Diversity is associated by many managers only with a restrictive anti-discrimination policy. However, can looking at your team through the prism of orders, bans and "what is appropriate" bring positive results? What, in fact, is the "diversity" that so much is said about?
Diversity issues in the workplace began to be recognized in the United States as early as the 1960s. At that time, regulations were introduced that required increasing the representation of national and ethnic minorities and women in representative positions. European legislation, which has been in force since Poland's accession to the European Union, has approached diversity management in a similar way. Were the actions taken effective? Everyday practice shows that although the representation of minorities has increased in many teams, this has not been followed by a far-reaching improvement in efficiency and work culture.
The conclusion is obvious – undertaking anti-discrimination activities is not the same as managing diversity in an organization. In order to fully use the potential of employees, you need to go beyond the law and think about what each member of the group can bring to the team. Diversity management is a strategy that aims to build positive relationships within the organization, create an atmosphere conducive to the use of employees' potential and improve the company's image.
W takim systemie ogromn? rol? odgrywa postawa managera, który musi wykazywa? si? otwarto?ci? i zaufaniem w stosunku do swojego zespo?u. Zarz?dzanie grup? sk?adaj?c? si? z osób o odmiennych, cz?sto przeciwstawnych pogl?dach i postawach ?yciowych z ca?? pewno?ci? nie jest ?atwym zadaniem. Jednak?e, po prze?amaniu pierwszych nieporozumie? zespó? b?dzie pracowa? ze zwi?kszon? efektywno?ci?. Dzi?ki ró?nym punktom widzenia grupa mo?e podejmowa? najlepsze decyzje, znaj?c szanse i zagro?enia ka?dej z propozycji. W tak ukszta?towanym zespole rodzi si? poczucie sprawczo?ci i odpowiedzialno?ci, co sprzyja podnoszeniu kwalifikacji i umiej?tno?ci przez grup?, a to dodatkowo podnosi jej produktywno??.
Diversity management is not only a challenge for the manager, but also a great opportunity. A group consisting of people with different characters and different skills can adapt faster to the changes that are forced on companies by the dynamically changing situation on the market. Management methods based on flexibility, creativity and "agility" will certainly help in using the organization's potential. The most popular of them is AGILE, the assumption of which is the possibility of making changes at every stage of the project.
Łukasz Kurowski, Sales Director at Media System, will tell you more about this method during the Media Experience workshop. We invite you on November 23 - participation is free, registration is available on the event website https://www.mediaexperience.pl/ .
When assessing the impact of diversity on organizational performance, it is impossible to focus solely on the numbers and bars showing the effectiveness of the group's work. An equally important benefit is the creation of a positive image of the company - not only among contractors and customers, but also current and future employees. Many people may be interested in working in a company that not only accepts them, but also allows for continuous development. In a situation where companies are actively looking for specialists, organizational culture can be a decisive factor in whether a talented candidate decides to cooperate or choose the offer of a competitor.
Unfortunately, many companies treat the issue of diversity instrumentally. They manage to include the equal opportunities policy, anti-discrimination measures required by law and actions taken to achieve short-term marketing benefits in this concept. However, this has little to do with true diversity management.
How do we do it in Media System? First of all, we understand that when managing diversity, emphasis should be placed on systemic and not ad hoc solutions. The more so that the Call Center industry is a real arena of employee diversity - after all, the customer does not see them, but only hears them!! The basic action must be to develop an organizational culture based on mutual respect. Already at the recruitment stage, we create an atmosphere in which candidates talk about their passions and interests. Then we have the opportunity to learn skills that they would not boast of during a traditional conversation. There is no official dress code in the office. We focus on comfort and the ability to express yourself through clothing. Regardless of the position held, we say "for you", thanks to which everyone has the courage to speak out in the discussion on the project.
What is the role of diversity in the process of managing an organization? At Media System, we treat it as the next step after complying with anti-discrimination regulations and implementing the equal opportunities policy. It must be a well-thought-out process based on a strategy that all employees are familiar with and have no doubts about. For the changes to have a chance of success, they should be implemented by managers who have the appropriate qualifications and skills to delegate part of the responsibility for the project to their team without the risk of causing chaos and unnecessary confusion in the group's work. In a well-functioning organization, the implementation of diversity management should not be a great challenge, and the benefits should be quickly noticed.
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