Chapter 6: Putting it all Together
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
- Determine diversity management techniques needed to attract, engage, and retain employees. (LO3)
- Develop leadership skills and cultural competencies to cultivate a diverse and inclusive organizational culture. (LO4)
This chapter is about putting all that has been shared together into a cohesive plan for creating a diverse and inclusive organizational culture.
Let’s review everything so far and then finish with new information.
Now, for more information that will hopefully pull everything together for you.
One thing that sticks out is accessibility, which has not been fully covered yet. How will your would-be employees gain access to your information?
Conduct a series of tests on one of your favorite businesses to see where they fall (Examples: Walmart, Starbucks, Amazon, etc.). You can also search for flyers, promotional materials, through Google Images and compare them for the criteria below as well.
Website:
- Ease of use: Pick one website to peruse. Is it easy to navigate on a phone and on a computer? Depending on the candidate you are vying for, computers or phones may not be a viable option. Make sure that websites are accessible regardless of the device being used by the viewer.
- Coloration: What about coloration of this website? Is it attractive? Or is it gaudy? Is it subdued? Do the colors draw you in to look further or are they off-putting in some way? How do you think other cultures would feel about those colors. Consider the meaning and power of particular colors in different countries.
- Graphics and Images: Do the images and graphics look like stock photos (meaning they are posed) or do they look authentic? Do they look like real people, clients or employees, that are affiliated with this agency? Which would you prefer, as a client? Do the images have alt-text applied to them?
- Contact Information: Can you locate the contact information and hours of operation easily? This can be frustrating at times depending on the organization. If you want people to contact you for any reason, the contact information has to be prominent.
- Other: As you select different pages on the website, consider if there are AI Bots that prompt to help you. What if there are several pop-ups, asking for you to subscribe? Is this helpful or annoying? What other factors are at play when reviewing an organization’s website?
Books, Publications, or Other Promotional Materials:
- Coloration: Remember from above that not all colors work. Some will draw you in, other will put you off. And different cultures have different rules.
- Font styles: Some fonts are very interesting, but are they accessible? Can you read it easily? Could anyone read it easily? What if you were learning a new language? Or if you had an impairment?
- Options: If there are videos, are there captions? Is there narration? Are there transcripts? Are the transcripts easy to locate and or use/download. Often, sadly, they are not.
- Graphics: Are the graphics accessible? Stock photos? Meaningful?
What does all of this have to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging?
Hopefully, it is clear that diverse people require diverse options. Diverse people need materials that meet their needs, whether it’s an appropriate language, alternative text options, or appropriate coloration and graphics.
As you build your own diverse organizational culture that is culturally competent, you may need diverse strategies to attract unique team members. Considering all parts of the equation, from language, to style, to presentation is key to efficient recruitment.
Additional Learning Materials
Read:
- Diversity as Polyphony: Reconceptualizing Diversity Management from a Communication-Centered Perspective (19 pages) (LO4)
Watch:
