Page 4 - RACE HEALER Mag Volume 1
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A  Blueprint  for  Diversity  and  Inclusion




                                                          By  Sharon  Armstrong



           “Cultural diversity and inclusion thrive when people
           with unique perspectives work together to achieve
           common goals.”
                                                   –– Candice Bernhardt

           There’s nothing new about diversity in the workplace. In the
           past, we may have thought our organizations appeared homo-
           geneous, but diversity was represented. We’ve just become
           a lot more aware of it and realized that having a diverse and
           inclusive workplace is really a good thing.

           In our rapidly changing world, we’re increasingly aware that
           focusing attention on managing a diverse workforce is not just
           a good idea – it is a business necessity.
                                                                              •  Attract and retain the best talent.
                                                                              •  Reduce the costs of high turnover, absenteeism, and low
                                                                                  productivity.
                                                                              •  Have greater flexibility and adaptability in the rapidly
                                                                                  changing marketplace.
                                                                              •  Increase sales and profits.


                                                                              How do you establish a diverse


                                                                              culture?



                                                                              To start, you need to be absolutely sure your organization’s
                                                                              leadership supports, and will actively participate in, increasing
                                                                              employee diversity. Without that support, nothing else will
                                                                              succeed.

                                                                              Once you have that support you need, review the organization’s
                                                                              current policies, procedure, and practices to ensure they sup-
                                                                              port diversity.

           But what exactly is “diversity?”                                   Review the organization’s website to be sure its diversity-relat-

                                                                              ed material is true, useful, and meaningful.
           In today’s complex, global environment, workplace diversity is
           really about creating a respectful, inclusive work environment     Review the organization’s Intranet to make sure that the in-
           in which every employee has the opportunity to make a mean-        formation available for employees states the commitment to
           ingful contribution to the organization’s mission and goals.       diversity and inclusion.

           How can diversity strategies tie into an organization’s business   Use representative employee photos and stories on the website
           objectives?                                                        and on the Intranet that are natural and authentic. Include men
                                                                              and women of various races and ethnicities.
           Once the goal of enabling every employee to contribute is
           reached, the organization is able to:
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