Being The “Engagement Expert”

The “Engagement Expert” manager knows the key retention drivers for each person on the team and knows how to make the department a great place to work – paying attention to work climate as well as work output.

Ten Principles of Diversity

Reginald Jones, former Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President Bill Clinton, was the featured presenter on Lash Associates’ recent webinar, “Discover the Formula for Retaining a Diverse Workforce.” In the following article, Reg outlines 10 Principles of Diversity:

As I have worked with employers on EEO and diversity initiatives over the years, I’ve developed a set of simple principles as a guide in these situations. Some of you may be aware of the findings of the EEOC Best Practices report that I completed while at the Commission. Those findings are a part of these principles, along with a lot of practical experience and common sense developed over the years.

While the principles are themselves quite simple, translating them into a comprehensive, effective diversity program can be time consuming and complex, depending upon an organization’s location, culture, history of legal compliance, industry, current work force mix and the status of existing diversity initiatives. Whatever the undertaking, these principles can and will help to promote success. They are at the heart of the work I now do with employers on developing and implementing diversity initiatives.

1. Management Support is Essential. If top management does not believe in the diversity initiative, does not give it continuing support and does not “walk the walk” and “talk the talk,” the program will not succeed.


2. Diversity Initiatives and Discrimination Cannot Coexist. Unless an employer is in compliance with the EEO laws, a diversity program will fail. Discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or other protected status is, quite simply, inconsistent with an effort to develop and maintain an appropriately inclusive workforce culture.


3. The Golden Rule is Good - The Platinum Rule is an Improvement. The Platinum Rule (“Treat others as they want to be treated”) is an extension of the Golden Rule applicable to those persons around you who are key to your organization’s success. The Platinum Rule takes into account the fact that the way an individual wants to be treated may differ from how we think they want to be treated. The bottom line is treating the individual with dignity and respect.


4. Awareness and Training are Essential. Employees, as well as every supervisor and manager, must be made aware of a company’s commitments in the diversity area – as well as their own responsibilities to promote and undertake behaviors that “make it work.”


5. Don’t Waste Energy and Resources on “Fad” Issues. The “core” diversity issues in the typical workplace involve race, ethnicity, sex, age, and religion. Other aspects of diversity cannot be disregarded, but management should avoid the temptation to fritter away its initiative and resources on the “issue of the day” approach). The basic elements of “real” diversity challenges involve the working relationships of: (1) whites and blacks; (2) males and females; (3) ethnic groups like Hispanics, Asian Americans and other majority or minority groups; (4) older and younger workers; (5) gay and straight employees; (6) able and disabled workers; and, occasionally (7) workers with different religious backgrounds.


6. One Size Does Not Fit All. Each workplace has its own personality and its own issues. There are, of course, basic principles and common objectives which fit virtually any diversity program. Even within a single organization, the diversity initiative proposed for its Texas operation on the Mexican border must be different from its New Hampshire location. The diversity issues in these two geographically distant locales are likely to be as different from one another as the weather.


7. Candid Needs Assessment is Essential. Establishing a “baseline” and determining what a company’s needs are is a critical element in moving forward in diversity. The assessment, or diversity audit, should evaluate both objective things like legal compliance and subjective things like employee attitudes.


8. Structure is Necessary to “Make It Happen.” A written action plan is an essential element of taking “diversity” from the concept and discussion stage to the implementation and effect stage. The written plan is the roadmap to the diversity destination. In order to be effective, a written diversity action program must be a dynamic, living document, an action plan with activities, assigned responsibilities, mechanisms for follow up and real accountability for results.


9. If You Don’t Meet Resistance, You Aren’t Achieving Results. The essence of a diversity program is to confront our “diversity demons” – the prejudices we harbor, the “realities we perceive” and the blemishes our own life experiences have left on the prisms through which we view the world. Without some level of discomfort and resistance, the likelihood of real change is remote at best.


10. It May Be Necessary to “Weed the Garden.” If a company truly commits to diversity and provides the training and support for diversity, it has a legitimate right to expect cooperation and compliance. If there are those in the employee or management ranks who refuse to embrace the diversity effort – or, worse yet, who engage in insensitive, improper behavior – discipline and ultimately discharge may be necessary.

Contact Lash Associates, Inc., to learn more about Valuing Workforce Diversity, Building Cultural Bridges and Maintaining a Harassment Free Workplace, training and development solutions that build awareness about diversity, legal guidelines, the benefits of a diverse workforce, and skills for all employees.

How Are We Similar

The way we view ourselves and others has a direct relationship on how well we work together. Instead of categorizing people or dwelling on your differences, ask yourself “how are we similar”?