Content area
Full Text
Striving to recruit and effectively manage an increasingly diverse workforce, healthcare organizations soon realize that an enormous and ongoing amount of time energy, and resources are needed to sustain its goals. In this article, the numerous issues an organization encounters when working toward its goals of diversity (integrating diversity management throughout the organization, identifying staff roles for meeting goals, and determining ways to measure outcomes) are discussed. The opportunities and strategies for dealing with diversity management challenges are presented.
KEY WORDS: Cultural diversity; Diversity leadership; Diversity management; Health care organizations; Multiculturalism; Outcomes; Workforce diversity.
The U.S. population is growing increasingly diverse. According to the Bureau of Census, almost 30% of the U.S. population are from ethnic or racial minority groups, 12.8% are African American, 11.9% are Hispanics, 4.1% are Asian and Pacific, and 1% represent other groups. Patients and health care workers likewise are increasingly reflecting the ethnicity and diversity of the country. The mandate has never been stronger to strengthen organizations' cultural awareness and training.
Integrating Diversity Management throughout the Organization
Diversity in healthcare, seen at all organizational levels, includes people from differing cultures, races, religions, gender, physical ability, backgrounds, and values (Ivancevich & Gilbert, 2000). Once an organizational decision is made to value and promote diversity among staff, the challenge lies in trying to manage this diversity through "systematic and planned commitment...to recruit, train, reward, and promote a heterogeneous mix of employees." (Ivancevich & Gilbert, 2000, p. 75)
Many approaches have been used in healthcare to manage diversity. The most common are training sessions, subordinates' feedback, performance appraisals, and reward systems (Wallace, Ermer, & Motshabi, 1996). Whatever strategies are used, common goals are fostering staff commitment to diversity, recruiting and empowering staff champions, identifying the value added to the system by group differences, and empowering staff through skill development (Mateo, 1999). Specific strategies that have proven successful are increasing staff governance, setting clear expectations, increasing communication, and increasing staff coaching and education (Seago, 1996).
Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Leaders
Since leaders have such a strong influence on any organizational endeavor, including, a first step in diversity management is recruiting and retaining a culturally diverse leadership team. Having a diverse management team that showcases the positive side of people being different is...