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Fatigued by Diversity Initiatives
The steady growth in diversity training programs at American corporations is creating "diversity fatigue" among employees, mostly because of ineffective methods, according to a recent study. But one expert says the study shifts the blame away from its rightful owners: HR departments themselves.
Faulty delivery methods diminish the overall benefit of corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives, despite the proliferation of such programs, according to a new study by Boston-based consulting firm Novations Group. Asked to list the flaws they have encountered with such programs, nearly three in 10 (29 percent) senior HR and training and development executives said "no tools were provided to reinforce the training," while about one-quarter (24 percent) said "no metrics were offered to evaluate training's effectiveness." Another 22 percent of the 2,556 respondents said "diversity [was] addressed, but not development and advancement issues." Other responses included: "clear objectives were not established" (15 percent); "little thought leadership was shown" (9 percent); and "employer's policies and practices were not addressed" (7 percent). "The findings should serve as a warning to both organizations and diversity and inclusion program providers," says Novations Group Vice President Fred Smith. "It's the mistakes and shortcomings identified in the study that create 'diversity fatigue.' " Smith says diversity fatigue occurs in an organization that has attempted to launch a diversity/inclusion initiative or has been engaged in the initiative for a number of years but has yet to see a tangible result from the effort. The fatigue, he says, is felt more by the senior leadership and the middle management than the rank-and-file employees. "Management eventually becomes fatigued by anything with the word diversity in it," he says. He says it shows up when a chief diversity officer is let go or resigns after failing to accomplish the goals of the initiative. That turnover starts the diversity initiative process all over again. "It's a sort of 'Here we go again' mentality," he says. "You see this about three to four years into initiatives" that are not being run effectively. In order to avoid that fatigue, diversity and inclusion programs "must in some form drive business results and be able to show a definitive return on the dollars that are invested," Smith says. "If it doesn't, then there's no point in doing it," he says. "The best diversity training," he says, "has moved far beyond the one-dimensional, feel-good event and today needs to be held to the same rigorous standards as other corporate training." Pamela Tudor, president of Tudor Consulting, an organizational consulting and executive coaching firm based in Philadelphia, says if diversity training isn't already embedded into the culture of the company, "then it's just another training to attend, and you will get this sort of 'blah' response to it." "You have to look at the organization, at the soil in which the seed is planted, if you will," she says. "Organizations that have HR practices that say that diversity is a valuable asset to the organization, that's where diversity and inclusion training really takes hold, and that's more powerful than diversity training. "It's up to HR executives to show the top-of-the-house executives ... that diversity training is important," she says. The study itself, she says, seems to be "blame shifting" responsibility for the shortcomings of diversity and inclusion training from an organization onto the training provider, referring specifically to the "'no tools were provided to reinforce the training" response. "It is the organization's role to reinforce the training," says Tudor. "In an organization that sends out signals that it values diversity, the organization is responsible for providing those tools, not the diversity trainers." Tudor says that in order for companies to reap the full benefit of diversity and inclusion training, they must first embrace diversity from the C-suite on down and not just pay lip service to it. Janet Reid, principal and founding partner of Global Lead Management, based in Cincinnati, agrees. "Successful diversity and inclusion strategy starts at the top as a strategic approach and out of that will flow attitudinal changes throughout the company," she says. One of the most effective tools in selling the bottom-line impact to the C-suite is also one that HR executives say is missing from most programs: metrics to evaluate a training program's effectiveness. "Every critical business initiative has metrics. Diversity and inclusion is no exception," says Reid. "The metrics should demonstrate how diversity and inclusion tie into the overarching business objectives. In those measures, there should be provisions for behavioral changes and provisions for organizational structural changes." Reid says the focus of the training should not just be limited to ending workplace bias. "In most cases, about 5 percent to 10 percent of the focus [of diversity training] should be about getting rid of bias," she says. "The majority of the focus ... should be on seizing opportunities to enhance productivity and increase innovation in the workplace, effectively responding to myriad needs of a global customer base and creating more productive relationships with vendors, which are increasingly located around the world." She also notes that "corporations that embed training into a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy do not usually encounter the issues cited in the report."
March 26, 2008 Copyright 2008© LRP Publications |
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