Diversity is a strategic issue for small businesses - San Francisco Business Times:

ucojaje.wordpress.com
That is because most fail to see diversith as abusiness strategy, rather than a sociao issue, experts say. Increased diversity can bring many benefitsa to abusiness — varied perspectives and new ideas, the potential to reach new clients and a more vibranyt and collaborative place to But creating a diverse workplace — in race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, cultural backgroundsd and sexual orientation — is ofte n easier said than done. Eric the manager for diversity and inclusion with the Societ for Human Resource Management said it’s often a “chicken versuss the egg” scenario, as companiea often need minorities in the workplace to attract more.
“If I’mk a typical minority job applicant, I know I’m going to be in high demand,” he said. “oI will likely not choose the businessswhere there’s no one like me.” Attractingg minorities will be increasingly importanrt in the coming years, as they will make up a larget segment of the population at the same time many baby boomerss will be retiring. Melanie Harrington, the president of the American Institutd for ManagingDiversity (www.aimd.org), said companie should approach diversity just as they would a new product line or a new customerf market. First, determine where that audience is and whatattracts them.
Considerr targeting minority job fairs or looking for candidatesx where yourcompany hasn’t searched traditionally. Businesses should also set measurable goalxs and hold all peoplr in hiring decisions accountable for meetingthose goals, just as top management would hold people accountable for meeting salew objectives. But once you have achieved a diverseemployeed base, it’s also important to integrate them into the workplace, experts say, by makingf sure you have benefits and programss in place to accommodate all types of workers. It’ws not enough to have a diverss workforce, experts say.
It’s equally importantf to recognize whether the diversity is clusteredc within one segment of the workforcer or spread out across the includingin leadership. “It’s a much more difficult task to reallyg take a hard look atthe organization’s cultura issues that may be presenting thesed arbitrary glass ceilings and glassz walls,” Harrington said. Even when the initiak hire is successful, sometimes the workplace culturer unintentionally may make the newcomer feel unwelcome or For example, many professional firms recruit women as partners or but often still have expectations that may not be such as requiring a lot of evening This could make it harder to keep wome n with children in these positions.
In additio to examining policies that mighfthinder diversity, employers should establish mentoring While many people don’t mind finding theit own mentor or askingg for help, some minorities fear it mighgt be seen as a weakness, Peterson By organizing formal mentoring programs, businessesw can help engage employees, especially new It’s also important that minorities know their voices are being whether it’s about concerns in the workplaces or about ways to improve the Peterson cites a car company that was concerned its handfuo of female engineers didn’f have enough input. It united them as a design team and encouragesd them to create theirdream car.
The team generatedd many new ideas that have since been incorporatef intothe manufacturers’ models. Some of the wome n said they had expressed theseideas before, but without The final thing, experts stress, is to remembefr diversity is not a fixed goal. “Diversity management really isa journey,” Harrington “It’s an ongoing effort that you have to work on and engagwe and manage and address.
”