Organizations that have a presence in multiple parts of the world
struggle with the idea of a corporate diversity initiative and how
to make it work in the varied cultural environments they work in.
The concerns I receive calls about are U.S. HR or training people
who want to know how to adapt their training programs to other
countries or the professionals from other countries who have
inherited a program from their U.S. counterparts and don't know how
to tell them its content is not relevant to their workplace. This
is exactly where the problem lies. The discussion is at the
tactical level of how you implement a diversity initiative through
methods such as training, corporate initiatives such as recruitment
policies or mentoring programs, or from a customer-standpoint
specialized outreach towards specific markets. Where the discussion
has to start is at the strategic level. What are the desired
outcomes for the organization from a diversity initiative? How does
it tie in to other strategic imperatives? For an organization that
has facilities in multiple countries, the next question is: What
would success look like at a country-specific level? For example,
now that Brazil has a special focus on hiring and promoting people
with disabilities, should you have an outcome measure that reflects
this?
The U.S. model's historical evolution gives us a wonderful
framework to develop models for other parts of the world. Let's
walk through it. The diversity efforts in the U.S. are an
evolutionary response to revolutionary events. The civil rights and
women's rights movements and immigration trends changed the culture
of the workplace. Organizations were faced with the challenge of
how to support a vastly varied group of workers who would under
usual circumstances never come in close social contact to work
effectively as a team. A parallel development was the understanding
that to be competitive U.S. companies had to have leadership that
was savvy about working in an international arena. The call for
cross-cultural training and overseas assignments became a must. At
a certain point there was an understanding that the skills for
internal diversity efforts and cross-cultural skills were all part
of a broader understanding of culture, and the two initiatives have
been merged into one. The implementation has been largely directed
by human capital and marketplace issues. For example, in
organizations that traditionally have not drawn women or
African-Americans into its workforce, efforts might include
awareness training for managers that this is happening, specialized
recruitment outreach with outcome measures being increased
recruitment, promotion and retention of these populations. When
diversity initiatives first began, it was after the Vietnam War
when in addition to the other demographic changes we discussed
above, the traditional hierarchical structure and leadership skills
were being challenged. There were no off-the-shelf programs, and we
all had to seek support from non-traditional sources such as using
popular movies that touched on these subjects or, for example,
gaining insight on women's issues from university programs or
advocacy groups. Companies that waited until there were tried and
true methodologies in the early 1990's were far behind their more
creative competitors.
There are no easy shortcuts to establishing relevant diversity
programs just like there weren't any in the U.S. I have found that
before entering a country I have to do an environmental scan of
historical and current issues. For example, if I were going to have
a presence in China and Japan, it would be important for me to
understand their historical legacy and how it might influence
current working relationships. I would also need to understand the
economic, social and political climate. Bolivia recently elected an
indigenous President with a negative perspective on U.S. business.
What are the implications for potential labor laws or import/export
issues that your local shop may have to face? In Brazil there have
been large-scale demonstrations for gay and lesbian rights; in the
U.K. there are new laws to protect same-sex couples. How might
these play out in the workplace? As you begin to design
country-specific strategies, you have to be a part-time
demographer, part-time social scientist, and part revolutionary. It
is the fringes that tell the story of what is to come. For example,
in Argentina there is a growing discontent from men in their early
40's who lose their jobs and are suddenly seen as too old to
reenter the workplace. Another example is young woman in India who
get good jobs in multinationals but must live on their own away
from family. How does the company address the concerns of those
families in recruiting?
Whatever the diversity initiatives, they have to reflect the
realities of the culture in which the organization operates. One
way to look at it is a modified change management process.
- Awareness Raising - First there must be awareness
of what ingredients are needed so that the workplace is
representative of the demographics and can develop skills for
working well together. There must also be awareness of potential
markets that are untapped because your products or services are not
attractive to them.
- Exploring Alternative Choices - Now you have to
decide if the changes you are proposing are worth the time and
energy. In other words are the outcomes derived from a diversity
initiative worth it in terms of performance?
- Implementing Change - What is your role going to
be? For example, who can champion this process internally, and who
will support them? This is a key element because all change is a
challenge to the existing culture and, if not properly executed,
can damage the standing of the advocates. If you tap a group to
volunteer to look at gender issues in the workplace, who is going
to help them navigate unrealistic expectations or leadership
resistance?
My suspicion is that I have raised more questions than given
answers. If I did, this is good. An effective diversity initiative
is a lot more complex than modifying a training program. It
involves a great deal of cultural literacy and willingness to
anticipate rather than reacting to changes in the workforce. The
common theme that unites diversity programs worldwide is the
ultimate destination: an inclusive workplace that takes advantages
of everyone's unique contribution while creating a sense of team
and cultural competencies that allow the organization to compete in
a global environment.
Carol Susan DeVaney is President of DeVaney-Wong International,
a bilingual coaching, consulting, training and troubleshooting
company. You can reach her at devaneyw@aol.com.
*Note: This is the author's original submitted article and has not
been edited for style and content by ASTD.