Encouraging Cultural Diversity in the Workplace
As an employer, you understand the value a talented team of employees can bring to your business. You can’t afford to miss out on attracting top job candidates from every cultural background. However, many companies do just that when they fail to create a welcoming atmosphere for a diverse workforce.
In an increasingly global marketplace, an exclusionist attitude is neither profitable nor desirable. Whether you are hiring workers from one of the many cultures within the U.S. or immigrants from other countries, here are some things to keep in mind.
Welcoming Difference
There are two complimentary messages you need to communicate to your workforce as you develop an inclusive environment:
1. At a basic level, we are all alike - and that’s a good thing!
2. As people with unique backgrounds, we are all different - and that’s a good thing!
This is one area where employees tend to follow the lead of management. Set the example by being flexible and respectful of difference. As you integrate newcomers from various cultures into your workforce, take a proactive approach to diversity/sensitivity training. Don’t wait until there is an “incident” or violation of your anti-harassment policy.
Encourage employees to continue this learning process outside the workplace. Post information about various cultural arts events in your city that workers may wish to attend. These are often offered free or at a low cost at universities with diverse student populations. When people associate cultural differences with excitement, fun, and creativity, they are more likely to appreciate new customs and ways of doing things at work.
Reasonable Accommodation
As an employer, you know that being accused of giving certain employees special treatment is a sure way to stir up resentment. This means you must take the needs of a diverse workforce into consideration in policy planning.
For example, it may be time to relax your dress code to include traditional clothing and hairstyles from a variety of cultures. As long as these choices present no safety concerns and employees are well groomed, do you really want to create conflict in this area? A shift to a more casual dress code is something that will make all your employees happy.
Holidays are another area where flexibility benefits everyone. A PTO policy offers employees the opportunity to take a day off now and then for whatever reasons they wish. Adding 1-2 floating holidays to a traditional vacation policy is another way to accommodate various cultural or religious celebrations. As long as employees are asking for time off in advance as required, there is no reason not to accommodate these requests.
Ensuring good communication is another vital aspect of embracing cultural diversity. If 10% or more of your workforce speaks a first language other than English, investing in translation services can be money well spent. You don’t need to translate every memo and email, but your employee handbook and benefits information should be available in the secondary language. If 20% or more of your workers are most comfortable speaking in a language other than English, hiring an HR representative who speaks that language is a good idea.
Be prepared to make some embarrassing faux pas as you learn to create an inclusive work environment. When this happens, fix your mistakes and keep trying. A good faith effort goes a long way toward building a strong team.
