Diversity is an important goal for the modern workplace. However, it's also critical that new hires feel invested in the culture of the company. Christine Riordan, in a piece written for the Harvard Business Review, highlights this point and describes the difference between diversity in hiring for its own sake and an actual concentrated effort at improvement.
Riordan notes that inclusivity within a company is a lot harder to foster than diversity: It's easy to get people together, but more difficult to get them to work together. The role of the executive in this situation, especially if they are of a minority themselves, can be to encourage employees to communicate honestly.
"To reduce conformity, leaders need to talk authentically about the issues, seek out, and encourage differences," Riordan writes. "While the key is asking the right questions, it is also important to listen to the responses and not react negatively if the leader does not like what he or she hears."
Others seem to agree. Writing for Crain's Detroit Business, Tara Miceli says in an editorial that having a variety of different ages represented in the workplace is to the employer's ultimate benefit. She also writes that the friction between generations is overstated and that younger workers tend to be more appreciative of older colleagues, not less.
While developments like these might help organizations find candidates from different backgrounds, they won't help them work together. It takes knowledge and successful management to get a diverse group on the same page. Turning to executive search consultants can help your business find a CEO who can shepherd this process.
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