Workforce diversity: A double-edge sword
Jul, 2008
Despite organisations investing millions in workforce diversity to boost employee morale and improve performance, they rarely achieve their expected benefits.
Left unmanaged, workforce diversity actually does the opposite of what it promises—creating internal conflict and reducing organisational performance.
Recognising that this issue requires taming particularly considering the expanding diversity of Australian workforces, several organisations have joined forces to fund research that identifies the most effective diversity management practices.
Leading this 4-year research project is Dr. Isabel Metz, senior lecturer at Melbourne Business School and Professor Carol Kulik from the University of South Australia.
Metz says, “The project, which has attracted funding of more than $500,000 from Diversity@Work, the Australian Senior Human Resources Roundtable (ASHRR) and the Australian Research Council, will identify diversity management practices that maximise organisational effectiveness and create positive working environments in Australia.”
Diversity@Work is a consultancy and training organisation that supports Australian government agencies and private sector organisations through the strategic implementation of diversity initiatives to overcome barriers to inclusion.
ASHRR comprises 30-40 senior executives from a range of local public and private sector organisations. It was formed eight years ago to create an informal network for exchanging ideas and fostering debate among senior HR managers.
According to Metz, both partners have the capacity to act as bridges between academic research and organisational end users; they can facilitate organisational participation in the research and encourage organisational adoption of research findings.
