Workplace Diversity-Can’t We All Just Get Along?

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It really has become a small world hasn’t it? The office environment continues to change due to the great and wonderful diversity of people that are in the workforce. Unfortunately conscious and/or subconscious discrimination tendencies may be present within our team. Workplace diversity is not a topic any property management company should overlook.

One of the challenges that need to be overcome is the way our brains may stereotype people or perhaps we make decisions that demonstrate bias. Many times we may not even realize that we do it. It is important that we monitor ourselves and our teammates to make sure this does not take place. There are two costly elements to consider if workplace diversity training is not part of your educational program. You may be faced with hefty discrimination lawsuits and at the very least you will have to deal with costly employee turnover. There are lots of things in the middle of those as well. When people do not get along in an office environment you have to deal poor communication, lack of productivity and other negative items which in turn only diminishes your ability to lease apartments.

In order to effectively encourage workplace diversity it has to become part of your company culture. It also has to be a team effort. When one person does not want to play nice it affects everyone. So what can be done about it? There really needs to be an overall program within your company that features the how to’s, what’s, and wherefores of managing a diverse workforce. Your team needs to be trained and coached on how to listen to each other. There is also a great need to understand body language and its effect on your team. Does your team truly understand the cultural differences that exist in your office or community environment? These points and numerous others are a must for any company if they wish to be successful in a diverse work environment.

The EEOC reports that job bias charges hit a record high of almost 100,000 in 2010. That is a staggering number. The report listed as well that over $404 million was obtained for the victims. The stats speak for themselves and show us that this is not a topic that can be ignored.

What are you doing for your company to encourage workplace diversity? I would love for you to share what you see work and what doesn’t in the comments section below. If you want to make sure you do not miss out on any posts, please consider subscribing by email here or by RSS feed. For those who subscribe by email, Feedburner will email you a confirmation link that you must click though in order to receive the regular posts.

Written by Jonathan Saar

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