How to manage staff diversity in an NGO.
Posted on 17 February, 2023 at 16:57
By Passmore Murigai
Workforce or staff diversity
means similarities and differences among employees in terms of age, cultural
background, physical abilities and disabilities, race, religion, gender, and sexual
orientation. Diversity makes the work force heterogeneous.
In addition, diversity in the
workplace refers to acknowledging and valuing of differences among people with
respect to views and approaches. Employees with the same gender and cultural
background may have diverse thinking and approaches. It is therefore the
appreciation that people are different cognitively in their approaches,
perception of things, doing, as well as relating to one another that is
important. The challenge is how to manage diversity whichever way we define it.
Most NGOs depending on size has
a staff compliment from five people to one hundred people. Despite the
associated benefits of diversity in creating an exciting, flexible and creative
space through synergistic blending of individuals with different backgrounds
and perspective, most managers have challenges managing multicultural
workforces. With the world now a global village, there is more interaction
among people from diverse cultures, beliefs and backgrounds than ever before.
Organisations no longer exist and operate in insular environments, they are now
part of a worldwide economy and competition is coming from nearly every
continent. Members of the Senior Management Team (SMT) need creativity in
management and openness to change.
Challenges to managing diversity
come when decisions makers only value individual who are similar to them in
attitude, beliefs and values. Henceforth organizational selection need not be
based on undefined concepts of fit and chemistry, tribal or racial stereotyping
which guides behavior towards a group.
The objective is to encourage
mutually beneficial interactions among diverse employees by promoting an
inclusive culture in the organisation. To attain diversity, managers should
avoid discrimination which limits progress due to stereotyping. To be
successful in a multicultural environment it is key to manage the differences
than ignore them or allow problems to fester. Heads of Departments should make
a conscious effort of ensuring all employees understand the organisational and
project goals and are willing to attain them. These teams will be a mix of
individuals with different skills but sharing two things - passion for what
they do and the wish to get things done. This must come first. Conflict may
result thus affecting production among people who do not understand one
another. Very often though, managers value employees with a variety of thinking
and approaches but at times they do not understand how to manage them. Yet,
respecting these differences is the key to maintaining a successful innovative
culture.
Focus need to be on diversity
and looking for ways to become more inclusive if diversity is to become a
source of competitive advantage. It is indeed a key component that
organizations cannot afford to ignore as well as a good practice of effective
people management.
Managers need to understand
their own cultural conditioning so that they see how their conduct influences
their opinions, attitudes and behavior. Effective multi-cultural managers need
to overcome the tendency that everyone is the same. Learn to describe cultural
differences before interpreting and evaluating them. Also show respect for
others and their culture, avoid being judgmental when faced with cultural
differences. Be flexible and tolerate ambiguity.
With the increase in workplace
diversity the ability of many organizations to remain competitive will depend
on them managing cultural diversity. Develop policies and practices that allow
for diverse employee to work comfortably and cooperatively together. Diversity
conscious leaders allow a broad array of needs and expectations to be
considered rather than just those of the majority cultures. When team members
bring their own behavior skills and biases, creating teams out of such vast
array of unique individuals is problematic. Team building with diverse member
can be a nightmare. Innovation takes place when different ideas, perceptions
and ways of doing collide. However, this happens only when there is
collaboration among various players who see the world differently.
Being good listeners who are sensitive
to perceptions becomes key. A lot more people are working and living outside
their home countries. In some organisations, individuals may be seconded to
work for the same organisation in a different country or region. Managers cannot go around this but dealing
with it by listening and establishing ways to get everybody to work together.
Effective management need to be aware of skills necessary to create successful diverse workforce. There is a real need for mindset shift as people advocate and lobby for inclusivity in organizations. It’s high time managers become open about their cultural biases’ roadblocks. Demographic changes in leadership now a topical issue as issue of women inclusion and gender equality are areas of interest for some organisations.
Being just or fair by Heads of
Departments no longer suffices; embrace equity to ensure creation of an
enabling space for innovation to happen. Diversity management is simply more
than the acknowledging of differences in people. It involves recognizing the
value of differences, combating discrimination and promoting inclusivity.
As KFM Consultants, we are acutely aware of our role and responsibility in continuing to meet the needs of the NGO community. We continue to offer our Financial Management, Governance and Sustainability service remotely and virtually. We offer Change Management Training and Team Building Session to NGOs.