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2019

Diversity and Inclusion

Program Guide

KIM WELLS, COURTNEY BURROWS, GABRIELLE

HURLBURT

NSCC | Human Resource Management

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Table of Contents

What Works and Why........................................................................................................3

Do You Even Need A Program?.......................................................................................4
Initiative # 1: Identifying Unconscious Bias.......................................................................5
Initiative # 2: Recruiting the Right People.........................................................................6
Some suggestions to aid your plan:.................................................................................................6
Initiative # 3: Interactive Activities.....................................................................................7
Everyday Changes............................................................................................................8
Definitions:.........................................................................................................................9
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What Works and Why

Businesses today are experiencing
diversity fatigue due to disappointing results
from all the various initiative programs that have
been put in place.1 Human resource managers
and corporate researchers report that 50% of
companies saw mixed to negative effects after diversity training and 18% said the program was
ineffective.1 It isn’t the training that causes a positive experience, it’s the company. Diversity
and inclusion works when the company shows a deep commitment to practicing equality.
Behaviour and attitudes are not likely to change when the organization’s diversity goals are not
viewed as serious.1 Calling the initiative “diversity training” or a “diversity program” also has a
negative effect, since many employees connect diversity with shame and change; it is better to
label the initiative something else.

For a diversity and inclusion program to work, "We need to practice what we are
preaching. What is the most effective I believe is something that uses several different kinds of
delivery systems and is not a one-shot deal. It's got to be continuous, on-going, [with] all kinds
of reinforcement.”1

Many of the organizations who have had success practiced some type of long-
term follow-up and monitoring to sustain the positive effects of their efforts. 1
These efforts included: establishing a committee to track progress, administering
a survey periodically to gauge results and meeting regularly with key managers, administrators,
etc. to review these efforts. 1 This guide will be a helpful tool to ensure that your program is set
up for best success.

1 Jordan, Katrina. "DIVERSITY TRAINING: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why?" Civil Rights Journal, vol. 4, no. 1, 1999, p. 53. Gale
OneFile: Diversity Studies, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A66678572/PPDS?u=nsprovl_nscc&sid=PPDS&xid=aaf841cf.
Accessed 29 Sept. 2019.
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Do You Even Need A Program?

· YES! Having training without a program is like rowing without a paddle!
· YES! Only 15% of board seats held in Fortune 100 companies were held by minorities. 2
· YES! 60% of boards have less than one-third of their seats occupied by women, minorities,
or women and minorities.2
· YES! Training by itself is ineffective.
· YES! Canada’s diverse workforce just keeps growing.
· YES! Canada’s customers want to be able to see themselves in the organization.
· YES! Training with no follow-up or company engagement seems insincere.
· YES! New employees coming into the workforce expect inclusion and diversity.

2 Hayes, C. (2005). The Business Case for Diversity. Special Advertising Section. Retrieved from https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-
137160501/the-business-case-for-diversity
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Here are three initiatives can be integrated into your already existing activities and are
relatively easy to use and organize.

Initiative # 1: Identifying Unconscious Bias

Unconscious bias is present in all persons and is part of our psychological makeup. A workshop
with the goal of making employees aware of this bias and giving them tools to combat this bias
would ease tensions and promote camaraderie among employees.
Organizations can give employees the ability to recognize this bias in themselves and provide
them with some tools to overcome it.
Training sessions or workshops should be open to all employees in the organization. Each
session or workshop should be conducted in groups of up to 20 employees. This should
generate plenty of feedback to keep the workshop interesting without individuals losing the
opportunity to participate, which is possible in a larger group.

Some extra tips to help your activity run

smoothly:
· Open the session to all levels of the organization,
from entry level to mid-management to CEO.
· Make the session voluntary but encourage
everyone to attend.
· Hold the session outside the workplace- this
provides a neutral ground and offers employees a
chance to get outside the office for a few hours.
· Include rewards to make the session more
attractive such as lunch, tea and coffee or snacks.
· Choose an engaging name for the session, such as “Shift Your Thinking,” “New Culture
Seminar,” or “Expanding Workplaces.”
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People African Initiative #

Indigenous Visible
Women with Nova
2: Peoples Minorities Recruiting
Disabilities Scotians
the Right
People
Recruitment is the perfect place to start increasing your organization’s diversity.
Before beginning the recruitment process, analyze the current employee diversity in your
organization.
Determine what percentage of your employees are part of the protected groups 3 in Nova
Scotia:

Analyze which groups you are aiming to actively increase in your organization. Set a goal for the
organization that is attainable in a reasonable amount of time (i.e. hiring 5% more visible
minorities within two years). Finally, create an action plan to attain your goals.

Some suggestions to aid your plan:

· Look at where and how you are currently recruiting. If your candidate pool is not as diverse
as you would like, expand your options (i.e. online job boards, local communities, colleges,
recruitment agencies).
· Rephrase job advertisements to be more inclusive and streamlined so they are not too long
and off-putting. Use inclusive language and phrasing.
· Go back to the basics- analyze the job you are recruiting for to ensure minimum
requirements are current and true minimums.
· Ensure the skills listed in the job posting are truly required to do the job.
· If possible, offer training or upgrading to develop a potential candidate who has the
required base skill set, but who is missing additional specific expertise required to do the
job.
· Hire an external expert relevant to your targeted population (i.e.: International Recruitment
Specialist) to help navigate any issues that may arise which are specific to certain
populations (i.e.: work visas for immigrant populations, etc.).

3Long, K. (2019, September). Nova Scotia Community College. Nova Scotia Community College. Sydney.
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· Partner with immigrant or refugee programs to gain access to an international labour force
with competent skill sets.
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Initiative # 3: Interactive Activities

A large part of encouraging inclusion and diversity within any organization is getting the
employees involved. One way to get increase employees comfort level with diversity is by
having interactive activities.
The following are suggestions for activities that can be included in regular work meetings as an
add-on to normal agenda, or that you, as management, can use to create a workshop or
seminar as mentioned in Initiative #1.

· Ensure the groups contain generally no more than 20 people, so there are enough
participants to acquire feedback, but not too many that the personal nature of the session is
lost in anonymity.
· Ensure all levels and departments of the organization are welcome and encouraged to
attend.
· For smaller groups, an interactive slide show where the participant watches a video then
chooses the correct option in order to advance, with open discussion following.
· Role-playing activities, though not always a popular option, are a great tool for people to
see situations from a different vantage point. It makes them consider how they act in
situations, how it feels to be on the opposite side of an interaction and what they could
possibly change to make it more positive in the future.
· Anonymous quizzes with the help of an online forum such as Kahoot 4 are quick and helpful
in seeing group dynamics without being accusatory towards anyone.
· Online quizzes found on Implicit Harvard 5 are fast and easy to complete and encourage
participants to think about their unconscious feelings.
· Follow each interactive activity with an open discussion about what the participants learned
about themselves and how they view or experience diversity and inclusion.
· Encourage employees to help
create solutions that the
entire organization can
implement.

4 Learning Games: Make Learning Awesome! (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://kahoot.com/.
5 (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/.
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Everyday Changes
It is important to implement everyday changes that encourage employees to be more open to
change their own behavior towards differences.
· Meet with the senior management in the organization to ensure they are fully engaged and
dedicated to putting these changes into effect.
· Have managers conduct regular meetings (monthly, bi-monthly or more often if necessary)
with all levels of staff to acquire feedback and suggestions that are specific to their
workplace or department.
· Ensure these meetings are open discussions where all parties are encouraged to speak up
and do not become one-sided lectures with little participation.
· Ensure your work environment is welcoming and inclusive to all peoples.
· Track the initiatives by keeping statistics on turnover, new hire retention rates, complaints,
attendance, productivity and morale to measure how successful your efforts are.

What TO Do
· Get top management on board.
· Have a clear and concise diversity message in the
organization’s mission statement and strategic goals.
· Have an active diversity committee, if possible.
· Have measures for accountability and progress.

What NOT to Do
· Do not label the training “Diversity”.
· Do not shame or accuse.
· Do not implement and then not follow-up.
· Do not place blame on one specific group.
 Be sure to 11
There should be no end date to
keep
inclusion efforts!
going!

Definitions:
Camaraderie- A spirit of friendly good-fellowship.6
Climate- Atmosphere or “internal weather” and its impact on employee motivation, job
satisfaction and loyalty.7
C.E.O.- Chief Executive Officer.
Diversity- The inclusion of different types of peoples in a group or organization. 8
Fatigue- A state or attitude of indifference or apathy brought on by overexposure.9
Engagement- Emotional involvement or commitment.10
Inclusion- The practice of including and accommodating people who have historically been
excluded (as because of their race, gender, sexuality or ability). 11
Initiative- A leading action.12
Integration- Incorporation as equals into an organization of individuals of different groups (such
as races).13
Mission Statement- Something that states the purpose or goal of an organization. 14
Strategic Goals- The planned objectives that an organization strives to achieve.15
Turnover- The number of persons hired within a period to replace those leaving or dropped
from
a workforce.16
Unconscious Bias- A hidden bias that affects the neutrality of our decisions whether we realize
it
or not.17

6 Camaraderie. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/camaraderie.

7 Durning, Meagan. (2019, September). Nova Scotia Community College. Nova Scotia Community College. Sydney.
8 Diversity. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diversity.
9 Fatigue. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatigue.
10 Engagement. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engagement.
11 Inclusion. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inclusion.
12Initiative. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/initiative?s=t.
13 Integration. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integration.
14 Mission Statement. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mission statement.
15 What are strategic goals? definition and meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/strategic-goals.html.
16 Turnover. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turnover.
17 Long, K. (2019, September). Nova Scotia Community College. Nova Scotia Community College. Sydney.
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