Aligning Time, Space, and People for Diversity in Organizational Systems

1. Align Organizational Systems & Practices For Diversity Cox Ch 6 • Examples • Time • Space • People

2. Aligning Time-based Practices & Systems for Diversity E.g., Flextime? • Allow work to be done in ‘non-business hours’ • Specify whether employees are able to take paid or unpaid time from work for family reasons • Enforcing time-off policy similarly for all has a diff impact on diff cultural groups

3. Advantages & Disadvantages of Flextime • Adv: Helps in attraction, retention & motivation of diverse workforce • Dual-career couples • Women workers (see IBM Thomas 04) • Men w/parental responsibilities (see IBM Thomas 04) • Workers w/eldercare responsibilities • Workers who want to exchange income for leisure time • Disadv: Time off policies conflicts with business strategy to stay productive with few workers working longer hours

4. Aligning Space-based practices for Diversity What are Class Distinctions? • Policies reinforcing status hierarchies based on gender, class, work type • Symbolic • Substantive

5. Symbolic Class Distinctions • Unequal access to washrooms for both sexes • Fewer washrooms for women vs. men when having equal number • Reserved parking areas by job-type • Could serve as a ‘reward’ for some? • Restricted access to some office floors • Different office furnishings based on job level • Executive dining rooms/washrooms

6. Substantive Class Distinctions • Differential benefits (e.g., retirement, vacation time) for hourly vs. salaried employees • Unjustified differences in access to information • Differences in access to incentive compensation (e.g., stock options) based on job-type

7. Aligning Systems & Practices For Diversity • Examples • Time • Space • People

8. Aligning Recruiting Practices to Diversity • Hire & promote those less resistant to making workplace more inclusive • Examples • Selection Tools • Recruiting Teams • Recruiting Sources • New Hire Orientation

9. Recruiting Practices: Selection Tools • Selection tools assess diversity competency • Include diversity related material in selection tools (e.g., interview questions assess diversity competency) to gauge applicant skill in resolving issues pertaining to diversity • Assess previous training or educational experience on diversity

10. Recruiting Practices: Recruiting Teams & Sources • Form recruiting teams of members of different work specialization, gender, race, age • Serve as role models, have different perspectives in hiring • Ensure a broad representation of disciplines & universities when recruiting • E.g., Native Americans, People with Disabilities, Hispanics, Women (IBM Thomas 04)

11. Recruiting Practices: New Hire Orientation • Clearly identify organization’s diversity-related commitment & achievements • Assign buddies/mentors to aid in socialization into organizational culture (e.g., IBM) • Attend to implications of diversity for mentoring (i.e., minority group new hires have mentors from majority & minority groups see “Dear White boss” article)

12. Aligning Performance Appraisal Practices for Diversity • Check for Group Identity Effects • Use diversity as a criterion for assessing performance

13. Does group identity affect Performance Appraisals • Group identity=gender, ethnicity, age etc. • Examine performance evaluations by group identity of evaluator and employee • Identify reasons for differences • Avoid perpetuating stereotypes E.g., Teaching evaluations study

14. Causes for Group Identity Differences in Performance Appraisal • Pre-existing group differences in education, experience, post-hire training • Existence of work-climate barriers (e.g, stereotyping, prejudice, ethnocentrism) that prevent members of some groups to perform at their full potential

15. Causes for Group Identity Differences In Performance Appraisal • Supervisors use of stereotypes or level of prejudice results in lower evaluations of some groups even though performance of all groups is similar • Asking employees to evaluate themselves can disadvantage some groups due to differences in modesty

16. Overcoming Group Differences in Performance Appraisals • Change performance appraisal instrument • Use multiple sources to evaluate performance • Enhance awareness of bias & training on how to avoid it in ratings • Enhance awareness of & removal of work-climate barriers that lead to differences in actual performance

17. Aligning Performance Appraisal Practices for Diversity • Check for Group Identity Effects • Use diversity as a criterion for assessing performance

18. Diversity as a Criterion in Performance Appraisal • Examine performance appraisal process to determine how to integrate diversity content into it • Identify specific behaviors that enable a diversity-tolerant climate • Include behaviors that represent bad diversity-related performance

19. Diversity as a Criterion in Performance Appraisal • Incorporate diversity behaviors into planning & assessment stage of performance appraisal • Tab 6.2 & 6.3 • Ensure rewards, development & staffing decisions are made as a consequence of displaying good diversity-related performance

20. Aligning Career Development Practices for Diversity • Example Career Development Practices • Job Postings • Annual Development Planning • Succession Planning • Global Career Paths

21. Career Development Practices: Job Postings • Make all opportunities visible to qualified members of all identity groups • Use a competitive & fair screening process to ensure consideration of all applicants • Provide specific feedback to non-selected applicants to prevent misattributions

22. Career Development Practices: Annual Development Planning • Specify skills and competencies to be strengthened in the coming year, provide action plan to acquire them • Help increase pool of qualified underrepresented groups for future vacancies • Incorporate diversity competency as part of action plans for majority group members (e.g., Tab 6.4)

23. Career Development Practices:Succession Planning • Identify those who can be potential replacements for people occupying key jobs in the org & ensure that they get the developmental experience they need for such key jobs • Ensure that the succession planning candidate pool is diverse on gender, race, national origin, work specialization etc. • Ensure candidates in succession planning candidate pool are diversity-competent

24. Career Development Planning Global Career Paths • Provide multi-national career paths for high-potential employees • Knowledge gained by those with multi national experience should be passed to others to aid in their development • Ensure equal opportunity for multinational jobs • Ensure cultural training to people going to & from country where company has headquarters (not just those going to other countries)

25. Kinds of Systems & Practices to Align for Diversity • Time: Flextime Policies • Space: Class Distinctions • People • Recruiting Practices • Selection Tools • Recruiting Teams • Recruiting Sources • New Hire Orientation • Performance Appraisal Practices • Check for Group Identity Effects • Using diversity as a criterion for assessing performance • Career Development Practices • Job Postings • Annual Development Planning • Succession Planning • Global Career Paths