HR Pulse - Fall 2008 - (Page 53)

you? Breaking down the understanding of this paradigm across cultures may close another requisition or two. Proxemics – Where’s your comfort zone for interpersonal distance? What are various cultures ways of communicating? Up close and personal? Guarded? On average, most men are comfortable with 12+ inches distance between the sender and receiver. For women, it is 6 to 8 inches. This interpersonal distance can vary from culture to culture. Someone from another culture crossing into my personal space can be damaging and send a bad message. Or does it really? Avoidance of Biased Noise – It can be challenging at times to speak to a person with a strong accent. Sometimes when speaking with these kinds of potential applicants or employees, we tend to slow down our words, sometimes even speak louder as if the person were deaf. There are times when some of us feel that those from different cultures or countries are not as well educated as what we would like to see. We need to turn down our personal radios and tune out the noise. Time and Deadlines – Can you believe that in some cultures within the United States, it’s perfectly acceptable to show up to a meeting 30 minutes late? It’s true. Some cultures take a lot of time to make decisions. These cultures can fall into the American workplace very easily. much more. It’s not that diversity may, or may not have anything to do with any, or all, of the above. It’s that we don’t always know what the individual using it means speciﬁcally.” Part of our problem with diversity initiatives is that we often don’t understand the context of what we’re trying to initiate into our work systems. I feel that diversity includes everything Colo’n discusses above as well as sensitivity, communication, and culture. Smart hospitals and other health care institutions would be wise to dissect their theories and make sure they are applicable to company vision as well as patient care. Deborah Washington, director of diversity for Massachusetts General Hospital stated that “all of us relate to someone who looks like us and sounds like us. Patients who see a hospital that values people like them or their staff are more likely to feel comfortable as they are being treated.” Patient care, in the long run, is greatly affected by all of these ideas of diversity. Conclusion Managing diversity and just plain trying to recruit and manage within the walls of health care can be a daunting experience. But, is it really as difﬁcult as it may seem to be? My thoughts are that it’s easier than one believes. Recruitment, managing, and retention strategies are all affected by diversity initiatives. Take the time to slow down, understand, and explore your paradigms. Stephen Bollenbach, president and CEO of The Hilton Family (hotels) summarizes and supports the intent of this article perfectly: “While successful diversity programming can result in receiving awards, plaques and trophies (which look nice on our walls), at Hilton we’re concerned with much more than an accumulation of hardware. Our achievements in diversity programming, and the priority we place on it, go to the very heart, soul, and spirit of our organization….who we are, and what we stand for.” Moving forward, remember that we need to open our hearts and minds to these potential areas of misunderstanding. Diverse candidates and employees are people. They have feelings, they have goals, and they are strong contributors to the workforce. They are not statistics. Are all of your employees at the heart, soul, and spirit of your organizations? Go ahead, ask yourself: What is your diversity paradigm? Brian Beck, PHR, MHROD, is the director of Human Resources for Lovelace Westside Hospital in Albuquerque, N.M., as well as a part-time instructor at the Anderson School of Management at UNM. He can be reached by e-mail at brian.beck@lovelace.com 53 HR Pulse Fall 2008 Step 3: Consider Sensitivity Cultural sensitivity is a learned process. To survive in today’s business world, managers must be sensitive to diverse employee backgrounds. Is our/your way the right way? Can your own beliefs, morals, and values be challenged by means of diverse situations within the walls of your workplace or ofﬁce? The answer is yes, of course. Be aware of people’s backgrounds, politics, manners, gestures, and non-verbal communication. Keep in mind again that cultural sensitivity can occur both within and outside our own borders. Trying to understand the sociological perspectives of the diverse groups of individuals employed by your organization or those who you are attempting to hire is the ﬁrst step of recognizing your own paradigm. Bringing It Together In his article, Confessions of a Diversity Director, Aly Colo’n explains the word diversity in this manner, “Some see it as a code word for such issues as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, quota, afﬁrmative action, political correctness, or pandering. Others might broaden it to include age, geography, abilities, religion, and

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Pulse - Fall 2008

HR Pulse - Fall 2008 Contents Pulse Points Executive Director’s Letter President’s Message HR Leader Profile: Irma Pye Sammy’s House: Making a Difference in Austin Working Mother Magazine’s 100 Best Companies Increasing CEO Engagement Pastoral Care Retaining Scarce, Critical Talent The Engagement Dilemma Diversity Considerations…More than AAP & EEO Quashing the Workplace Bullying Bug How to Become a Strong Human Resources Partner Citizen Lobbyists Descend Upon Capitol Hill Conference Highlights Schedule at a Glance Sponsors Exhibitors Advertisers’ Index

HR Pulse - Fall 2008

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