Cultural Awareness for Hiring and Productivity!

By Seema RafaySenior Director Talent Development

Agile-1/Talent Management Specialist

1• What is Cultural Diversity?

2• Cultural Descriptors

3• Stereotyping, Bias, and Prejudice

4• Equal Employment Opportunity Laws

5

• Cultural Diversity for Hiring and Productivity!

OBJECTIVES

Culture Defined

the customary

beliefs, social

norms, and

material traits of

a racial, religious,

or social group;

the characteristic

features of

everyday

existence shared

by people in a

place or time.

Where we See Culture

English Tea Indian Chai

American Iced Tea Chinese Tea

Culture is

reflected in

our lives in

everything

from how

we perform

rituals to

the foods

we eat or

even how

we drink

the same

beverage

What is Cultural Diversity?

The existence of a variety of

cultural or ethnic groups

within a society and

workplace

Cultural Descriptors

Ethnicity Race Religion

Ethnicity

• used to describe the

cultural identity of a

person

• group of people within a

larger society

• Share common ancestry

and symbolic elements such

as language, customs,

dress

Race

• Considered biological

• Used to describe the

physical characteristics

of a person

• Distinct populations

within a species

• Research shows NO

genetic differences

between races

Religion

• Used as a global descriptor for some cultures, i.e. Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Catholic, etc.

• Religion, unlike race and ethnicity, can be changed altering the culture it belongs to

• Religion ≠ Race

• Religion is intertwined with ethnicity

• Ethnicity ≠ Nationality

Wait! There’s more to Cultural Diversity

than meets the eye!

Parts of Culture we can see

Parts of Culture we cannot see

Wait – There’s more?

Dimensions of Culture

PD Small Power Distance

(egalitarian)

Large Power Distance

(Hierarchy)

IDV Individualism (self over group) Collectivism (group over self)

MAS Performance/Achievement (M) Caring/Quality of Life (F)

UA Strong Uncertainty avoidance

(structured)

Weak Uncertainty avoidance

(flexible)

LTO Long term orientation (Tradition) Short term Orientation (Modern)

How Cultures Impact Behavior

Stereotyping, bias, and prejudice

• Human beings find comfort in likeness

• Human beings by nature resist change

• Human beings are ethnocentric

Stereotyping

A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a

particular type of person or thing

Often Negative

Do not allow

individual

differences

Limit individual

variations

Stereotyping

What’s your story?

BIAS

Bias is the tendency to move towards what is similar in oneself and

away from what is different. Bias can include many factors such as:

Culture Age Race

ReligionEthnic

Origin

National

Origin

Prejudice

Prejudice is an opinion, prejudgment or attitude about a group or

its individual members.

• Prejudice is almost always negative

• More often it is looking down on a group because of assumed

behaviors, values, capabilities, or attributes

• Prejudiced people use their stereotypes to make assumptions

about how a group will act

Being Ethnocentric

Evaluating other people and cultures according to

the standards of one's own culture

Cultural Relativism

“the view that cultures are merely

different, not deficient, and each

culture’s norms and practices

should be assessed only from the

perspective of the culture itself, not

by standards embraced by

another culture.

Cultural relativism says

that we should not look

at other cultures with

our own ethnocentric

lens.

Benefits of Cultural Diversity

• Increases Problem solving ability

• Increases Creativity and Innovation

• Enables Curiosity and Understanding

• Widens Markets and Reach

• Values-Based

• Increases Productivity

Not only better for business…

It’s also the law!

Diversity and Inclusion

Equal Employment Opportunity

What does this mean

26

• Age

• Race

• Color

• Sex

• Religious creed

• National origin

• Political opinions or

affiliations

• Marital status

Each employee or

applicant has an equal

employment opportunity

without regard to:

Reporting Discrimination “If you find or observe discrimination in your workplace, or believe you have

been subjected to any form of unlawful discrimination, notify your Human

Resources Department, immediately.

Be prepared to provide a written complaint. Your complaint should be

specific and should include the names of the individuals involved and the

names of any witnesses. The Company will immediately undertake an

investigation and attempt to resolve the situation. If the Company

determines that unlawful discrimination has occurred, appropriate remedial

action will be taken.

Appropriate action also will be taken to deter any future discrimination. The

Company should not retaliate against you for filing a complaint and will not

knowingly permit retaliation by management staff or your co-workers. If you

believe that you have been retaliated against, you should immediately notify

your Human Resources Department”

Disclaimer: Content provided as sample and for educational

purposes. Your Human Resources department or corporate attorney

should be consulted for the appropriate verbiage applicable to

your organizational needs.

Recognizing Types of Discrimination

• Disparate or adverse impact

• Disparate treatment

• Lack of Reasonable Accommodation

• Retaliation

Steps to Embrace Cultural Diversity

Steps to Embrace Cultural Diversity

Organizational approach:

• Cultivate D&I within culture

• Articulate your stance

• Awareness through Education

• Introspection – Evaluate yourself

• Practice what you preach

• Training with Onboarding through Succession

Steps to Embrace Cultural Diversity

Recruitment:

• Express inclusiveness in all communication

• Utilize Job-fit assessments*

• Conduct Behavioral Interviews

• Discover attitudes and expectations

• Focus on talent, capabilities and opportunities

• Cast a wider net in talent sourcing/acquisition

• Remember cultural influence on resumes

Steps to Embrace Cultural Diversity

Training and Talent Development:

• Mandatory Diversity training in Learn Plans

• Assign Mentors and Coaches

• Strengths-based assignments

• Perform regular check-ins

• Provide constructive feedback

• Focus on work output

• Acknowledge and celebrate differences

Articulate Your Organizational

Stance

38

The Company is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment

decisions based on merit. The Company is committed to complying with all

applicable laws providing equal employment opportunities. This commitment

applies to all persons involved in the operations of the Company and prohibits

unlawful discrimination by any staff of the Company, including supervisors and

co-workers. Every employee has the right to work in surroundings that are

free from all forms of unlawful discrimination.

equal opportunity employer: an employer who agrees not to

discriminate against any employee or job applicant because of

race, color, religion, national origin, sex, physical or mental

disability, or age.

5 Steps to Becoming More Culturally Aware

A. Awareness – Multiculturalism is growing/reality

B. Be Yourself – express your uniqueness

C. Check your Bias (www.projectimplicit.com to learn your

unconscious bias)

D. Dive Deeper – make a commitment to learn more about one

new culture every ___________ (fill in blank)

E. Eat out more – try a new restaurant and take it all in

Source: Improving your diversity IQ | Doug Melville

Why?

For More Information Please Contact:

Seema Rafay

Talent Management Specialist

Tel: 786-245-7161

Email: srafay@spectrum-performance.com

seema.rafay@gmail.com

WEB: www.spectrum-performance.com