Tapping into the arsenal of diversity

The Wall Street Journal says the war for high-tech talent, particularly in disruptive technologies such as robotics, is fiercer than ever. Given that talent pool reality, why is the industry not more adeptly tapping into our diverse arsenal of men and women to fill the gap? 

The statistics continue to indicate a deficit of women and minorities actively employed in these industries. Biases in these workplaces are real. Work policies, practices and processes often promote a more homogeneous culture and have institutionalized pay inequities as a part of their fabric. The need for talent should be driving more significant efforts to eliminate the talent gaps and there is an obvious business case to support driving the needed changes. However, it is easy to say and much more difficult to accomplish. Biases are invisible and most often unspoken under the radar of organizational leadership.  

Although legislation are in place to deal with pay inequities in the developed markets, still the needle on the equity scale has not moved as dramatically as is required to eliminate the disparity. In the emerging and recently emerged markets, the disparity is even more pronounced. So what’s the reason? Often the starting point of a job offer is an individual’s current salary with some small bump or it may be the minimum entry-level salary for that position in an organization. Since, in many cases, the recruiting and selection process is not as dependable as it should be, organizations are not willing to “risk” salary amounts that are at or above market for a new hire. They may not work out. It isn’t enough to look at just positioning the salary properly and not looking at adding to the current base; rather looking at what is the right salary for the job and it also includes the need to tighten and enhance our hiring and selection processes to ensure that we get the candidates and skills we need now and to grow with us for the future. Thus, industries need to review ALL HR practices and policies to ensure that they support a strategic effort to attract and retain diverse talent pools that may fall outside the scope of what has been traditional.  

Most leaders are in favor of increasing diversity and eliminating biases in their organizations. Few have a clear idea how to do it. Yet all indications are that there is a strong business case and even an ROI for diversity and equity. Both are drivers for attracting talent and for achieving financial success with a stronger marketing and business presence across all stakeholders and customers.  Yet, this broad revamping of our HR support policy and practice is not a part of our strategic plan.  It is akin to trying to rebuild your basement while still doing business in your building! However, as the business called for new performance management tools that jettisoned the old performance review process in favor of more collaborative and consultative coaching interactions, the need now is to put pressure on all other HR tools and policies using evidence-based HR information to reshape processes that will be bias free, transparent and supportive of the purposeful and intentional elimination of institutionalized behaviors that created and continue to support disparity!