Importance of cultural diversity training

 Cultural intelligence of an organization can simply be called diversity in the workplace. This concept is based on the premise that no one person is the same. We all have had varied experiences that make us who we are. We are also different on a very basic level – gender, country of origin or beliefs. Each country is faced with different diversity related problems such as USA or South Africa battling racial issues for example (Shen et.al, p.235). The issue of diversity becomes even more dire now as the world is becoming smaller, people can travel across the ocean and work where they perhaps never dreamed of working. Classrooms are full of international students. Celebrating the individuals for who they are and accepting (or at least understanding) their perspective can only have a positive impact on our society. With that in mind, some HR departments are striving to hire with diversity in mind because the heterogeneous views employees have, helps companies become more efficient, innovative and overall further increases diversity during recruitment processes (for example: females in the workplace will suggest other females for positions within the company thereby promoting greater diversity in the workplace). “Past studies concluded that using the HRM toolkit addressing inequality in recruitment, appraisal, advancement and reward can enhance equal employment opportunity, improve inclusiveness and enhance creativity in a diverse workforce” (Shen et.al. p. 237).

We have learned at the very start of our class that recruitment and hiring processes set the tone for everything that comes thereafter. If we want to create a diverse workforce, it needs to start with recruitment and hiring. Reaching a diverse workforce often means investing money into creating training programs for underrepresented communities and giving them the opportunities, they would otherwise not have. We should also think about participation in various communities and build on those relationships. “So, to be effective, business leaders must be proactive. First, they will need to assess the current diversity level to set benchmarks. Next, they will need to develop a hiring strategy that increases diversity without ignoring merit. Finally, they will also need to foster and inclusive and engaged culture by providing training (Matz, n.p.)”.  Basically, once we have a great pool of employees, we need to make sure that they are treated equally.

I think that HR departments start the process because they are the ones that hire, hopefully, with diversity in mind and establish policies governing diversity during recruitment and employment. I think it is important to keep in mind that even if we have affirmative action programs, they may not yield the results we are looking for if we hire diverse workforce at the lower levels of the organization while keeping “top positions” for filled with white males only. Ultimately, the top leadership should be involved in promoting diversity, HR departments should ensure there are processes in place that promote diversity be that in recruitment or during employment and individual units should also be trained to promote the same. I think everyone in the workplace should be committed to promoting varied perspectives but doing so in an honest and real way. People can understand when programs have been put in place for the sake of “checking a box” and not with a true intent in mind. 

For example, I was hired into a prestigious position at a School of Management. I was very excited to be part of such a great team and even more excited to bring in my years of experience and provide a different perspective. After all, I was first college graduate in my family, came from another country (one that is not represented much in the USA) and have had experience working at Universities abroad as well as in the USA – private and public institutions, liberal, religious etc. Soon after I had started, it was painfully obvious that the team I was to work with saw me and treated me like a child - someone not on the same level. My colleagues would speak at me rather then discuss matters with me and meetings about important policies would have taken place behind closed doors. The coordinator on that team had more access and ability to provide opinion than I had. I tried so hard to be upbeat and positive but the judgement I felt when I arrived to work each day was immense and led me to eventually be so anxious about who I was and where I came from that I left my position to take up a lower level one since my confidence took a huge hit - I felt completely useless. I think this is a clear example how hiring for diversity can fail miserably if the team is not ready and trained to embrace someone who is different. Ultimately, I not only left my position but also wrote a letter to HR indicating that to succeed on a team was important to me but I would not give up my values and who I am simply to fit in and that perhaps HR needs to take a closer look at its employees and their views on diversity and train them better because they are missing out on the ability to innovate with an open mind. 

References:

Kundu, S.C. (2001). Managing Cross-Cultural Diversity: A Challenge for Present and Future Organizations. Delhi Business Review, 2(2).  Retrieved from: http://www.delhibusinessreview.org/v_2n2/dbrv2n2e.pdf

Matz, D. (2016). The Business Case for Diversity. American Banker. Retrieved from: https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/the-business-case-for-diversity?tag=00000153-a958-dba7-afd7-af7dd3210000

Shen, J., Chanda, A., D'Netto, B., and Monga, M. (2009). Managing diversity through human resource management: an international perspective and conceptual framework. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(2), 235-521.