CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE

According to the Conference Board of Canada, the rapid growth of visible minorities is changing the very face of Canada and boosting our economy.  By 2016, almost one in five workers will belong to a visible minority group.  Looking ahead, their contribution promises to be at least as important as it already has been.

(From:  Making a Visible Difference: The Contribution of Visible Minorities to Canadian Economic Growth, published April 2004).

Also in “A Business Case for Diversity”, prepared by Dr. Jeffrey Gandz (Professor and Associate Dean at the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario), it is mentioned that:

Both private and public sector organizations are under continuing pressure to improve their bottom lines.  For private sector organizations, this is profit and profitability; in the public sector, it is the efficient delivery of services for all members of society.

Diversity can help organizations:

·         identify and capitalize on opportunities to improve products and services;

·         attract, retain, motivate and utilize human resources effectively;

·         improve the quality of decision-making at all organizational levels; and

·         reap the many benefits from being perceived as a socially-conscious and progressive organization.

Because business today is commonly being done between companies across the world, and the characteristics of the population are quickly changing, the pursuit of diversity in the workplace should be of interest to everyone!

Workplace Diversity Today

Over the last few years, it has become clear that organizations must pursue workplace diversity as a competitive necessity; it is only through valuing and pursuing workplace diversity and managing it well that organizations can attract, retain and encourage the contributions from the people they need to delight customers, work effectively with partners and suppliers and satisfy shareholders.

The Benefits from Diversity

Organizations need well-managed diversity if they are to meet or exceed the expectations of key stakeholder groups: shareholders or taxpayers, customers and clients, employees, suppliers, and the communities and societies within which they operate.

What does that mean for you as you look for work?  How would you be able to meet or exceed your potential employer’s expectations?  The staff at the Bredin Institute would be happy to help you develop your marketing tools (i.e. your resume, cover letter, etc.) and improve your job search skills (for networking, cold calls and interview opportunities).

Anticipating and Responding to Customer Needs

Increasingly diverse workforces are required to understand and respond to the needs and aspirations of increasingly diverse customers.  Diversity in the workforce, at all levels, is essential if these customer needs are to be translated into products and services which can be effectively, efficiently and, in the case of private sector organizations, profitably marketed.

Diversity and Customers

This "responsiveness to customer needs" occurs at three levels.

1.         The service level, organizations have concluded that they need employees drawn from different backgrounds and groups within their customer base in order to understand and serve their customer needs better.  For example:

·         The Bank of Montreal, which has won several awards for its overall Workplace Equality Program, has increased its business by hiring Chinese-speaking employees who are better able to communicate with Chinese customers and build a rapport, which raises the bank's esteem in the Chinese communities it hopes to serve.  Peggy Sum, vice-president of Asian markets says that diversity has been able to add such details to the branches as changing the bank's corporate colors to red in Chinese branches-blue and white are associated with death and funerals. These details have accumulated in the form of a 400 percent increase in Chinese business at the bank in the last five years.

·         National Grocers’ diversity initiatives have also focused on customer relations and have been reflected in their bottom line.  At a Loblaw's location in Toronto, the potential customer base had shifted as the area had seen an influx of Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking immigrants.  The store advertised for a Pharmacist who spoke both languages, filled the position and immediately saw revenues increase significantly.

2.         At another level - the design level - organizations which have diverse workforces that extend into management positions, engineering groups, marketing departments and other operational groups, have discovered that gender, ethno-cultural or other diversity can help them design and deliver products in ways which appeal to diverse customer segments.  As examples:

·         Design may be as vital as the name on the product.  When Chevrolet launched the Nova into Latin America, perhaps Hispanic Managers might have pointed out that "nova" in Spanish means "doesn't go"!

·         It may be labelling.  The baby food company which changed the white baby's face on its bottle to black, for an African introduction of the product, was not sensitized to the fact that the norm in Africa is to put on the label what is inside the package. It did not sell!

3.         At the very highest level - the strategic level - we have organizations that are so familiar with their marketplaces that they make fundamental strategic decisions based on an in-depth understanding of how different groups of customers perceive the world, perceive their organizations, and how they feel about doing business with those who may not understand or empathize with their needs.  For example:

·         The decision by the boards of such companies as General Electric and Procter and Gamble to add non-American directors reflected its recognition that diversity at the board level was essential to developing the corporation from a U.S.-based multi-national into a truly global entity.

·         Coca-Cola feels the key to its success is its commitment to having a workforce that reflects the consumers it serves.  Diversity in employees means diversity in talent and strategic thinking - thinking which leads to shrewd marketing practices generally, and successful targeting of specific cultural groups.

Supplier Relationships

Effective working relationships with suppliers are increasingly being identified as critical success factors for businesses as they seek to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of all linkages in the value-chain.

Diversity and Suppliers

Supply-chain management is emerging as one of the key areas in which companies can gain competitive advantage.  While customers are often the primary focus of diversity competitiveness, it is no less important for an organization to maintain excellent relationships with suppliers.  Whether buying fashions in China, beef in Argentina, or machine tools in Germany, the ability to deal with suppliers in their own language, demonstrate appropriate behavioral manners and to conduct successful negotiations may be critical dimensions of competitive advantage.  In many cases, this involves actively seeking alliances, partnerships and supply arrangements with "minority suppliers" who can give non-diverse companies a starting base for diversifying their operations.

As you look for employment opportunities, how could you use your international experience and training to market your skills to Canadian companies?

What many companies have found, is that to reach these markets, companies need input from members of those groups, whether in the design, production or marketing phases, or whether it is achieved internally, through diversifying their workforce, or externally, by working with minority-owned and operated suppliers.

Could you provide some useful suggestions to these organizations?

Focus on Employees

In an era of critical skills shortages, organizations are finding that they must attract, retain, motivate and utilize their valuable human assets effectively if they are to be competitive.  Diversity management can reduce unwelcome turnover, reduce absenteeism and be a powerful magnet in recruitment.

Diversity and Investment

Most developed countries require substantial levels of foreign investment in order to achieve satisfactory economic growth.  Canada has the highest level of foreign investment of any of the G-7 countries and, in recent years, has benefited particularly from Asian investment.  But there are problems.  Philip Barter, a senior partner in the Vancouver office of Price Waterhouse, contends that there have been several cases of Japanese or Asian investors who have shied away from putting their money in Canada because of what they perceive as increasing racism.  Decision-makers are increasingly diverse, so when they come into a community, it means a lot to them to see a diverse leadership.  They feel more comfortable.”

Diversity and Globalization

Workforce diversity - from customer service clerks through to the board of directors - is a critical dimension for those companies seeking to establish themselves as global enterprises.

·         The Conference Board of Canada released a study last year which concluded that having an ethnically-diverse workforce can make a company more profitable. Gaining the global advantage was the theme of the report, which predicted that if Canadian businesses continue to rely heavily on traditional markets, our export growth and standard of living will "be relegated to the slow lane of international commerce."  The key to entering international markets, it is implied, is gathering an "international" employee base to serve as a natural bridge and help Canadian firms penetrate those emerging markets.

·         Ford has manufacturing, assembly and sales facilities in 34 countries and distributes its vehicles through a network of more than 10,500 dealers in more than 200 countries.  Alex Trotman, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Company argues "it's very important for our product people to understand the different consumer tastes around the world.  People in China don't like exactly the same products as people in India.  Our performance is global and our workforce has to be global.  We have to be very understanding of the issues of the world."

·         Helmut Eppich, founder and Chairman of Ebco Industries, makes the following statement: "The world is forcing us to think more globally, more internationally, and this requires an international focus.  You need to understand what makes people tick….This is why I think the focus on multiculturalism that Ebco has taken is critically important."

Overcoming language barriers, grasping various cultural nuances, attracting the best employees in a changing demographic and establishing good faith with foreign investors are important for a diverse workforce in the cultural microcosms of Canada or the United States, but are survival tactics for firms seeking a global presence.  Sandra Wilking, the special advisor to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is cited in a recent Conference Board of Canada study saying that many mainstream Canadian business people aren't pursuing opportunities in the Asia Pacific region because of their concerns about differences in language, culture and business practices.  With the sheer number of highly qualified Canadians and landed immigrants from all parts of Asia, this is a tremendous wasted opportunity.

Diversity and Employees

David Williams, president of National Grocers Co. Ltd., Loblaws Supermarkets Ltd., states, quite succinctly, that "My competitors can duplicate our technology, systems and equipment.  What they cannot duplicate are our people."  The challenge for most organizations is to develop a workforce with the right number of people, with the right skills and abilities, who are committed to the goals and objectives of the organization.

How can you show that you have the right background for the positions you apply for?  How will you convince the employer that you are able to contribute to the goals/objectives of the company?

Diversity and Corporate Citizenship

Achieving a reputation as a "good" or "poor" corporate citizen may be valued either for itself or for what is assumed to depend on such reputation.

Perhaps nowhere is this more important as in the high-growth, high-technology industries in which companies must recruit large numbers of highly educated and trained individuals, from a wide variety of ethno-cultural backgrounds.  To be known as a great place to work, with an open and inclusive environment, may be a critical factor in attracting and retaining new employees and, therefore, a critical success factor in the pursuit of profitable growth.

Diversity and Society

Many organizations recognize multiple benefits to diversity.  For example, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants contends that diversity is particularly critical to accounting because it is a service profession and also due to its goal of staying accessible and attractive to "capable, ethical and motivated individuals" and tapping into an increasingly diverse talent pool.  The demographic of potential recruitees as well as customers, is changing, and the CICA recognizes that the two are not mutually exclusive.  The CICA feels that without profession-wide change, the CA profession will: continue to lose, or be unable to recruit, valuable resources, not only in public practice but also in the governance of the profession; compromise its ability to add value in a diverse marketplace; suffer perhaps irreparable harm to its image and position, by being perceived as insular, old-fashioned, outdated and comprising only those individuals who look, think and act the same; and cease to be a vibrant, dynamic leader in the accounting field.

Adapted from:  A BUSINESS CASE FOR DIVERSITY, by Dr. Jeffrey Gandz, Professor and Associate Dean at Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (with the research assistance of Michelle E. Orange, University of Toronto).

Complete article available at:  http://www.equalopportunity.on.ca/eng_g/documents/BusCase.html