Business growth depends on attracting and retaining a workforce with globally diverse values and demographics, according to a new study sponsored by SAP subsidiary SuccessFactors.
In a study titled “Values-based diversity: The challenges and strengths of many”, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) surveyed 228 Human Resources (HR) executives around the globe to learn about the challenges of an increasingly diverse workforce, millennials and their strategies for making the most of these rapid industry changes.
Jeanett Modise, Head of HTSAP Africa says the international study clearly reflects local challenges. “With diversity increasingly seen as a strategic business advantage, HR executives agree that companies must better embrace multicultural and multigenerational needs to meet on-going recruitment and retention goals,” she says.
Key findings of the study include:
* 82% of executives agree that a strategic approach to managing diversity can help access a rich talent pool.
* The integration of millennial-generation employees in the workforce is viewed as a significant diversity challenge. 80% believe strategic changes are needed to accommodate younger employees in the workforce.
* Offering learning and career-development opportunities is a key strategy for managing a diverse workforce. 47% are supporting policy initiatives such as mentoring in order to engage diverse talent.
Different global diversity issues highlight why HR strategies must better meet distinct regional needs. The top global markets that present the most difficult challenges for managing a diverse workforce include:
* Generational issues: Asia-Pacific (29%), North America (23%), Africa (15%), Western Europe (14%)
* Cultural/religious issues: Middle East (51%), Asia Pacific (20%), Africa (14%)
* Language issues: Asia-Pacific (43%), Africa (17%), Latin America (12%)
* Gender issues: Middle East (46%), Asia-Pacific (18%), Africa (13%)
* Education and training issues: Africa (45%), Asia-Pacific (18%), North America (12%), Latin America (10%)
“HR executives are now investing in a variety of strategies to provide employees with an engaging work experience, including mentoring new and high-potential employees (47%); exposing high-potential employees to diverse business situations (45%); and providing flexible working arrangements (43%),” says Modise.
Key to successful implementations of these strategies is the technology to enable them. Solutions include a global system of workforce data to provide a single system of record, cloud delivery options to innovate quickly and collaboration tools help companies manage their diverse workforce.
The top tools are: core HR / HRiS systems (35%); eLearning (31%); videoconferencing (25%); cloud-based collaboration tools (21%); and enterprise social networks (20%).
“Given the increasing diversity in today’s workforce, both demographically and in terms of values, HR executives must create an environment that allows employees to express themselves individually while maximizing their work skills,” says Gilda Stahl, senior editor, the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“The EIU survey demonstrates that executives in every region recognize the scope of this challenge and understand that support at the most senior levels will be required to adjust and productively move forward.”
What bolloks. Some studies are just so fundamentally flawed in its point of departure and thinking that it’s only value-add is that it can bring about a good laugh. Let me spell it out: There is no strategic advantage in diversity other than for a select few multi-nationals. The management overheads to deal with the quagmire of pitfalls of diversity by far outstrips any possible quasi advantages the study might have dreamt up. The key question in an interview apart from figuring out whether an individual has useful skills is whether he/she will fit in. It is definitely not: Will we be able to change the company to accommodate this individual (unless he/she is Einstein).