IT and HR leaders must implement IT diversity programs

“Whether companies are trying to gain access to new

customer bases domestically, are expanding business into international markets,

are moving into a global IT sourcing model, or are simply facing the challenge

of recruiting and retaining the best and brightest people in the market,

managing diversity must become a part of their strategic kit to maintain the

competitive edge in this increasingly diverse and complex business world,”

said Lily Mok, research director for Gartner.






Valuing diversity has become a management philosophy that is critical to not
only attract but also retain the best talent available. True diversity is

exemplified by companies that attract people who are “different” not just in

their looks but in who they are - knowing and valuing that they will change the

way they do business.






Diversity is often defined differently from company to company based on
individual organizational needs. Valuing diversity means to encompass every

characteristic and experience, whether they are visible or invisible, that

defines each individual's talent desired by the organization to achieve its

objectives.






“Valuing diversity requires proactive changes into a culture of inclusion - a
true appreciation of one another - and new attitudes and behaviors toward

respect for both individual similarities and differences,” Ms. Mok said.

“Because of the underlying cultural differences, different parts of the world

tend to define or interpret the term 'diversity' very differently.”






IT and HR leaders need to follow a set of processes to gain commitment and
support from the entire organization for the success of diversity initiatives.

Gartner has identified five key initiatives that organizations should implement

to embrace diversity.






Implement an organization-readiness assessment. This assessment will help
leaders identify potential problems in organizational culture, work processes

and human capital management (HCM) systems that may hinder a diversity effort.

“It also ensures that IT and HR leaders select the right diversity approaches

that are most likely to gain acceptance and commitment throughout the

organization,” Ms. Mok said. “The assessment can be done through a

combination of an employee opinion survey, one-on-one interviews and/or focus

groups.”






Align the diversity strategy and initiative with the business and IT
strategy.
It is important to build a strong business case that clearly

articulates why, what, who and how the diversity initiative contributes to the

achievement of current and future IT and business objectives. The results from

the organizational readiness assessment need to be integrated into the business

case.






Determine the right approach to successfully implement the diversity
strategy.
“IT and business leaders need to ensure that the chosen

diversity approach is the most relevant one for their particular organization's

circumstances,” Ms. Mok said. “It should effectively acknowledge

similarities as well as differences at the individual, interpersonal and

organizational level that are valuable to the success of the business.”






Integrate diversity approaches with key HCM practices in an effort to
create a total rewards proposition for the talent the company is trying to

attract and retain. IT and HR leaders will be called on to determine to what

extent the trend of global sourcing and the changes in workforce size and

demographic compositions may impact the IT organization, and re-examine the

current HCM practices to proactively respond to these emerging trends.






Get the commitment from leadership and management teams. Managers need to
incorporate “emotional intelligence” into their leadership and management

styles to effectively manage diversity and build a high-performing IT

organization.






Successful diversity initiatives not only contain a well-articulated business
case for the strategy to build on, but also include a set of clearly-defined

metrics to assess effectiveness in key areas that diversity will have

significant impact on once the initiative is implemented.






“The use of metrics enables IT and HR leaders to constantly evaluate the
outcomes of a diversity initiative against the original business case, and make

necessary adjustments to the processes and/or approaches to ensure its overall

success,” Ms. Mok said. “The selected metrics also need to be clear and

straightforward for everyone in the organization to understand and follow

through to ensure their buy-in and support.”