Developing organizational cultural competence is key in reaching the organizational goal of achieving a diverse workforce. A good first step is to look beyond the recruiters, interviewers and hiring managers and critically analyze: how does your organization stand in its overall cultural competence? In Part Three of our three-part series (read Part One here and Part Two here), we define Stage Three of three stages of organizational cultural competence development – from cultural destructiveness to cultural pre-competence to cultural competence.

This spectrum can be used as a tool to determine an organization’s development and help the organization understand where they still need to go in order to achieve their diversity and inclusion goals. Let’s conclude now.

As you move through this stage, ask yourself how each of these appear in your organization at the organizational, or system, level and at the individual manager or interviewer level.

Stage Three: Cultural Competence

  • The organization values diversity, and its leaders view it as an asset, not a problem.
  • The organization has a clearly defined business case for diversity, and it follows a strategic diversity and inclusion action plan based on an organizational needs assessment.
  • Diversity is integrated into the system rather than established as a separate program, job position or department. For example:
    • Diversity is integrated into all business strategies and included in all business and management decisions.
    • All interviewers and managers are trained on personal and organizational dynamics of racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, homophobia, gender identity, Islamophobia, etc.
  • A zero-tolerance policy for any type of harassment or inappropriate behavior is in place and enforced throughout the organization. This policy is in writing, all employees are aware of it, and swift action is taken to enforce it.
  • The organization maintains high rates of recruitment and hiring of diverse applicants. For example:
    • The organization’s name is well branded in diverse communities.
    • Strategic recruitment is conducted year-round to maintain a diverse applicant pool.
    • Interview questions are inclusive and tied to job descriptions and performance evaluations.
    • Recruitment, interviewing, and hiring practices are structured and consistent across the organization, and able to withstand push back for diversity efforts.
    • All interviewers and hiring managers are trained to be culturally-competent at interviewing.
    • Interviewers understand that each applicant is unique, can recognize and manage their biases, and do not make assumptions based on appearance.
  • Each interview and hiring team member is willing to act affirmatively to hire qualified diverse applicants.
  • The organization maintains high satisfaction and retention rates of diverse employees and customers. For example:
    • HR’s diversity-related policies and procedures are followed and enforced, without backlash for employees of diverse backgrounds, having a positive effect on morale, retention and future recruiting of diverse employees.
    • High satisfaction rates are maintained among diverse and non-diverse employees, as well as customers and communities served.

Diverse Perspectives of Cultural Competence

Tyrone, an HR Director and African American, offered this insight for a culturally-competent organization.

“Talk to me about how you are attracting people of widely different skills, backgrounds. Don’t call it diversity, call it business strategy. I’m moving away from naming conventions that tend to restrict more than they expand. The word ‘diversity,’ years ago people thought that was a replacement for Affirmative Action. And it was more color, race and sex based than we know it as today. So, talk to me about business strategy, what sort of human resources do you need to get the job done, and what are you doing to attract those. That’s diversity, and it’s a business strategy.”

 Sena, a Community Organizer and Latina, shared this insight about cultural competence related to an employer perceiving a situation without making incorrect assumptions based on an employee’s race or gender:

“We all come from such different backgrounds, and what motivates employee ‘A’ may not motivate employee ‘B.’ This can be true of Anglo culture also. In some cultures, family is important, and if an employer understands that, then when the mom calls in because her child is sick, it’s not that she thinks any less of her job, but her children come first. I think this is all people, not just people of color.”

This is the final stage of this three-part blog series. Where does your organization stand in these three stages of organizational cultural competence development?

More examples and suggestions for developing organizational cultural competence can be found in the book Integrating Diversity into Recruiting, Interviewing, Hiring and Retention and in the on-line training courses on the same topic. A step-by-step process to guide your organization through an assessment and the development of a strategic diversity and inclusion action plan is outlined in the book 10-Step Diversity Assessment and Action Plan Workbook.

 

 

Copyright © 2022 Lila Kelly Associates, LLC. Not to be reprinted without written permission from Lila Kelly. Management Consulting and Integrating Diversity into Recruiting, Interviewing, Hiring and Retention – Since 1992. This article includes excerpts from Lila Kelly’s online training courses and books at DiversityIntegration.com. To stay up to date on all the latest from Lila Kelly Associates, LLC & DiversityIntegration.com subscribe to our newsletter.