well as what your future goals are. If you have targeted recruitment for a minority group, be sure that your program includes that group, as well as people that are not targeted. Your program should be fair and inclusive. Also, look at companies similar to yours to see what they are doing. Corporate diversity initiatives are on the rise. While some companies are losing funding for many other programs, diversity initiative funding is being retained. Many companies are realizing that having a strong diversity program is not only the right thing to do–it is good business.

Interesting Facts from Beta Research Corp., on behalf of The New York Times Job Market:

• Nearly all job seekers (97%) say that they prefer to work in a diverse business environment and are supportive of diversity policies because these policies make a company a better place to work (91%).
• Among organizations that have diversity programs, 92% of hiring managers say their company’s senior management strongly supports diversity as a company goal. Only 13% of employers say that funding for their diversity programs gets cut more often than other programs during tough economic periods.
• Most hiring managers (67%) today say they are actively seeking to recruit job candidates who are: Hispanic (68%), black (65%), female (65%), Asian (60%), over age 50 (56%) or disabled (50%).