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How Do You Define "Diversity?"
November 10, 2009
Diversity programs are inspiring and the right thing to do. After all, what kind of villain doesn't want to open opportunities for advancement to all ethnic groups? But while most companies agree diversity issues in the workplace deserve attention, many lack a clear and consistent definition of what "diversity" is, according to i4cp's latest study. Here are the highlights:
• The study found overall, only about 1 in 5 (21 percent) of respondents have a broad and inclusive definition of diversity, while 17 percent admit they have no definition at all. Higher market-performing organizations are more likely to define diversity broadly, with 28 percent reporting they include all diversity groups in their definition, compared to only 15 percent of lower-performing companies that include them all.
• Roughly 1 in 4 (23 percent) of lower-performer companies do not even have a diversity definition, and 12 percent of higher performers don't either. Also, few organizations measure the bottom-line impact of diversity initiatives. In higher-performing organizations, 76 percent said they do not calculate a return on their diversity investments, while 80 percent of lower performers don't measure ROI.
• Diversity strategy, however, is a widely recognized topic, particularly among larger companies. A full 78 percent of organizations with 10,000 or more employees report having a diversity strategy, compared to 44 percent of companies with 100 to 999 employees and 31 percent in companies with fewer than 100 workers.
• The perceived importance of diversity is not lost on companies, either. Some 72 percent of higher-performing organizations say diversity issues are "important" or "very important" today, and 80 percent believe the issue will be important/very important in 10 years. That compares to 76 percent of lower performers who feel diversity is important or very important today, and 83 percent of them believe it will be so in 10 years.
• Regarding budget considerations for diversity programs, larger and higher-performing companies are more likely to set a specific budget. Fifty-nine percent of companies with more than 10,000 workers have specific budgets for diversity issues, compared to 19 percent of companies with 100 to 999 employees, and 11 percent of companies with fewer than 100 workers. Higher performers (48 percent) also are more apt to specifically fund such initiatives than lower performing firms are, at 27 percent.
• When it comes to measuring the success of their programs, organizations at all performance levels agree retention and engagement top the list. Improvement in employee retention was cited by 69 percent of higher performers as the top diversity success measurement, followed by better employee engagement results at 54 percent.
• More than half (56 percent) of lower performers cited retention as the top measurement, and 54 percent (the same as higher performers) pointed to improved employee engagement. When reviewing diversity metrics, companies at all levels tend to rely on the previous year's results for comparison purposes.
• To support diversity strategies, the most common infrastructure in place is diversity training, favored by 53 percent of higher performers and 54 percent of lower-performing companies. Diversity recruiting is favored by 49 percent of higher performers, compared to 36 percent of lower performers.
• "Defining 'diversity and inclusion' is a primary challenge for organizations to 'move the needle.' If you cannot agree on what diversity is, how do you create a strategy?" asks i4cp's Mary Ann Downey. "How do you know when you have succeeded? Another challenge is measurement. If you define diversity narrowly to attributes that are measurable, such as race/ethnicity, gender, etc., are you addressing the business challenge?"
Does your company define diversity for employees, or do you think they intuitively know what it means? What role, if any, does your "corporate culture" play in promoting diversity? Join the discussion on Training Day.
Note: Did you miss the last issue of Inside Training? To read it, click here.
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