The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

VALUING DIVERSITY / 41

Capitalizing on diversity

Managers face many challenges

capitalizing on diversity, such as:

coping with employees’ unfamiliarity

with native languages, learning

which rewards are valued by different

demographics, and providing career

development programs that fit

the values of different targeted groups.

There are several ways for you to try

to capitalize on diversity:

-^ Communicate your objectives^
and expectations about diversity
to employees through a range of
channels, such as mission and
value statements, slogans, creeds,
newsletters, speeches, emails, and
everyday conversations.
-^ Recruit through nontraditional
sources. Relying on current
employee referrals usually produces

PRACTICE WHAT

YOU PREACH

First look into your heart

and mind and root out any

prejudice. Then, demonstrate

your acceptance in everything

that you say and do.

Tip

a limited range of candidates. Try

instead to identify novel sources for

recruitment, such as women’s job

networks, targeted newspapers,

training centers for the disabled,

urban job banks, and over-50s clubs.

-^ Use diverse incentives for motivation.
Most studies on the subject of
motivation are by North American
researchers—unsurprisingly—
on North American workers.
Consequently, these studies are
based on beliefs that most people
work to promote their own well-being
and get ahead. This may be at odds
with people from more collectivist
countries, such as Venezuela,
Singapore, Japan, and Mexico, where
individuals are driven by their loyalty
to the organization or society, not their
own self-interest.

US_040-041_Valuing_Diversity.indd 41 30/05/16 3:00 pm