There is a real value in building corporate teams that reflect the diversity of the societies in which they operate, and a strong body of research that shows how diversity can be a powerful driver of successful teams. Bringing people together from different backgrounds, with different opinions and different life experiences, allows and encourages teams to use their diversity to appreciate the complexity of the situations in which they operate. Better decisions come from exchanging ideas and learning with people who have different views from your own.
This is often overlooked in the rush to recruit and retain the “best” people into an organisation. All too often, human nature suggests that the best person for the job is someone who looks like me and thinks like me – clearly a strategy which will stifle any sense of diversity or inclusion. However, in trying to redress this imbalance it is important to avoid tokenism when individuals are perceived as speaking for a particular group and not having any other contribution to make. Taking action on diversity is not just about employing individuals who represent certain minority groups. Companies need to do much more to ensure that diversity is recognised and respected. This means appreciating the different qualities people bring to the job and creating an environment where everyone feels valued for their individual talents, skills and experience.
Related News
Diversity can help recruitment
The City of London Corporation announced on January 25 that its City of London Business Traineeship Scheme is not only beneficial to the young people and communities in the boroughs surrounding the financial district but that it is also beneficial to the businesses themselves. The scheme aims to offer young people from boroughs such as Tower Hamlets the chance to undertake work experience in the Square Mile and to view it as a viable career option. It has now been found to “positively improve” the diversity of the workforce in City firms, which, in turn, brings about “less conventional ideas and therefore working strategies”. Businesses involved in the scheme are banks, financial and professional services, news agencies and law firms including UBS, HBOS and Allen & Overy.Contact City of London Corporation 020 7606 3030 www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
Google best company to work for
Internet company, Google, has been voted the best company to work for in a survey by Fortune magazine published on January 22. The survey – 100 Best Companies to Work for 2008 – ranks America’s 100 top employers by asking 100,000 employees from 406 companies to evaluate their employers on issues such as pay, healthcare provision, diversity and benefits. Other companies in the top ten include Cisco, Starbucks and Goldman Sachs. Contact Fortune magazinehttp://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune
Marsh demands worker suspension
Marsh, the insurance firm, demanded that contract cleaners working at its London headquarters are suspended because they joined the London Living Wage campaign run by campaign group London Citizens. Neil Jameson, lead organiser at London Citizens, told Briefing on January 28 that Marsh had demanded that the facilities contractor ISS, who employed the workers, suspend them after they took part in a demonstration. Jameson added that making wages fair was “just as important as recycling paperwork” and that wages should be part of corporate responsibility.
The London Living Wage campaign lobbies for a wage that supports living in London. This is £7.20 an hour as opposed to the national minimum wage of £5.52 an hour. The group has also developed a kite mark – the Living Wage Employers Award – which is awarded to organisations that commit to pay their cleaners at least £7.20 an hour. Companies that have signed up to the award include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Barclays and KPMG. Contact London Citizens 020 7043 9881 www.londoncitizens.org.uk
Transport degrees
Flybe and Network Rail will be able to award work-based qualifications to their employees. The announcement came on January 28 and will enable the airline and the rail company to award acknowledged qualifications to its cabin and engineering crews. The qualifications will be approved by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority, the regulatory body for public examinations and qualifications. Contact Flybe 020 7457 2020 www.flybe.com , Network Rail 08457 114 141 www.networkrail.co.uk
Sport, skills and employment
The Vodafone Group Foundation has committed itself to two sports projects, which aim to help young people globally learn important life-skills that will ultimately make them more employable it was announced on January 23. UNICEF and Red Dust Role Models will receive funding of £1.5m and £1.3m respectively from the foundation. Red Dust Role Models uses celebrities in sport, music and entertainment to act as positive role models to deliver health messages to the young. The UNICEF project aims to use sport to raise awareness of HIV/Aids with young people in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Contact Vodafone Group Foundation 0163 533 251 www.vodafone.com/start/foundation
Workplace Equality Index 2008
The charity sector is the best employer for gay people followed by public services according to the Workplace Equality Index 2008, published on January 9. The national crime reduction charity, Nacro, was the top employer for 2008 with the Greater London Authority in second place. The top ten:
1 Nacro
2 Greather London Authority
3 Hampshire Constabulary
3 Staffordshire Police
5 IBM
6 Lloyds TSB
6 Manchester City Council
6 Transport for London
9 Brighton and Hove City Council
9 PricewaterhouseCoopers
11 BT
11 Lothian and Borders Police
The index is published annually by Stonewall, the organisation that campaigns for the rights of gay, lesbian and bisexual people, and employers are ranked according to criteria ranging from implementation of effective equality policies to practical demonstration of good practice in recruitment and mentoring and how they engage with lesbian and gay staff, customers and service users. Contact Stonewall www.stonewall.org.uk
COMMENTS