Introduction
Companies that want to succeed in their respective industries must be ready to attract, select, and retain culturally diverse workforces (Christiansen et al. 2016). Diversity is a powerful strategy used by business firms to include individuals from more than one nationality, culture, religion, sexual orientation, tribe, or origin in an attempt to promote organizational culture and effectiveness (Cahill & Sedrak 2012).
Companies should begin by describing a powerful strategy that can be used to increase the representation of women and racial minorities in a business firm or organization. The proposed strategy should be able to outline key steps that must be undertaken to attract, select, and retain a diverse workforce. The first step should be to promote diversity during the recruitment process. The second stage is ensuring that the hiring process focuses on individuals from diverse backgrounds or gender (Stone 2013). After the employees have been hired successfully, it is necessary to promote or implement appropriate retention processes.
The essay, therefore, explains how companies can use a powerful strategy to attract and retain more workers from diverse backgrounds. When this approach is embraced, the targeted organization will realize its business goals. The presented essay describes the benefits of attracting and retaining culturally diverse workforces. The paper goes further to analyze the unique procedures that can be used to attract, hire, and retain employees from diverse backgrounds. The final part of the paper will be to offer concluding remarks regarding the development and importance of diversity in the workforce.
Reasons for Attracting, Selecting, and Retaining Diverse Workforces
The current wave of globalization is encouraging many companies to focus on the idea of diversity (Chuang 2013). The decision to employ workers from diverse backgrounds is something that can deliver numerous benefits to an organization. Companies that understand the benefits of diversity will identify new strategies to attract more employees from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Hiring employees with diverse language and cultural skills will result in better performance. Mba and Teresa (2013) believe that diversity will promote the concept of heterogeneity and eventually improve the level of creativity.
Firms must attract, retain, and select individuals from different cultural groups since workforce diversity has been associated with creativity. The employees in the workplace will present a wide range of ideas and skills that can address the issues existing in the firm. Firms can use the ideas presented by their workers to come up with innovative processes that can transform organizational performance (Chuang 2013). Companies should be willing to attract individuals from diverse backgrounds to acquire useful methods, strategies, and concepts. Such ideas in the firm will promote better practices such as problem-solving, decision-making, and teamwork.
Studies have indicated that companies that want to succeed and realize their potential should attract more women from different locations (Chuang 2013). This kind of practice will promote new affiliations and teams that can eventually drive performance (Olsen & Martins 2012). The inclusion of women in the workforce transforms the corporate image of the firm. Consequently, the company will be associated with the best practices and eventually attract more people from diverse backgrounds. The workforce will, therefore, be willing to support the company’s business model.
Another reason is that companies associated with diverse working environments will find it easier to attract, hire, and even retain the right talent. Stone (2013) goes further to indicate that companies characterized by diversity will adapt rapidly to every change experienced in the industry. The individuals in the corporation will be willing to support one another, address emerging problems, and support the existing business model. The leader will establish new relationships with different workers from diverse backgrounds.
It is agreeable that many companies incur numerous costs and expenses whenever dealing with various problems such as absenteeism and increased turnover. Diversity is ‘a tested approach that reduces employee turnover and absenteeism’ (Podsiadlowski et al. 2013, p. 162). That being the case, companies that are characterized by diverse workforces will not incur such expenses. The idea of diversity will make it possible for multinational companies to improve their business models. The practice will eventually deliver positive business results. Dike (2013) also indicates clearly that diversity is one of the best strategies that can be embraced by companies that want to increase profits and maximize sales.
Finally, Chuang (2013) indicates that diverse workforces find it easier to understand the expectations of the targeted stakeholders and meet their needs promptly. Diverse workforces present powerful ideas in an attempt to boost innovation or creativity (Kirton & Greene 2012). A company such as Google Corporation has benefited significantly from the existing workforce diversity. The firm will continue to innovate and come up with superior products that add value to the customers. These attributes explain why business organizations should use the best approaches to attract, recruit, employ, and retain more employees for diverse cultural backgrounds.
Attracting, Selecting, and Retaining Diverse Workforces
Dike (2013) believes that workforce diversity is one of the major competitive advantages embraced by many companies today. This kind of competitiveness has the potential to deliver numerous benefits or opportunities (Olsen & Martins 2012). For very many years, many companies and government agencies have used to implement powerful policies in an attempt to deal with the increased cases of discrimination in the workforce. Such discrimination was a major challenge that made it impossible for many employees from minority groups to realize their goals.
Most of the workers in different companies reported increased cases of abuse and mistreatment. Today the situation has changed significantly. Many ethical companies have gone a step further to make diversity a critical aspect of their business models (Bennett, Pitt & Price 2012). The companies focusing on the concept have found it easier to promote performance and realign its organizational goals.
Diversity is something that can be explained differently depending on the targeted goals or objectives. A company can decide to attract individuals from different cultural and geographical backgrounds. Another company can go a step further to employ and retain women or individuals from minority groups. These practices will make it easier for companies to realize the targeted objectives. The outstanding similarity in these descriptions is that the targeted company will hire individuals who are different in terms of culture and gender (Australian HR Institute, 2017). When this move is taken seriously, the targeted company will find it easier to transform its working environment.
Corporations that want to attract more women and individuals from different cultural groups will, therefore, be expected to implement a powerful human resources (HR) strategy. The strategy should be analyzed and adjusted frequently to resonate with the changing demands of the targeted customers (Saini 2014). With proper management and implementation, different companies will find it easier to attract more employees from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Such companies will eventually drive performance and become profitable.
The first step is implementing the concept of diversity during the recruitment process (Stone 2013). During this phase, job postings should be done in such a way that they target more people from diverse backgrounds or regions. Saini (2014) argues that a proactive strategy is needed during this process. The approach will ensure more diverse candidates are informed about the new opportunities in the targeted company.
The HR managers can go a step further to identify the right individuals, monitor their competencies, and inform them about every new job opening. When planning to attract more people from different racial groups, the strategy should focus on specific newspapers and television channels focusing on targeted individuals. The right websites and magazines will also ensure more people from the identified cultural or racial groups are informed about the new opportunities (Australian HR Institute, 2017). A strategy aimed at informing more women about every new job opportunity should embrace the use of lifestyle magazines and female-based agencies.
The second step to promote diversity should focus on the hiring process. The absence of diversity in many companies and corporations is something that can be attributed to the nature of the hiring process (Opstrup & Villadsen 2014). More often than not, organizations hire new employees based on their grades and past job experiences. This kind of strategy can ensure specific groups in society have increased chances of being recruited.
Consequently, individuals from minority racial groups or women tend to have diminished chances of being employed. To transform the hiring process, companies can embrace the power of flexibility (Mba & Teresa 2013). It is also appropriate for HR managers and recruiters to be aware of the objectives of the hiring strategy. This knowledge will ensure the company is on the frontline to recruit individuals from different backgrounds. The candidates or job applicants should be treated fairly and equally. This approach will ensure more women and individuals from different cultural backgrounds are hired.
The third stage mainly focuses on the idea of retention. Kirton and Greene (2012) indicate clearly that some companies use sustainable measures to hire or attract more employees from diverse genders or cultural backgrounds. Unfortunately, such companies fail to transform their working environments through the use of powerful change models. The malpractice affects the success of the intended diversity.
A good example is when a company clusters its employees in a given department without necessarily considering their diverse needs. The hired employees from diverse cultures can find themselves forming different groups based on their backgrounds. This new development will make sure the ultimate goal of diversity in the organization is not realized. When these issues are ignored, the employees will find it hard to work as cohesive teams (Cahill & Sedrak 2012). Companies can go a step further to ensure the diverse needs of the hired employees are taken seriously. The workers should be compensated and empowered without any form of discrimination (Patrick & Kumar 2012). Discriminatory policies should be abolished to ensure equal opportunities are available to every employee. When women and workers from diverse cultural backgrounds are empowered, it will be easier for the firm to promote retention and improve the level of performance.
Best Practices
Diversity in a business organization is usually associated with positive performance. Companies that manage to identify, hire, and retain employees and women from diverse backgrounds will be in a position to achieve their goals. Opstrup and Villadsen (2014) indicate that such companies should go a step further to ensure diversity becomes a critical aspect of their unique organizational cultures. To achieve this goal, it is appropriate for the firms to embrace the best practices that can deliver positive results.
For instance, HR managers should be on the frontline to promote social and intercultural events. These practices should be encouraged to ensure the workers in different departments support the concept of teamwork (Patrick & Kumar 2012). The teams should be comprised of individuals from different cultural backgrounds. More women can also be encouraged to join such teams. The issue of age can also be considered to strengthen the level of diversity.
Another good practice is fostering effective communication. The nature of communication will ensure more individuals are willing to cooperate and focus on the targeted organizational goals. The organization’s values, attributes, and rituals should be communicated to the employees (Bennett et al. 2012). The individuals will work hard and eventually promote performance. The company should discourage any form of discrimination, offer promotions, and empower every individual. Flexible work schedules and timetables should be embraced in the firm. The concept of work-life balance should also be promoted (Opstrup & Villadsen 2014). Training and empowerment can be embraced to ensure the employees are willing to promote cohesion and collaboration.
The benefits of diversity cannot be underestimated. Firms that attract more employees from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds will acquire the right dexterities and competencies that can improve the level of productivity. The individuals will be willing to embrace the best practices and solve emerging problems promptly (Opstrup & Villadsen 2014). The issues affecting the company will be identified and tackled using culturally competent initiatives. The emergence of powerful practices such as teamwork, continuous innovation, collaboration, and empowerment will make it possible for the company to realize its mission and vision (Opstrup & Villadsen 2014). Companies that want to maximize their competitive edges should embrace the concept of diversity. The strategy will ensure the employees focus on the targeted goals, implement sustainable business models, and eventually make the company successful.
Conclusion
This discussion shows conclusively that diversity is a powerful strategy that can drive performance in a business organization. Companies that want to increase the level of diversity can begin by identifying the right locations and avenues. The approach will ensure more women and individuals from different backgrounds are informed about new jobs (Opstrup & Villadsen 2014). The second stage is implementing a powerful recruitment process that can support diversity. The next step is to implement a powerful culture that promotes diversity. These practices will make it easier for more companies to achieve their goals (Mba & Teresa 2013). Future scholars and researchers should examine how transgender individuals can be attracted and retained in an attempt to promote the concept of diversity. The acquired knowledge will support the business models of many companies.
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