What are the best ways to support employees from diverse backgrounds?

A great way to understand your employees needs is to get each employee to complete a cultural intelligence CQ assessment so that you can determine their cultural value preference and then you will be better able to understand how they prefer to receive feedback, whether they prefer interdependency on their team or to have more autonomy. Whether they like a hierarchical culture or a flatter one etc.

Diversity in workforce brings different perspective in solutions to challenges. To foster the culture of learning orientation and importance of listening, organization needs to train and coach their managers. As it is proven every individual is different and their style of information processing and decision making is different. Which is an advantage for society and management of any organization challenges. I think Belbin's Team roles is one of examples to understand this topic. Diversity is not limited to gender and also includes difference of opinion, generational diversity, lingual and cultural diversity . Organizations should make conscious effort to improve diversity in their workforce for better revenue and profitability.

Building good relationships is the very core of our lives. To really cherish and invest to understand and love others is everyone’s calling and purpose. It’s foundation. It matters and produces good results for everyone.

I think leaders should prioritize inclusive policies, offer diversity and inclusion training, create a welcoming workplace culture, and ensure equitable opportunities for career growth. Also, foster open communication, listen to concerns, and establish affinity groups. Recognize and celebrate cultural differences, promoting a sense of belonging. Regularly assess and refine diversity initiatives to address evolving needs, ensuring a workplace that values and supports the unique contributions of every individual.

Out of my experience, I feel exposing employees to different challenging environment or work tasks help a long way in building their confidence. Make them work with few star performers so that they can learn the best ways of doing things. Tier 2 and 3 city employees have the tendancy to work as per normal routine manner without moving out of their comfort zones. They expect recognition for performing routine tasks. Few prefer to communicate less, whereas others like autonomy in their work. To support people with diverse background it is imperative to allow them opportunities to express their fears and present their work. It is important to create a conducive environment to take up challenges and allow them to fail.

I believe it's best not to get overly hung up on diversity. A leader should always try to objectively assess the strengths and skills of their team members and present opportunities to them to either hone their strengths further or work on overcoming their weaknesses. I think this will be appreciated by the team more than trying to tie oneself up in knots by introducing unnecessary variables in the process.

Offrir des opportunités inclusives et équitables nécessite une approche proactive visant à éliminer les obstacles et à créer un environnement où chacun a la possibilité de prospérer et pour cela on adoptera les stratégies suivantes: une politique d'embauche équitable, une formation à la diversité, une flexibilité au travail, une équité salariale et une évaluation continue pour vérifier la fiabilité des process

Once you are clear on what it is you intend to do in the organisation, create, check in with the diverse employee groups, ESGs or simply different employees and actively communicate it across all possible platforms & forums. One thing to keep in mind is over communicating is better than under communication. Repeat and reinforce on achieving every major step/milestone set.

Its about recognising that each team member has a different set of cultural values that are specific to them. These values impact the way that they interact at work. Its important to treat each team member equitably and understanding that they each function differently to each other and to you. For example you may consider someone as shy and reserved and therefore they don't believe they collaborate well, however this may be far from the truth and in fact they may have plenty to contribute but their indirect communication style is not valued in a room full direct communicators.

I have had to successfully use this approach - Do ensure to align on expectations, communicate and agree timelines. - Don’t wait until the tail end of the cycle. There may be surprises lurking around the corner. - Create a feedback mechanism. Develop pitstops. - Recalibrate where necessary. Communicate, communicate and communicate outcomes. - Celebrate milestones. - Document final outcomes

When leaders demonstrate that work is a safe space for people to be their authentic selves, organizations can achieve great things. Trust is the secret sauce (although it's not much of a secret) when it comes to building productive teams. Setting clear, rational expectations for how we work together is the first step to ensuring everyone has a voice in the workplace.

Foster opportunities for all diverse staff to express concerns/challenges they are experiencing in the team, department or organization. Allow and encourage a safe space to express their truths and receive them without making feedback personal or targeted to an opposing person/group. Listen with respect and empathy, and work to find a fair and equitable resolutions.

While managing teams from diverse backgrounds fostering a culture of respect & openness to experiences is very important. At times there will be situations where a particular situation is not understood in the same context as it is meant by people from another culture. In such a situation when the culture will be to respect & be open to think from the other person's perspective handling the situation will become increasingly easy & smooth.

Create a space for and allow more time for team members to engage and interact with and get to know each other…and not just those they normally interact with. Ensure that it’s not just the organisation that is diverse…but also each team within that organisation. Encourage micro inclusions eg saying good morning to EVERYONE.

To build a diversity and inclusion. The transparency and building culture of trust where everyone one has a chance to be heard

Different strokes for different folks! Eschew the idea of one size fits all. As a manager and performance coach, be flexible in your approach to managing the team. Again, embrace constant and continuous communication. Allow employees to proffer options, evaluate together and align on the best one per time. Avoid apprehension. Engage and not disengage. Celebrate wins!

Imagine performance management as a personalized playlist, not a one-size-fits-all tune. It's a dynamic rhythm, not a once-a-year hit. To harmonize with a diverse team, you've got to be flexible, adapting to the changing beats that impact performance, motivation, and well-being. It's not just about setting objectives; it's about regularly fine-tuning the melody, reviewing outcomes, and making adjustments as needed. Being responsive and supportive means being attuned to your team's needs, providing the right resources, guidance, and support during the highs and lows of their professional journey.

Business operates in volatility therefore you cannot predict future. Therefore you have to continuous monitor the complexity and give feedback to improve performance and keep employees motivated

Performance management is a continuous, adaptable journey, not a rigid, annual event. It’s vital to tailor it to the diverse needs of your team, considering the ever-changing contexts that impact their performance, motivation, and well-being. This means regularly reviewing and adjusting your performance objectives and methods. Being responsive to your team’s evolving needs, especially during challenging times, by offering extra resources and support, is key to maintaining a thriving, motivated workforce.

Be open to them and provide adequate feedback. Always be on the ground to assist them and provide effective communications to them as needed. Let them understand the policy of the company.

Listening to actually understand what is being said fosters an environment where everyone has a chance to talk, and everyone has the opportunity to be heard. Creating this environment can start with any member of the team. When people feel that they are being heard they are more likely to hear what others have to say. A group of people with diverse backgrounds, experience, and upbringing will almost always come up with better ideas than any one member of that group could have done on their own. To get to the best ideas of the team its important for all of the team members to share their ideas – they are much more likely to share if they know they are going to be heard.

Businesses are not location specific anymore. You cannot escape from the diversity. Therefore it has to be encouraged and training and feedback to be ensured.

Performance management is not just about fixing what's broken; it's about amplifying what's already great and exploring new horizons. Embracing diversity isn't a checkbox; it's a powerhouse of strength, driving performance, creativity, and innovation. Create a stage where collaboration, learning, and sharing thrive—a space where diverse voices resonate freely. It's not just about recognition; it's about celebrating the unique contributions that diversity brings, and acknowledging those who champion inclusion. Turning diversity into a strength isn't just a strategy; it's a cultural shift that propels your team and organization toward excellence.

A diverse workforce brings a breadth of perspectives and skills, fostering innovation and adaptability. It enhances problem-solving by incorporating varied viewpoints and approaches. Beyond promoting a positive work environment, diversity positively impacts the bottom line. Diverse teams are more adept at understanding diverse customer bases, leading to improved market responsiveness and competitiveness. Moreover, it attracts top talent, as individuals seek inclusive workplaces that value their unique contributions. In essence, embracing diversity isn't just a moral imperative; it's a strategic advantage that fuels innovation, and propels overall organizational excellence.

Set the tone from the top, and really commit to delivering it. I've lost count of the number of companies that talk about their commitment to diversity, but have nothing but old, white men on the C-suite (maybe a token woman for appearances sake). This starts mid-career, identifying high-potentials and helping them build their careers, all the way to the most senior leadership appointments. The best leadership teams are made up not of identical leaders, but a diverse group that complement one another's strengths and weaknesses. Diversity is a great way to ensure this.

Showcase Diversity. Provide a platform where people from diverse backgrounds can talk about their individual and collective traits as a diversity cohort. Do not restrict diversity to gender, race, religion, etc. Let people decide what makes them different and talk about it. Listening to perspectives helps us realize how diversity adds value to the organization. Be it strategy, decision making or implementation, having a diverse team will always have it's advantages.

Seek perspectives from diverse employees of varied backgrounds while building your products or policies. Customer obsession requires also analyzing whose voices we are missing out on and who's not on the table.Create a culture of innovation where there are established mechanisms to share ideas or voice opinions.

An interesting place of convergence in the world of work is the overlap of performance management and the diversity fabric of an organisation. The best organisations and leaders realise that one size does not fit all. We're working with one of the most diverse talent force today and its only logical to customize our performance management efforts for this diverse workforce as follows: - Define both Performance Management and DEI consistently across organizational groups (the foundation matters) - Foster a culture of belonging around a unifying organizational purpose - Develop Employee Resource Groups and engage with them frequently - Understand the unique performance priorities across groups and provide resources for their accomplishment

-Creating culture of merit over background -Implementing unconscious bias training, establishing clear policies against discrimination, and encouraging open communication including Redressal. - Create employee resource groups (ERGs) or likewise to provide support and networking opportunities for employees from different backgrounds. - keeping communication continuous

Be committed to EDI; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, not only by having policy documents in place but creating a culture within the Organisation. From job advert to talent acquisition with clear numbers on the demographics should indicate the reality. Platforms such as Cross functional team projects and staff engagement activities will embrace it where all could share thier views and talents with everyone. Whistle blowing, Grievance Management, One to one sessions and culture audits will give you a clear indication of the efforts. As HR, always be willing to anticipate, accommodate and be flexible in this endavuor.