Diversity Executive - November 2008 - (Page 20)

know the issues, they can ﬁgure out how diversity can help. Making the connection between diversity and business issues is easier in some cases than others. It’s fairly straightforward to show adopting diversity management strategies can decrease turnover, which can save hiring costs and cut down on new employee training. But other issues may require more analysis. Does diversity have anything to do with how a beleaguered middle manager meets demanding deadlines with insufﬁcient staff? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps tapping into the companies’ afﬁnity groups can surface expertise or best practices in another part of the company that can be leveraged to improve productivity in the beleaguered manager’s department. Diversity leaders must listen to what middle managers need and then work with them to connect their concerns with diversity management strategies. Accountability and Rewards Some diversity leaders argue that talk of middle management resistance is a red herring — that, in fact, middle managers are the scapegoat, while the real problem is a lack of leadership at the top. Middle managers in today’s organizations have survived mergers, layoffs and/or multiple changes in strategic direction and are savvy enough to fall in line with whatever they perceive corporate priorities to be. To know their bosses’ real priorities, middle managers need only look at their performance plan objectives. Whether or not the entire burden of middle manager resistance can be laid on senior leaders, common sense and two recent studies by ORC show managers will pay more attention to diversity when their performance is judged in part on diversity-related measures: how managers demonstrate inclusive behaviors and how they measure achievement against diversity-related objectives. For example, the “Impact of Senior Leadership” study found companies designated as “high diversity performers” usually hold senior leaders accountable for both their behavior and achievement of objectives (Figure 2). The expectation is, if senior leaders are held accountable for both aspects of diversity performance, they will cascade the same expectations to the middle ranks. Further, companies that score higher on a variety of diversity measures also are more likely to reward managers for diversity performance. In the “Impact of Senior Leadership” study, twice as many high-performing companies tied signiﬁcant bonus amounts to diversity than other companies. Monetary rewards are effective, but so are nonmonetary rewards such as recognition by senior leaders and in company media. One of the most powerful rewards for diversity performance can be recognition by the boss in regular management meetings. The audience may be small, but it contains colleagues of signiﬁcance to the recipient: his or her peers and supervisors. Such recognition also can set up a little healthy competition among the other managers in the room and send a strong message that diversity and inclusion matter to the higher-ups. Build Diversity Into Tools and Processes Middle managers will have an easier time applying diversity and inclusion principles to their responsibilities if standard processes and tools are designed with diversity and inclusion already baked in. Human resources and diversity leaders should review all major people-related business processes for alignment with the company’s diversity goals, which in turn should be aligned with the company’s business strategy. Let’s say that an important business goal is to grow revenues from China. Achieving this goal requires that many professional employees work in teams consisting of Chinese, European and North American members. Accordingly, a key organization diversity goal is to build cross-cultural competence among professional employees. It won’t do any good to hold middle managers accountable for developing that capa- Figure 1: Training’s Link to Higher Diversity Performance Microinequities training* 38% 75% 79% 100% 54% 75% Cross-cultural training Required stand-alone awareness training Other companies High diversity performers Figure 2: CEO Direct Reports Diversity Accountability Hold direct reports accountable Rate personal behavior in performance reviews Required to have diversity-related objectives Other companies 50% 88% 83% 100% 75% 100% High diversity performers Source: ORC, August 2008 20 Diversity Executive | www.diversity-executive.com | November/December 2008 http://www.diversity-executive.com

Table of Contents Feed 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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