Staff diversity: the best of all backgrounds.

How do you recruit--and keep--a stellar diverse staff? Here are initiatives from the corporate world that association executives can apply.

Somai is a graphic designer for a national education association in Washington, D.C. Juan heads the membership staff of a Chicago-based health care institute. Lee is office manager for a local trade association in California. All represent the great demographic tide of change that has engulfed--and is enriching--the American workplace.

They are part of the rapidly growing number of minority work force entrants. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, Asians, Hispanics, and blacks alone will make up 53 percent of new entrants by the year 2000.

These professionals are also a reflection of the growing trend among associations toward recruiting employees of various cultural backgrounds. The sought-after staff mix not only mirrors increasingly diverse association memberships but also enhances the workplace with varied talents and skills.

Although associations have begun addressing the issues inherent in multiculturalism, corporations have pioneered most of the approaches thus far, and many of these can be transferred to the association setting.

Laying the foundation

Organizational soul-searching must precede any concrete diversity steps. To identify the needs your association has in developing a more diverse work force, take a good look at the systems and human resources in place and ask yourself these questions:

* Are you pleased with the makeup of your staff in terms of its diversity? Does it reflect the makeup of your membership?

* Have you observed turnover, heard complaints, or noticed other signs of possible disharmony among employees of different backgrounds?

* Do you see inequity in advancements and attribute this to certain employees--perhaps minorities--not working to their maximum potential? Do you suspect that the association is somewhat to blame for not fostering an environment that encourages all staff to achieve?

Some years ago, Motorola modeled a straightforward approach to identifying diversity needs such as these. The company selected 20 employees to be "change agents." These agents met regularly to focus on multiculturalism and to pinpoint key areas of the company that needed improvement.

Any association can follow Motorola's lead in designating change agents. In a small organization, every employee can take his role, and time can be allotted at each staff meeting for a discussion of diversity needs. Good starter questions staff can consider to kick off these discussions are

* How do we define diversity?

* What are the key diversity challenges we're facing in this association?

* What first steps should we take to address these challenges?

Even if you have a small staff, someone needs to take primary responsibility for the association's diversity efforts. Large corporations such as the Chemical Group of Monsanto, Grand Metropolitan Food Sector (formerly Pillsbury), and Motorola have positions titled diversity development director, vice president of cultural diversity, manager of work force diversity programs, and the like. Within a small association it is probably not appropriate for someone to work full time on diversity, but it is imperative that someone have these duties as part of his or her job description and possibly even title. The human resources function, for example, might be combined with diversity by creating a position titled director of human resources and diversity. Of course, efforts by staff will have little chance of making a difference without the chief executive's personal commitment to diversity. Studies have shown that the component most critical to successful diversity management goes beyond support--it's direct involvement from top management. Levi Strauss, for example, began its diversity work several years ago by providing sensitivity training for its executives, then using the executives to train additional staff. Clearly the company was aware of an important principle: that executive involvement needs to be visible, active, and ongoing.

In line with this principle, you and other executives of your association might appear at diversity committee meetings, participate in training, and include multiculturalism as a key issue in any presentations about the association's strategic plans. Remember, your involvement must go beyond figurehead participation. Thin commitments to multiculturalisms fall short of the endorsment that can have a real impact on your organization.

One of the beauties of diversity work is that it is not always necessary to spend large sums of money to accomplish your goal. However, it is important to earmark funds, even if the figure is low. Designating money demonstrates to staff that diversity is a priority.

Recruiting a topnotch mix

Conversations about creating work force diversity frequently are punctuated by comments such as, "I can't find minorities to interview for this position; they're simply not out there." This concern is sometimes based in fact, but not often. Others may say, "I feel like I'll have to lower my standards if I'm forced to fill this slot with a minority." No one who values the future of the American workplace would advocate lowering standards to achieve ethnic balance. Both of these statements keep the recruiter from trying as hard as he or she might to find a qualified minority to fill the position.

Here are some methods that corporations have been using for many years to locate and recruit the best employees from all backgrounds.

Place classified and display advertisements in ethnic newspapers and magazines. Ethnic magazines such as Ebony, Hispanic, and Hispanic Business are proliferating. If you add to these publications the dozens of foreign-language newspapers found in communities all over the country, you have an invaluable resource for job applicants from all backgrounds.

Foreign-language newspapers often are ignored because recruiters don't want to run ads in other languages and they erroneously assume that readers do not speak English. California-based Kaiser-Permanente discovered how wrong this assumption is; when the company was looking for bilingual employees, it was successful with its English advertisement in the local Spanish press.

Access minority data bases. One widely used data base among the many available is the Consortium to Identify and Promote Hispanic Professionals (209 King Hall, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197; [phone]). You can obtain information about others by contacting minority professional associations.

Approach minority colleges. Corning, Inc., Corning, New York, has achieved great results in recruiting from Howard University, Washington; D.C., Florida A&M, and North Carolina A&T. You can find out about other minority colleges by contacting the American Council on Education, One Dupont Circle, N.W., #250, Washington, DC 20036-1166; [phone]. For information about the 112 higher-learning institutions that most Hispanic-Americans attend, contact the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, 4204 Gardendale, Suite 216, San Antonio, TX 78229; [phone].

Communicate your commitment to multiculturalism. It's important to send the message to the marketplace that your association is a desirable place for minorities to work. You can do so by making certain that brochures and advertisements display minority faces, that diversity issues are addressed at conferences, and that articles on diversity are included in your publications.

Develop cross-cultural interviewing skills. It's a human tendency for people to be drawn to similar people. This is not racism; it's natural to feel, at least initially, more comfortable with those who remind us of ourselves. Overcoming this urge is one of the key cross-cultural interviewing skills that must be learned.

Interviewers must also learn how to accurately interpret the behaviors of different types of people--especially how to understand diverse presentation styles. Simple behaviors, such as eye contact, can mean opposite things in two different cultures; looking away can be a sign of respect, for example, or an indication of lying. More complex behaviors also must be understood--like the tendency for applicants from some cultures not to indulge in self-praise during an interview.

Understanding must be followed by cultivation of the interviewing skills. Only by becoming comfortable with all people, regardless of culture, can you fairly evaluate diverse applicants and hire the most qualified for your association.

Retaining staff maintaining diversity

Monsanto calculated some years ago that minorities and women were leaving the company at almost twice the rate of white males. Aware that it was losing some of its most valuable employees, the company explored the issue and realized that the turnover rate was closely linked to poor relationships with supervisors and to the lack of opportunity for timely promotions. Monsanto--along with other organizations, including AT&T, Zenith Radio Corporation, Apple, and Proctor and Gamble--used many of the following techniques to remedy the inequities for minorities and women and create a more hospitable working environment for them. Develop monitoring programs. Assigning each new hire to a manager who is responsible for that person's orientation can be an effective way of making an employee feel comfortable quickly in your work environment. Assigning is the key word; this pairing will not necessarily happen automatically. Once again, that natural human tendency to be drawn to similar people may interfere with minorities and women having success with informal mentoring. Without a formal structure, we usually guide and encourage those who remind us of ourselves when we were young.

Training is a part of any successful mentoring program. Mentors should be advised about the types of information to discuss, how to assess how well the protege is performing, and how to encourage proteges to be candid with their concerns so that problems will be resolved. Proteges, too, should be given guidelines; these focus on how to get the most from the mentoring relationship. Initiate special programs. The nature of your employees and the size of your budget determine the programming to a great extent, but an equally strong determinant is your imagination, so have some fun. Ethnic holidays and other special recognitions--Mexican Independence Day and Black History Month, for example--are events celebrated in offices across the country. As workplaces become increasingly diverse, we learn about more and more traditions, ranging from the English "boxing day" to Cinco de Mayo. All can be celebrated, enhancing the multicultural goodwill in the workplace.

Not every event must be linked to a holiday. Your organization can host a potluck lunch or party, enabling employees to share their native food and to honor their different cultures.

You can take another step toward honoring various cultures by inviting staff members to write articles about their backgrounds for your office newsletter. Rocketdyne, Inc. has had great success with this approach.

Before you get too creative, however, two cautions are in order. First, before extending diversity efforts to make a particular person feel welcome and comfortable on staff, make certain that he or she identifies with what you perceive to be his or her ethnic background. For example, just because someone has a Latin last name does not mean he or she necessarily identifies with that culture.

A second caution: Consider all cultures. But rather than attempting to compile a complete list of cultures represented by staff, survey staff for thoughts on what cultures might be appropriate to honor and what events might be nice to celebrate. Among staff might be someone who would feel proud to have Swedish culture honored, or the culture of the United States, or Ireland. Do not exclude those who are not, in your eyes, "diverse enough."

Initiate diversity training. According to the Society for Human Resource Management/Commerce Clearing House 1993 survey of SHRM members, 33 percent of the 785 respondents indicated that their organizations conduct diversity training. Although some people consider this percentage low, to others it seems like a significant amount of interest in this vital training area.

Companies such as Digital Equipment Corporation and Hughes Aircraft have been offering diversity training for a long time. Training can range from skill-based programs, such as the training in interviewing mentioned earlier, to sensitivity training, which fosters awareness of biased attitudes and stereotypical thinking.

Once you determine the type of training needed, you must decide whether to hire an outside consultant or do the training in-house. Unfortunately, your decision may largely be dictated by budget. If you have the budget and do not have someone in-house who has been trained specifically in cultural diversity issues, it is preferable to hire an outside trainer. On the other hand, if money is an issue, there are numerous off-the-shelf programs, video products, books, and articles that can be used by your diversity staff person to design training. The American Society for Training and Development and the Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research can be helpful in locating products and consultants. You can contact ASTD at 1640 King Street, Box 1443, Alexandria, VA 22313; [phone]; and SIETAR at 808 17th Street, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006; [phone].

Whatever your approach, remember that diversity training needs to be seen as a process, not a one-time project. Results take time. What you can achieve with a one-day workshop is enlightenment; you can provide the information and guidance needed to change behaviors and necessary to gradually promote multiculturalism. Measure results. The most commonly heard criticism of diversity training is that it is difficult to measure the effectiveness. This may be true if your goal is to change attitudes, which is impossible. If, on the other hand, your training efforts are focused on changing behaviors, the evaluation process is really quite simple. One of the best techniques for this evaluation is to periodically distribute questionnaires to those who work with and who supervise the trainee. You might want to survey the group at two weeks, two months, and six months after training is completed.

Assume that the trainee is a manager. In the evaluation, you could seek answers to these questions:

* Are staff members being given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities?

* Are ethnic jokes and sexist comments dealt with immediately and appropriately by the manager?

* Are there many complaints regarding equal treatment?

* Have advancement and retention rates improved since the training?

Adjust conventional benefits and motivation strategies. Significant adjustments may need to be made to accommodate and encourage diversity. "Worker of the Month" programs, for example, can be ineffective when a work force includes Asian immigrants, who might be uncomfortable with individual praise. Other benefits that can be adjusted for diverse groups include eider care, child care, flextime, shared jobs, extended maternity leave, and other time off. Perhaps some employees would like the opportunity to take a longer-than-usual vacation to return to their homeland for important events. Listen to your staff, be open, and be creative. You would be surprised at how the smallest adjustments in your traditional organizational policies can result in greatly increased employee satisfaction.

Set up special-interest groups. Corporations such as Equitable Life Assurance Society and Avon have had considerable success with forming employee groups composed of particular categories of people. You might establish a group for working parents, as was done at Eastman Kodak, or one for women, blacks, Latinos, gays and lesbians, or Asians. The purpose is to give all employees the opportunity to share concerns both with each other and with upper management. Any group should have either representation within top management or a representative who regularly reports to upper-level executives.

The notion of special-interest groups might be adapted to a small association staff by putting diversity concerns on the agenda for regular staff meetings. At the meetings, staff could be encouraged to share with upper management any thoughts about the environment of the association and its conduciveness to multiculturalism.

Hold managers accountable. It is helpful to build into your employee assessment system an accountability for how well your managers are addressing diversity. Questions similar to those listed in the discussion of how to evaluate diversity training might again be used during performance appraisals to assess how effectively the manager is performing this aspect of his or her job. Backing intentions with action

The literature of business management and human resources is filled with terminology arising from our nation's changing demographics. Words like multiculturalism, political correctness, pluralism, and, of course, diversity are heard daily. Are these just buzz words? Is diversity a fad that will burn itself out? Will articles on diversity fade and books end up in the darkest corners of our libraries?

Probably that day will come, but only after we have learned to work together effectively, to honor people for who they are as individuals, and to look at diversity as an ongoing process and way of life. Once we realize that treating people fairly is not the same as treating them the same, we will no longer need to study diversity; we will be reaping the great benefits of a harmonious multicultural workplace.

HIGHLIGHTS

STARTER STEPS

* COMMIT TO DIVERSITY. Budget funds, designate diversity staff, and demonstrate top management interest through active involvement.

* GO THE EXTRA MILE. Look in different places for applicants and celebrate additional cultural events in the office.

Resources

Following are presses that specialize in diversity publications:

* Brigham Young University, David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies, 280 HRCB, Provo, UT 84602; (801) 378- 6528.

* Gulf Publishing Company, P.O. Box 2608, Houston, TX 77001; [phone].

* Intercultural Press, P.O. Box 700, Yarmouth, ME 04096; [phone].

* Sage Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 5084, Newbury Park, CA 91359; [phone].

These are general works on managing workplace diversity:

* Beyond Race and Gender: Unleashing the Power of Your Total Work Force by Managing Diversity, by R. Roosevelt Thomas (New York: Amacom, 1991; available from ASAE--call [phone]).

* Bridging Cultural Barriers for Corporate Success: How to Manage the Multicultural Work Force, by Sondra Thiederman (New York: Lexington Books, 1991).

* Managing a Diverse Work Force: Regaining the Competitive Edge, by John P. Fernandez (New York: Lexington Books, 1991).

* Managing Diversity: A Complete Desk Reference and Planning Guide, by Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe (Homewood, Illinois: Business One Irwin, 1993; available from ASAE--call [phone]).

* Managing Workforce 2000: Gaining the Diversity Advantage, by David Jamieson and Julie O'Mara (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991).

* The New Leaders: Guidelines on Leadership Diversity in America, by Ann M. Morrison (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992; available from ASAE--call [phone]).

* Workforce America!: Managing Employee Diversity as a Vital Resource, by Marilyn Loden and Judy B. Rosener (Homewood, Illinois: Business One Irwin, 1991).

Sondra Thiederman is president of Cross-Cultural Communications, San Diego.