Managing diversity
in Caribbean organisations
An organisation's ability to attract and retain the best employees depends on whether its work environment is favourable to and supportive of diverse groups of people

by Dr Patricia Ghany, Management Consultant

As we progress into the 21st century, managers everywhere will be in transition, experimenting with better ways of managing human and material resources during this period of profound change. In order to meet the challenges of the global marketplace, Caribbean enterprises must restructure and renew themselves so as to remain viable players in the global economy. Many of the forces fueling change in the Caribbean region are economic.

Over the past five years, there have been increases in investment and joint ventures with American and European multinationals, as well as in growth areas such as tourism, manufacturing, and oil and gas. To survive in this era of rapid change, some organisations have focused on staying on the leading edge of technology and product development, or have increased their use of automation and robotics. Others believe in re- engineering the work process in order to meet customers' needs more efficiently and effectively.

However, in this post- industrial information age, companies are faced with the emergence of a new work culture. In this new culture, the norm is intellectual contribution from every worker, regardless of race, colour, creed, lifestyle or origin. This emerging new management mindset views the human resource as the organisation's main asset. Human interaction in the workplace means managing diverse personalities and ideas. Diversity in organisations includes differences in age, gender, ethnicity, colour, religious affiliation, thinking style, physical appearance and abilities, educational background, and even sexual orientation.

Managing diversity in Caribbean companies will become even more important as our economies become more sophisticated and as we strengthen our position in the global economy. The internal business environment in which we operate will continue to evolve and change as a result of: the widening range age groups; the increase in the number women in traditionally male- dominated jobs; the presence of many racial and ethnic groups; the range of educational levels; the variety of values and lifestyles and the integration of the physically challenged into the workforce.

Caribbean managers must be able to lead their organisations towards profitability and productivity by getting people and resources to be synergistic through the leveraging and valuing of differences. The challenge, for organisations and management in the Caribbean region, is to focus first on those business issues that offer the greatest opportunity for long- term leverage. There are many compelling reasons for making the managment of diversity (including work and family programs) top priority.

Business Imperative 1: Attract and Retain the Best Employees There is always a need for recruiting, developing, motivating, promoting, and retaining the best employees, especially during periods of rapid growth and in times of downsizing. An organisation's ability to attract, hire and retain the best employees depends on whether its work environment is favorable to and supportive of diverse groups of people. By building a climate in which all groups feel comfortable, companies are in a position to enhance their recruitment possibilities and their ability to attract and retain talented people. The way people are treated and how they perceive opportunities, affect not only their loyalty to the company, but also their day-to-day performance. Since companies are all competing for talented employees, being seen as an employer of choice is central to gaining competitive advantage in today's business environment.

Business Imperative 2: Enhance Customer Service and Gain Marketing Advantage The Caribbean market is composed of all races, religions, lifestyles and sexual orientations. It is, therefore, vital to an organisation's success that its workforce also be diverse in order to capture and maintain a competitive market share. Increasingly, organisations are seeing their customer bases become more diverse. Sensitivity to the marketplace is becoming more important as market demographics change more rapidly and dramatically than workplace demographics. A homogeneous workforce is out of step with contemporary business trends and market needs. Organisations that focus only on what worked in the past, and do not pay attention to present and future marketplaces, are neglecting and excluding significant sources of profit.

Business Imperative 3: Increase Creativity, Quality, Teamwork, and Innovation Organisations can take advantage of a diverse workforce by building teams that are better able to respond to the needs of a diverse marketplace. As more leading- edge products emerge from partnerships across national and functional boundaries within the Caribbean, there is growing evidence that diverse employees' teams outperform homogeneous teams of any composition. This diversity-of-perspectives advantage, which downplays conformity and norms of the past, characterizes the contemporary approach to management of diversity. This modern approach often improves the level of creativity, quality, teamwork, and innovation in problem- solving.

Business Imperative 4: Reduce Costs Associated with Discrimination, Harassment, and the Ignoring of Diversity Issues Absenteeism, high staff turnover, poor performance, sexual harassment charges and labour unrest cost employers millions of dollars each year. The importance of creating a work environment in which every employee feels valued increases as organisations become more diverse. Failure to create an "inclusive" work environment can lead to increased career dissatisfaction and high turnover of employees. Organisations that recruit and integrate a diverse work force quickly have competitive cost advantage over those that do not. Successfully managing diversity will not only reduce grievances and balance a hostile work environment, but it may also lower the need for legal action by employees.

Managing Diversity Is Critical To Success An organisation's ability to compete effectively in today's global marketplace depends on its attention to these critical business issues. The business imperatives for managing diversity are all interrelated. Companies that focus on understanding, valuing, and managing diversity will guarantee that its business survives and thrives in the race for productivity and profit.

Unfortunately, many organisations assume that the managment of diversity is irrelevant or low priority. They believe that if their current work force is not diverse, there is no need to put forth the effort and the resources required to make it so. An organisation that perceives itself as homogeneous is missing the full understanding of diverse. The main reason for managing diversity is to draw on the uniqueness of each employee.

Firms that place a low priority on diversity issues may need to examine whether their lack of attention is really a reflection of their current workforce demographics and the reason why talented workers of diverse backgrounds neither seek employment nor remain with their organisation. Organisations need to understand the "bottom- line" value of making their organisations attractive to and supportive of diversity, if they are to survive the new era of more diverse human resources in the 21st century.

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