Workforce Diversity Meaning, Features and Significance

Workforce management (WFM) is the process of strategically optimizing the productivity of employees to ensure that all resources are in the right place at the right time. Typically, a workforce management strategy includes scheduling, forecasting, skills management, timekeeping and attendance, intraday management, and employee empowerment. Complexity increases with the need to ensure that customer service supports omnichannel customer engagement.

Managing workforce diversity implies creating an organisational climate in which a heterogeneous workforce performs to its best potential; without the organisation favouring /dis-favouring any particular segment of workforce with a view to facilitating the best attainment of organisational goals.

Workforce diversity also means the varied personal characteristics that make the work force of an organization heterogeneous. Organization in the past took a “Melting Pot” approach to differences in organizations. It was assumed that people who were from different background would automatically want to adjust with the workforce in organization but now a day’s employees come with a set life style, values and preferences when they come to work.

The challenge for HR manager therefore, is to make their organizations more accommodating to divers groups of people by addressing different life styles, needs, values and work styles.

According to Moorhead and Griffin “Workforce diversity is concerned with the similarities and differences in such characteristics as age, gender, ethnic heritage, physical abilities and disabilities, race, and sexual orientation, among the employees of organisations.”

Primary dimensions such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and physical abilities represent those elements that are either inborn or exert extra influence on early socialization. These dimensions make up the essence of who we are as human beings. They define us to others, making them react towards accordingly.

Primary dimensions such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and physical abilities represent those elements that are either inborn or exert extra influence on early socialization. These dimensions make up the essence of who we are as human beings. They define us to others, making them react towards accordingly.

Primary Dimensions:

These are core elements about each member of the workforce that can’t be changed such as age, race, gender, physical and mental abilities and sexual orientation. These inborn elements are interdependent and exert an important influence on individual’s behaviour throughout the life. Together they form an individual’s ‘self-image’.

Gender diversity is increasingly apparent throughout the world. Not only are more women working, but gender-based occupational segregation is also declining in many countries. Thus, within corporations men and women are more likely to be found working side-by-side. Age diversity is increasing too. Many industrialized countries are experiencing declining rates of population growth, which push employers to hire both young and older employees.

Secondary Dimensions:

These constitute the elements that can be changed or at least modified. They include a person’s health habits, religious beliefs, education and training, general appearance, status relationship, ethnic customs, communication style and level of income. All these factors add an additional layer of complexity to the way we see ourselves and others and in some instances can exert a powerful impact on our core identities.

An accountant with ten years of work experience might adjust to a new position far differently from an accountant with much less experience. A male earner who loses his job may be severely affected by his loss of income as he has to cater to his familial demands whereas a married woman with no children may not be as affected by a similar loss as her husband can still meet the requirements of the family.

Features:

(i) Workforce diversity management requires creation of an organisational climate, in which people from different cultural, social backgrounds and being diverse in many other respects (e.g. age, gender, education etc.) can co-exist and work, with full co-operation of one another.

(ii) Workforce diversity management aims at making people work to the best of their potential

(iii) Workforce diversity management rules out any discrimination among people, in any respect, whatsoever.

(iv) Work-force diversity management is expected to work towards the best attainment of organisational goals.

Significance of Workforce Diversity Management:

Workforce diversity management is significant for the following reasons:

(i) Ability to Deal with Diverse Market:

Culturally diverse workforce can better appreciate the needs, feedings, and attitudes of culturally diverse consumers. Thus, workforce diversity increases the competence of a corporation to deal with a market; that consists of diverse consumer groups in respect of age, sex, culture etc.

(ii) Better Decision-Making:

People from heterogeneous backgrounds may aid management in better decision-making, by offering suggestions from a wide range of perspectives and orientations. In fact, heterogeneous groups of people may be more creative and innovative; when they pool their knowledge and experiences and agree on a common solution to a tricky problem; which might aid management in making excellent decisions for the organisation.

(iii) Better Human Relations:

Workforce diversity management aims at developing and nurturing a common organisational culture and climate; which enable people from diverse culture and backgrounds to co-exist peacefully. Such a common organisational culture and climate leads to better human relations in the enterprise and produces all-round organisational and managerial efficiency.

(iv) Preventing Unnecessary Labour Turnover:

When in an organisation there is good workforce diversity management; women and other dis-satisfied people are prevented from leaving the organisation. In case otherwise, when there is large labour turnover because of poor workforce diversity management; investment made in manpower may go waste, with other bad consequences for the organisation. In fact, employees leave the organisation when they do not feel comfortable and duly cared for by management.

(v) Building of Goodwill of the Enterprise:

Companies with excellent workforce diversity management build goodwill in the society. As such, talented people of society with diverse backgrounds and culture get attracted towards it for seeking suitable employment. Such companies never have a problem of the scarcity of skilled, educated and talented human capital.

Techniques of Workforce Diversity Management:

(i) Creating Awareness of Diversity:

Management must create awareness in the organisation that differences among people as to age, sex, education, culture etc. exist in workforce; so that people may try to understand one another in a more rational and friendly manner.

(ii) Creating Conditions for Common Organisational Culture:

Organisation must develop cross-cultural training programmes creating conditions for development of a common organisational culture and climate. Such common culture will create an environment in which a diversified work force can co-exist comfortably, peacefully and happily.

(iii) Programmes of Special Care for Diversified Workforce:

Management must design programmes of special care, like the following:

1. Care for elderly people
2. Special work schedules to provide convenience to female workers etc.

(iv) Career Development Programmes:

There must be programmes for identifying each individual’s strengths, weaknesses and potential for career development; so that the organization can capitalize on the peculiar features of a diversified workforce. In fact, people should be valued for their difference and variety.

(v) Avoiding Discriminations:

A very significant technique for excellent workforce diversity management is to avoid any sort of discrimination among people on the basis of age, culture and specially sex. In the most developed country the U.SA, the Glass Ceiling Commission states that between 95 and 97 percent of senior managers in the country’s biggest corporations are men.

(The term ‘glass ceiling’ describes the process by which women are barred from promotion by means of an invisible barrier).

(vi) Prevention of Sexual Harassment:

With the entry of a large number of women in organisations, the phenomenon of sexual harassment is usually witnessed; which management must prevent by all means and at all costs. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions, like  unwelcome touching, joking, teasing, innuendoes (indirectly bad and rude remarks), slurs, and the display of sexually explicit materials.

According to Jenny Watson, Deputy Chairman of the UK’s Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), sexual harassment is no laughing matter for hundreds of thousands of British workers, who experience it.

(vii) Committees of Diverse Members:

Committees of diverse members must be formed for evaluating and addressing complaints of people, regarding their sad experience of working in the organisation.