Diversity Executive - November 2008 - (Page 10)

LEADERSHIP | Robert Rodriguez Managing Risk The ability to reduce risk and add value will serve the diversity function well Much of what we hear today about the financial markets has to do with poor risk management. Yet, even though modern diversity executives are firmly tied to business objectives, risk management is not a topic I hear often at diversity conferences. Effective risk management means considering the costs associated with events that are difficult to predict. For diversity executives, our aspect of the risk equation deals directly with talent. Our key value proposition is to help ensure a match between employee capabilities and the needs/skills required to meet business objectives. This might sound like an issue for learning executives, but it is our challenge as well, particularly when it comes to diversity education. For years we have been saying the workforce of tomorrow will be much more diverse than it is today. But we haven’t done an adequate job of minimizing the risks associated with this fact. shops. Training became pragmatic and applicable to resolving daily diversity issues. This approach also mitigated risk by not focusing only on white males. Managing diversity became equally important to all groups. Managing diversity did not provide a good link to business results, however. We began to talk about the business case for diversity, and less attention was paid to the fact that diversity also is the right thing to do. By focusing on the business case for diversity and inclusion, diversity executives demonstrated that a diverse workforce is better able to serve the needs of a diverse consumer base. As a result, we lowered our risk of not getting executive buy-in for our efforts. However, it wasn’t long before a new risk arose due to our failure to view diversity from a global perspective. Topics that focus on tolerance and sensitivity often are viewed as unique to America. We have to be sure not to address diversity issues within demographic groups, but across countries. We all are aware of the evolution diversity education has undergone within corporate America. First, we rolled out compliance training to ensure employees knew all the rules and regulations regarding civil rights and new legislation. This lowered our risk of possible litigation. Next, we moved toward training that focused on zero tolerance in an effort to change behavior and reduce prejudice. However, not all of this training was well-received because the implied audience was white males, and the subject matter centered on why “they” should be more tolerant of women and minorities in the workplace. We soon ran the risk of diminishing returns from our tolerance and sensitivity programs, so we shifted paradigms and rolled out diversity appreciation workshops. We promoted the idea that diversity was the right thing to do, and our sessions focused on engaging employees in meaningful dialogue that challenged assumptions, stereotypes and biases. Diversity leaders can reduce the costs of a mismatch between employees and the skills needed to perform effectively in a global economy. Fortunately, we have great diversity partners to ensure our diversity education programs tie in two distinct disciplines: traditional workforce diversity and global culture work. Because of the complexity of global diversity, such programs move learners along a development spectrum of more advanced cross-cultural competence that includes learning, reflection and personal experience. In our current market, I would argue the risk diversity leaders can best address is reducing the costs of a mismatch between employees and the skills needed to perform effectively in a global economy. One way to minimize risk and maximize return on diversity education is to reduce learning time. Building cross-cultural or diversity competence quicker allows employees to add more value to their organizations in a shorter amount of time. As diversity leaders, our mantra should be to speed the process that moves employees toward cross cultural-competence so they can add greater value. In a tough market like we’re facing today, being able to talk about and execute our ability to reduce risk and add value will serve the diversity function well. « Dr. Robert Rodriguez is an assistant dean at Kaplan University and author of Latino Talent: Effective Strategies to Recruit, Retain & Develop Hispanic Professionals. He can be reached at editor@diversity-executive.com. Now, we’ve run into a new type of risk because we could not measure if employees really appreciated diversity. My friend Andrés Tapia, chief diversity officer at Hewitt Associates, reminded me that until recently, diversity wasn’t considered a skill or competency — so diversity executives began to strategize how to turn diversity into discrete, observable and trainable behaviors and skills. The solution was the genesis of managing diversity work- 10 Diversity Executive | www.diversity-executive.com | November/December 2008 http://www.diversity-executive.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Diversity Executive - November 2008

Diversity Executive - November 2008
Editor’s Letter
Contents
Leadership
Connections
Guest Editorial
Diversity Executive Online
Middle Management Roadblock
‘Hidden Winds’ Hinder Progress
The Domino Effect
Supplier Partnerships Unlock Economic Opportunities
Measuring Diversity
Special Section: Who’s Who in Diversity and Inclusion
Dimensions of Difference
Overcoming Language Diff erences
Business Intelligence: Combating Subtle Discrimination
Case Study: Shifting Diversity Into Overdrive
Advertisers’ Index
Editorial Resources
Strategies

Diversity Executive - November 2008

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