The U.S. Labor Department’s study Workforce 2000, released several years ago, painted a picture of the workers that would enter the job market in the year 2000. Continuous studies have reconfirmed these original trends — the largest percentage of the potential workers would be women, the second largest would be immigrants, and the smallest percentage of the available workforce would be males.

Along with considering how your company will be viewed as a potential employer by this pool of future workers, also consider the business impact of the diverse customer base available to you. Aren’t your available customers a mix of different religions, races, genders, as well as preferences?

Understanding diversity and implementing policies and practices that embrace it, are becoming increasingly critical parts of business strategy development. This change is resulting from a desire to make sound business decisions, continue to create new customers, avoid employee turnover and not overlook the need to comply with legal employment requirements. Penalties for personnel practices that don’t value diversity can be costly, as well as tarnish your reputation with your employees, potential employees and the business community.

Diversity. We hear a lot about it, but what is it? It is more than a "buzz" word. One definition might be:

The ability to appreciate a situation from a new perspective in order to remove barriers between two groups, or individuals, in an attempt to reach a common goal.

For businesses and communities to reach their best levels of productivity, each employee must learn more about how to embrace differences and listen with an open heart and mind to new ideas. The qualities that make people unique are the very same ones that help generate new ideas to satisfy customer needs and integrate available technology into the product stream. By incorporating diversity as a strategic element of culture, policies, training and employee relations, the organization benefits by creating the opportunity to tap into a much broader base of experience and knowledge.

Is your organization reviews and revisits existing practices, or as new policies are created, consider doing so with a more knowledgeable and sensitive view of the multifaceted concept of diversity. Use these opportunities as stepping stones to the year 2000 by encouraging and rewarding different styles, opinions and approaches.

© Debbie King, Evolution Management, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.