Diversity Executive - November 2008 - (Page 58)

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE Workplace Unfairness: Combating Subtle Discrimination New research indicates diversity has officially emerged as a strategic business issue and has significant implications for how organizations recruit leaders, create a brand and avoid accusations of discrimination. By Eunice Azzani and Michael Kennedy While much attention has been focused on the costs of multimillion-dollar gender- or race-based discrimination lawsuits, a subtler and far more expensive form of discrimination exists. According to a new study by the Level Playing Field Institute and sponsored in part by executive recruitment ﬁrm Korn/Ferry International, workplace unfairness costs U.S. employers $64 billion each year. This staggering amount includes the cost of losing and replacing the more than 2 million professionals and managers who leave their companies each year due solely to stereotyping, mistaken identity, public embarrassment and other forms of workplace unfairness. The research also examines other impacts of turnover resulting from workplace unfairness, including reputation and marketplace risks. In addition to avoiding reputation hits and incurring turnover and loss-of-productivity costs, companies that effectively limit workplace unfairness also stand a better chance of attracting and retaining top-notch talent and accessing new markets. Reducing and eliminating workplace unfairness requires a broad range of actions and practices within most business processes. Addressing diversity during the recruiting process represents an important ﬁrst step for many organizations, including those that have yet to recognize and respond to the risks and rewards diversity poses. This is particularly the case at the board and executive level, where leaders exert great inﬂuence on the entire workforce and organizational culture. “The way the search for executives and corporate directors is conducted represents the crucial introduction of an individual to the company culture,” said Paula Collins, CEO of WDG Ventures, a San Francisco-based real estate development ﬁrm, who serves on the Board of Directors for Presidio Bank and the American Automobile Association’s Northern California, Nevada and Utah chapter. “It’s necessary to have a diverse candidate pool from which to pick the most highly qualiﬁed person for the job.” From Lip Service to Leading Practices Until relatively recently, diversity’s qualiﬁcation as a strategic business issue has been more qualitative than quantitative. For many organizations, hiring a diverse board, executive team and workforce represent more of a response to social drivers than a response to business drivers. Unfairness Index The Level Playing Field Institute conducted “The Corporate Leavers Survey” in January 2007. The research focused on 1,700 professionals and managers in the corporate workforce who voluntarily left their employers or volunteered for a layoff within the past five years. 2 million The number of U.S. professionals and managers who voluntarily leave their companies each year due to unfair treatment. 13 percent The portion of respondents who indicated their experience strongly discouraged them from recommending their employer’s products or services to others. 51 percent The portion of respondents who say unfairness led them “to some degree” to discourage others from purchasing products or services from their employer. 58 percent The portion of respondents who reported that unfairness led them “to some degree” to discourage others from seeking a job at their employer. 58 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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