Valuing people's differences
Good Practice
Some Investors in People Assessors give their thoughts on diversity in practice within some organisations they have assessed. This is not policy or prescriptive in any way but just their thoughts and perceptions taken from their profile assessment experience to date.
“As a practitioner it would be good to have a positive definition from the organisation being assessed as to what they are doing to positively promote equality and diversity. It is difficult for an assessor to go in with preconceived ideas; it is for the organisation to demonstrate their achievements in this area. Organisations tend to focus on how they do not discriminate but there is not a lot of evidence, from the organisations that have undergone the profile assessment, as to steps taken within them to promote equality and diversity positively. This can be harder for smaller organisations, as they may not necessarily have the resources to devote to this. Many of the examples of good practice quoted in the press refer to the work of ‘diversity managers’, for example. The area that a lot of organisations struggle with is evaluation.
With regards to an understanding of equality and diversity it is about an organisation making the most of the range of skills, talents and ideas that their workforce should bring. There are benefits in the workforce representing the client base that the organisation serves and having a good understanding of what their customers need. The promotion of diversity should create mechanisms to nurture and promote talent. The organisations that I’ve assessed against profile so far have not gone beyond the level 1 standard. While they can describe an individual approach to learning and development and non-discriminatory practice in recruitment, selection and learning, they have been unable to demonstrate how they proactively promote equality and diversity in a planned and monitored way. In order to do this, top-level commitment is crucial, especially when there is resistance from within the organisation.
Catherine Brogan, Assessor
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“Equality and Diversity is explicitly mentioned in indicator 3 of profile and explains what it measures. It is about giving individuals, teams and organisations the opportunity to learn taking into account different learning styles. In other words everyone has an ‘equal opportunity’ to learn. For example in some educational organisations teachers are given more support for learning that support staff as the perception is that their needs take precedence over other, this does not promote equality and diversity within the organisation. Again, the area that most organisations struggle with is evaluation, and the difficulty they have in measuring equality and diversity and therefore this element tends to be weak. Top level commitment is vital, it is not just about managers being able to quote from the organisations polices but also be able to demonstrate how they mainstream equality in practice. Clear communication is important”.
Graham Curtis, Assessor
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"In my eyes equality and diversity best practice is when an organisation can see people are getting a fair chance. They address the differences people have and support fair access. The organisation is active and they do something visibly to address equality and diversity within their organisation.
Some organisations define the categories of the people that make up their organisation and monitor whether these people are getting a fair chance to develop.
Organisations that have a clear definition of equality and diversity have a clear commitment from senior management. I know of an organisation that has a committee Chaired by the CEO who meets regularly to review data on employees and what information is within the local labour market surveys to ensure the organisation is embracing the community it serves in.
One organisation has Diversity Champions who have rolled out Equality and Diversity training for everyone. One organisation had a diversity themed month, where activities take place to reinforce within the organisation what diversity is to all staff, not matter what their role.
A small advertising company encourages people to fill vacancies who are the complete opposite of the person who has left. By looking for the differences they believe the organisation benefits by a new approach, new thinking, new ideas and ultimately new business.
One organisation which promotes services to the older community uses its older workforce to inform and develop younger staff to the needs of their target audience by using their own expertise and experiences”.
Mark Story, Assessor