VIEWPOINT
The Role of Diversity
Management in the Global Talent
Retention Race
ßy Pamela Arnold
President
American Instítute for Managmg Diversity, Inc.
AT A RECENT luncheon, we
discussed dififcrcnt approaches
to creating a work environ-
ment that would accommo-
date various levels of diversity
in the employee population.
Several ideas and suggestions came up such as using
online recruiting to help with selection, having cross-
cultural HR teams participate in the interviewing pro-
cess, and many more. One thing we all agreed on was
that we would not resolve this during the limited time
for the luncheon.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by
2016, 43 percent of new job applicants will be people
of color and more than half will be women. There bas
to be a strategy in place to recruit and retain the best
talent, given the vast range of cultural differences and
similarities.
In his book. The Future and the Work Ahead of Us,
Harris Sussman writes, "Diversity is about our related-
ness, our connectedness, our interactions, where the
lines cross." The goal is to create and sustain a work
environment where diversity thrives and a plan for the
recruitment, selection and retention of talent. We need
to focus on understanding the culture and the role it
plays in recruiting and retaining talent. To be successful,
the plans should include the following:
Recruiting and Selection
• Eliminate language barriers
• Establish a multicultural interviewing team
• Offer opportunities for growth, advancement and
ongoing education
• Understand and embed the cultural elements
into the work environment.
The leadership team should involve a cross section
of business executives and leaders, HR partners and
16 P R O F I L E S IN D I V E R S I T Y J O U R N A L MAY/JUNE
external stakeholders who could implement the plan.
Retention and sustainability involves:
• Chief Executive leadership, board commitment
and external partnership involvement
• Connecting the diversity initiatives to the
bottom line
• Employee engagement, participation and
involvement
• Business line leadership integration
• Results tied to key performance indicators -
metrics and measurement.
Diversity training and education has moved beyond
the paradigm of awareness. Organizations today need
to equip leaders with a skill-based approach to strate-
gic diversity management. The Diversity Leadership
Academy is AIMD's fiagship educational program. Its
mission is to help bring state-of-the-art diversity man-
agement skills to leaders across all sectors of our society.
The DLA serves as a unique community-building tool
where leaders gain the knowledge and skills towards
becoming a diversity champion.
There are a number of challenges and opportuni-
ties that we are facing as we expand our search for
talent into other parts of the world. We must carefully
consider all differences and similarities and learn the
discipline of strategic diversity management. The ac-
tivities outlined above can be used as part of an overall
business strategy linked to the business units within the
organization. PDJ
Pamela W. Arnold is President of the American Institute for Managing
Diversity, Inc. The organization is a 501(c)(3) public interest non-
profit dedicated to advancing diversity thought leadership through
research, education, and public outreach. AIMD works to strengthen our
communities and institutions through effective diversity management.
For more information, please visit www.aimd.org.
2011
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