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Survey report March 2007-Diversity in business-A focus for progress
Contents
Introduction 3
指导英国ESSAYMeasuring how sophisticated organisations are in managing diversity 4
National-level drivers for diversity management 6
Organisational-level drivers for diversity management 10
The people who drive diversity progress 13
Conclusions and implications 19
Background 20
Profile of the respondents 21
Acknowledgements 24
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
Introduction
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has undertaken a range of research about managing diversity. In 2006, we carried out the first UK national-level survey to find out what resources organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors invest in progressing diversity management, and the status and power given to those with diversity roles.
http://www.ukassignment.org/ with the Queen Mary Centre for Research at London University, a unique electronic survey was designed to obtain quantitative information about the influence of the business case and legislation in driving diversity progress. The results provide some important and enlightening statistical information and show what kinds of policies and practices organisations have developed and how well they seem to be working.
Following further analysis of the results that were first published in July 2006 in a report called
Managing Diversity: How much progress have employers made?, this second report draws out more findings from the data.
The survey results are based on the responses of 285 individuals across all economic sectors and give a clear picture about the role of law in informing what organisations pay attention to and how significant the business case is for taking action.
This report helps organisations to assess their performance on managing diversity and see where they need to focus their attention to ensure that managing diversity has an increasing impact on business performance. It enables them to do this by comparing what they do with the simple diversity sophistication index developed from the survey results.
Overall, the results deliver good and bad news. The survey shows that, despite good progress, a large majority of employers have a long way to go to make diversity a mainstream business issue and deliver on the rhetoric they espouse.
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
Measuring how sophisticated organisations are in managing diversity
Measurement is essential to show what progress organisations are making in progressing diversity. We’ve developed a scale based on 146 variables included in the questionnaire and the survey results to evaluate how much progress businesses have made. Organisations can use this scale to compare what they do against the survey findings, which provide unique#p#分页标题#e#
data in the diversity field.
Organisational sophistication in diversity management
Figure 1 shows that the range of sophistication among organisations varies dramatically – the average sophistication score is 52 out of a possible score of 146.
The most sophisticated organisation in managing diversity scored 122 and the score of the least sophisticated (there were five in the survey sample) was zero. The range of scores and the median scores show that there’s much more potential for organisations to
40
30 20 10 0
Number of organisations
0
.00 25.00 50.00 75.00 100.00 125.00
Sophistication scor
es
Figur
e 1: Frequencies of sophistication scores across all organisations Base: 285 respondents benefit from managing diversity than they already do. The gap in activity relates to the under-utilisation of the broader business case arguments. It’s a focus on the delivery of diverse business benefits, beyond litigation costs and public reputation, that can add value to business performance when initiatives 指导英国ESSAYsupport the delivery of organisational goals and objectives.
From the research results, we can speculate that many organisations aren’t likely to be benefiting from diversity at all – for example, where there is neither diversity experience nor defined responsibility for diversity – bearing in mind that all the respondents to the survey have some experience or responsibility for progressing diversity in their organisations. The survey findings show that, where experience and understanding about managing diversity are poor or less well informed, organisations will score low on the diversity sophistication scale.
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
Diversity
sophistication (l) i(l) ll (ll) 20.00 9 13 30 40.00 12 16 35 60.00 19 12 18 80.00 30 14 15 100.00 38 11 3 108 66 101 Table 1: Sophistication score and organisational size Size of organisation (percentile) Large 1,000 or more empoyeesMedum 250–999 empoyeesSmaess than 250 empoyeesTotal
T
able 1 shows that larger organisations are more likely to be sophisticated in their approach to diversity management. This reflects the greater dedicated resources they assign to managing diversity.
Differences between economic sectors in terms of levels of sophistication of diversity management are striking. Table 2 shows that public sector organisations are more sophisticated than those in the private and voluntary sectors.
Only 7% of private sector organisations achieve the highest levels of sophistication (top 20 percentile), compared to 34% of public sector organisations and 18% of voluntary sector organisations.
It’s interesting to note that, despite the strong business case rhetoric from the private sector, such organisations are in fact generally less sophisticated in their diversity management approaches compared to public and voluntary sector organisations. The real pioneers in making diversity progress are among the top public sector organisations.#p#分页标题#e#
But no organisation represented in the survey sample scored maximum marks. The gap in the very top scores, achieved by only five organisations, and the potential that could be achieved is 16%.
Diversity
sophistication iiilil20.00 20 10 10 40.00 32 12 23 60.00 17 17 21 80.00 14 26 28 100.00 7 34 18 Table 2: Sophistication score and sector (percentile) Percentage wthn sector Prvate sector Pubc sector Vountary sector
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
National-level drivers for diversity management
An inclusive approach to managing diversity focuses on valuing people as unique individuals rather than on group-related issues covered by legislation. But the survey results show that compliance is the top factor in informing what organisations do and that approaches to diversity follow the diversity strands covered by the law.
Key
drivers at national level
Despite the noise made by many organisations about the importance of the business case in driving diversity progress, this view isn’t upheld by our research findings
– even though its importance is not insignificant and is shown to be vital to the achievement of high levels of sophistication in managing diversity.
The survey results make it clear that the law has the top influence on organisations in progressing diversity, with 32% of respondents identifying it as the most important of the top five drivers. Organisations are almost half as likely to say the business case is the most important driver (17%).
This is surprising, given the general resistance to regulation often loudly voiced by employers. However, in connection with discrimination regulation, this finding chimes with that from an earlier CIPD survey published in July 2005, Employment Regulation, Burden or Benefit?, which showed that it’s not regulation itself, but bad regulation, that causes problems for employers. In that study, the majority of respondents regarded discrimination statutes as helpful rather than problematic.
The managing diversity sophistication index based on the current survey findings shows the importance of the business case in making progress. Although it’s disappointing that the buy-in to the business case for managing diversity is weaker than the attention given to legal obligations, this is understandable for a number of reasons:
•
Discrimination law has existed in the UK for over three decades and has had more time to permeate into employment policies and practices than the more recently articulated business case arguments.
•
Fear of legal action forces strategic defensive responses from employers, even though they’re often based on a damage-limitation, and therefore minimalist, agenda.
•
The broader concept of managing diversity as an inclusive approach based on valuing all individuals only emerged in the UK in the mid-1990s.
•
The limited resources shown by the survey to be dedicated to managing diversity is bound to influence the way organisations set their priorities regarding compliance.#p#分页标题#e#
The survey evidence signals the need to profile both the importance of the business case for progressing diversity management and the contribution better diversity management can make to business performance, as well as the need for widespread awareness-raising to make it more visible on employers’ radar screens.
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
T
able 3 shows the other most important business
指导英国ESSAYresponsibility and ‘because it’s morally right’ (both
drivers for managing diversity. These include recruiting
13%), being an employer of choice (15%), and
and retaining best talent (12%), corporate social
because it makes business sense (17%).
important)
Drivers iiIiLeast important 32 13 6 5 12 talent 13 17 19 8 7 Corporate social 13 17 15 11 7 choice 15 15 10 7 ii17 14 14 7 8 illi13 11 15 10 11 ii6 10 15 10 7 8 11 12 8 7 Belief in social justice 9 11 12 9 5 5 8 15 8 7 ii10 9 13 5 7 innovation 6 8 14 8 7 ii6 7 11 7 8 branding 5 7 13 7 5 making 3 8 15 5 4 3 4 8 6 11 6 6 10 7 4 market 6 3 8 6 7 Table 3: The key drivers for diversity (respondents ranked their top five on a scale of 1–5, with 1 being the most Percentage of respondents ranking as ... Most mportant Very mportant mportant Less mportant Overall importance Legal pressures 8 To recruit and retain best responsibility To be an employer of 14 Because t makes busness sense 0 Because t’s moray rght 0 To mprove busness performance 8 To address recruitment problems Desire to improve customer relations To mprove products and servces To improve creativity and Desre to reach dverse markets 9 To improve corporate To enhance decision-Trade union activities 2 To respond to the competition in the market 2 To respond to the global 0 Base: 285 respondents
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
T
he research examined a broad range of business case reasons why organisations manage diversity.
Almost half (48%) of respondents say improving business performance is one of the most important drivers for managing diversity, with almost two-thirds (64%) seeing its contribution to the bottom line in terms of recruiting and retaining best talent.
Surprisingly, despite the rhetoric about the importance of managing diversity in connection with improving customer relations and market share, this connection isn’t strongly recognised by the survey respondents. Only 43% of respondents ranked ‘the desire to improve customer relations’ and 39% ranked the ‘desire to reach diverse markets’ among the top five drivers of diversity in terms of the business case, with a further 29% seeing globalisation and competition and 32% ‘responding to market competition’ as important.
The survey shows that the business benefits of diversity management are particularly focused on more effective people management, for example, recruiting and retaining talent.#p#分页标题#e#
While this is important, there’s little evidence of organisations mainstreaming diversity into operational practices such as marketing, product development and customer services – which is where significant gains could be made in improving business performance.
Few respondents regard improving the quality and performance of the workforce, improving creativity and innovation, improving products and services, and enhancing decision-making as being among the top five drivers (Table 4).
Drivers
iiIiLeast important talent 13 17 19 8 7 sense 17 14 14 7 8 performance 6 10 15 10 7 8 11 8 7 iili5 8 15 8 7 ii10 9 13 5 7 iiviii6 8 14 8 7 markets 6 7 11 7 8 branding 5 7 13 7 5 decision-making 3 8 15 5 4 itii6 6 10 7 4 market 6 3 8 6 7 Table 4: Key drivers for diversity in terms of business benefits (respondents ranked their top five on a scale of 1–5, with 1 being the most important) Percentage of respondents Most mportant Very mportant mportant Less mportant Overall importance To recruit and retain best Because it makes business 0 To improve business 8 To address recruitment problems 12 Desre to mprove customer reatons To mprove products and servces To mprove creatty and nnovaton Desire to reach diverse 9 To improve corporate To enhance To respond to the competon n the market To respond to the global 0 Base: 285 respondents Diversity in business – a focus for progress 8
T
hese findings emphasise the limited understanding of the broader business case for managing diversity and the importance of communicating what this is about. This would encourage faster progress in mainstreaming diversity management into operational practices, as well as those related to people management and development activities, and would ensure that managing diversity adds greater value to business performance.
Organisations with legal case arguments demonstrate higher levels of sophistication in their diversity management approaches than those who don’t cite legislation as a driver (Table 5). This is also evident, but to a lesser extent, in the correlation between the business case arguments and the level of sophistication (Table 6).
D
iiiiile (ile) Legal case No 27 18 15 13 13 86 29 45 34 44 41 193 56 63 49 57 54 279 Diiiiile (ile) Business case No 33 30 18 20 11 112 23 34 32 39 43 171 56 64 50 59 54 283 Table 5: Legal case and diversity sophistication cross-tabulation versty sophstcaton scapercent20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 Total Yes Total Base: 285 respondents Table 6: Business case and diversity sophistication cross-tabulation versty sophstcaton scapercent20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 Total Yes Total Base: 285 respondents
Organisations that acknowledge both the importance of legislation and the business case show higher levels of sophistication in their approach to diversity management (Table 7). Organisations that take a polarised approach to driving diversity management initiatives forward don’t reach the high levels of sophistication that can be achieved.#p#分页标题#e#
l
Business case No 20 20 40 11 49 60 31 69 100 Table 7: Business case and legal case cross-tabulation (in percentages) Legacase No Yes Total Yes Total Base: 277 respondents
Diversity in business – a focus for progress 9
Organisational-level drivers for diversity management
T
he results of the survey show that the inclusive nature of diversity management isn’t very well understood, with only 20% of the respondents stating that their organisations’ diversity policies cover ‘all forms of difference’.
Figure 2 shows that organisations tend to focus on issues covered by legislation, such as disability, with only a few focusing attention on the diversity issues, such as weight, physical appearance and mental health, which, as we know from statistics, affect large numbers of people and can influence job and training prospects as well as access to goods and services.
The survey explored the activities organisations use to progress diversity. Awareness and diversity training for employees (66%) and employee attitude surveys (62%) are the most commonly used tools.
Very few organisations undertake activities to make sure that diversity is mainstreamed into either the way people do their jobs or operational practices. Figure 3 shows that only 16% include diversity objectives as part of managers’ performance assessments and just 30% build diversity into business goals. A further 95% of organisations fail to reward and recognise diversity achievements and just 20% of respondents report that their organisation adopts diversity standards. These statistics show significant gaps in making diversity management a coherent mainstream business issue.
Figure 3 shows a large proportion of diversity professionals, over two-thirds (70%), admitting that they don’t set objectives to progress diversity, which suggests that it’s not a strategic issue in their organisations. Again, these findings demonstrate that diversity management activities in the majority of UK organisations remain at a very superficial level, which spotlights how much more can be gained by paying attention to diversity in ways that support business objectives.
In the absence of objective-setting, measurement, and reward and recognition, it’s hard to see how the necessary fundamental cultural changes to create inclusive workplace environments can be achieved.
0 Diversity in business – a focus for progress
0
10 20 30 Per 40 50 60 60 58 58 56 56 48 46 42 31 21 21 20 17 14 11 10 3 3 3 DisabilityEthnicity/raceGender/sex ReligionSexual orientationNationality AgeMarital statusParental status Trade union membershipCriminal convictionsAll forms of differenceSocial and economic background MentalPhysical appearance Political WeightPostcode Accent
指导英国ESSAYcentage of respondents
Figur
e 2: Diversity categories covered by organisations’ policies Base: 285 respondents 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 5 16 20 30 30 41 54 62 66 Recognition and rewarding diversityInclusion of diversity-related goals inmanagers' performance assessmentsApplying diversity standardsBuilding diversity into business goalsSetting diversity objectivesDiversity as part of the organisation's missionManager diversity trainingEmployee attitude surveysAwareness training Percentage of respondents Figure 3: Diversity activities undertaken in organisations Base: 285 respondents#p#分页标题#e#
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
T
he survey explored how organisations measure the success of diversity management initiatives and the affect they have on the bottom line. Only a limited number measures are used (Table 8). These include employee attitude surveys, complaints and grievances, turnover rates, appraisal, recruitment and absenteeism figures. Practices that are not commonly used but which would show what contributions managing diversity can make to business performance are techniques such as the balanced scorecard, statistics about the diversity of an organisation’s customer base, and qualitative information about improvements in problem-solving and decision-making.
Employee attitude surveys
72 Number of complaints and grievances 56 56 Employee performance appraisals 46 Absenteeism 45 40 Number of tribunal cases 31 Impact assessment 27 Level of customer satisfaction 24 Employee commitment surveys 19 Business performance 19 17 Diversification of customer base 13 7 Psychological contract issues 6 Table 8: Measures that organisations use (or would use) to monitor diversity Percentage of respondents Labour turnover Ability to recruit Balanced scorecard Improvements to problem-solving and decision-making Base: 285 respondents
2 Diversity in business – a focus for progress
The people who drive diversity
progress
I
ndividuals play a vital role in influencing the progress of managing diversity. In fact, everyone in an organisation can make a difference, but those with a special responsibility, such as diversity, people management and development professionals, and line managers with dedicated responsibility for diversity, act as crucial change agents.
This part of the report explores the resources and level of authority and influence such individuals have and their views about their roles and responsibilities for managing diversity.
The status and influence of the diversity ‘change agent’
It’s well recognised by those experienced in managing diversity that the support of senior management and top teams is vital to facilitate progress. Yet Table 9 shows that less than half (42%) the survey respondents feel that their own senior managers encourage diversity in their organisation. In fact, only 16% were positive about senior management support.
i
Statement ly di1 2 3 4 ly 5 In my organisation, those in senior management encourage diversity 4 17 36 27 16 them easily – 2 9 42 47 My organisation aims to make it does 4 25 33 27 11 Table 9: Perceptions about the strength of senior management support for progressing diversity Percentage of respondents sayng ... Strongsagree Strongagree It’s very important for my diversity role to know the names and faces of senior staff and to be able to approach sure that diversity and equality are at the heart of everything Base: 285 respondents
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
T
he survey explored perceptions about the amount of personal ownership people at different levels in organisations tend to have with regard to managing diversity. The findings show that ownership increases according to level – 43% of board members and 45% of senior managers are seen to display some degree of ownership of diversity.#p#分页标题#e#
In line with findings in other research, in which the attitudes of employees are seen as a main obstacle to diversity progress, the perception is that lower-level employees feel less ownership towards diversity. Table 10 shows the figure decreasing by job level, from 31% for middle managers and 22% for junior managers to 13% for non-managerial workers. This suggests that there’s less activity than is needed in relation to diversity management training for people at lower levels in the organisation.
The fact that 35% of organisations don’t involve all their employees in the design and implementation of diversity policies and practices supports the marginalisation of lower-level employees regarding the progress of diversity and leaves organisations less effective than they could be in maximising the benefits of diversity. These survey results spotlight areas for serious attention by organisations seeking to make diversity a mainstream business issue.
i
Organisational level ip 1 2 3 4 l ip 5 10 16 31 28 16 Senior management 5 13 33 36 13 Middle management 6 20 43 23 8 Junior management 8 27 43 18 4 Non-managerial workers 15 30 42 11 2 8 11 44 28 9 Table 10: Degrees of management ownership of diversity Percentage of respondents sayng ... No ownershTotaownershBoard members Trade union representatives Base: 257 respondents
Figure 4 shows that the majority of the respondents with some responsibility for diversity (41%) occupy middle management positions. This doesn’t sit comfortably with the survey finding that shows that the people who are most likely to be noticed as taking ownership for progressing diversity are at board or senior management levels. This situation suggests there is a damaging disconnection between the levels of authority, influence and commitment that would support diversity progress better, and this dilutes the power organisations have to make change happen. By having more people with a responsibility for diversity positioned at senior levels in organisations, the pace of change and benefits to business could improve.
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
0
10 20 30 40 50 6 37 41 10 4 Board memberSenior managementMiddle managementSupervisorJunior staff
organisation?
Per
centage of respondents
Figur
e 4: What level is your current role in the Base: 280 respondents
T
he research indicates inconsistency in organisations with regard to diversity roles. Although most are in the HR function, individual job titles vary considerably. More than 20 different titles and positions were reported by the survey respondents.
Professional-level qualifications can help people improve their knowledge and understanding. Yet the survey results show that most people with diversity-focused roles tend not to gain their knowledge through formal qualifications.
A big majority of individuals with a responsibility for diversity have gained their expertise through work experience, external training programmes or involvement in diversity networks (Table 11). In-house training and formal education are less significant methods. These results illustrate the need for more formal training for those responsible for progressing diversity.#p#分页标题#e#
i
iliiiiiiill llil itil itiiil ilitiiilitiiliiiiliiiiliiiliiiiiil iill/jjiViii65 51 Diversity networks 37 In-house training 35 Formal education 32 Area Dversty and Equaity Manager Assstant Drector, Equalty and Dversty Diversity and HR Polcy Drector Diversity Deveopment Manager Diversity Group Member and NationaMember Diversity Manager Diversity Officer Empoyee Reatons and Diversity Manager EquaOpportunes Adviser EquaOpportunes and Dversty Manager EquaRights Offcer Equaes and Dsabes Advser Equaty and Dversty Advser Equaty and Dversty Co-ordnator Equaty and Dversty Manager Equaty and Dversty Offcer Head of Dversty Head of EquaOpportunities HR and Dversty Consutant HR ConsutantDiversity Proect Manager HR Proect Manager, Equalty ce-President, Talent Management and Dversty Titles for diversity officers Table 11: Sources of expertise for diversity management roles Percentage of respondents Work experience External training Base: 285 respondents
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
Understanding of law
79 Understanding of human 71 Understanding of the perspectives of the diverse 68 67 Negotiating and influencing skills 62 Communication and consensus building skills 58 Understanding of business 54 Coaching, mentoring and facilitating skills 51 Networking 46 Leadership skills 41 Understanding of 39 Analytical and critical thinking skills 38 Chairmanship 11 Table 12: Skills that are needed most in diversity management jobs Percentage of respondents resource/personnel management procedures groups and individuals Sense of fairness environment inter-group relations Base: 285 respondents
T
able 12 shows that an understanding of law and HR management procedures are most frequently cited by diversity officers as being needed in their job. This is because most activities focus on compliance with legislation and people management and development issues, rather than on operational activities and the production of goods and services.
Although almost half of the survey respondents say that networking is an important skill for their job role, less that one-fifth report that they’re a member of a diversity network themselves. This might suggest the need for more accessible networks in this field as a way of learning and sharing knowledge.
Figure 5 shows that the earning potential of most diversity specialists (66%) is between £20,000 and £40,000 annually. The vast majority of the respondents are in middle stages of their careers – 30% of respondents are aged 31–40 and 42% are aged 41–50.
An important finding is that, although 87% of the respondents work full-time, only 18% of them are contracted to work full-time on diversity management (Figure 6). This shows that managing diversity isn’t highly prioritised by employers and that they’re not paying serious attention to making progress. It also reveals the cosmetic nature of the responses being made.
£80,000+
3 7£50,000–£80,000 18£40,000–£50,000 31£30,000–£40,000 35£20,000–£30,000 5£0–£20,000 Annual salary band#p#分页标题#e#
Per
centage of respondents
Figur
e 5: Annual salary bands of diversity specialists Base: 280 respondents
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
Over 35
18 1031–35 521–30 310–20 41–9 530 Hours
Per
centage of respondents
Figur
e 6: Number of hours respondents are contracted to spend on diversity management per week Base: 265 respondents
Figure 7 shows that 64% of organisations don’t have a specialised diversity or equal opportunities function, and Figure 8 shows that 70% don’t allocate a dedicated budget for diversity. The absence of a diversity function and/or a budget supports other evidence from the survey regarding the relatively poor understanding about the business case for diversity, which suggests organisations aren’t seriously addressing the progress of diversity, despite the focus on legal compliance, and that there is a lack of understanding about the contributions that managing diversity can add to business performance.
While few organisations have dedicated resources for diversity, 61% of respondents state that the tasks they have undertaken in relation to managing diversity have increased in the last few years. Only 14% of them report that the number of people under their supervision has increased in parallel with the increase in their tasks.
No
64 36
No
70 30
Y
es Percentage of respondents
Figur
e 7: Presence of diversity function/office Base: 275 respondents
Y
es Percentage of respondents
Figur
e 8: Presence of budget for diversity Base: 271 respondents
Diversity in business – a focus for progress
i
Influence/authority il/1 2 3 4 Hiil/5 Diversity function 5 16 40 32 7 Most senior diversity person 4 16 34 36 10 Table 13: Amount of influence/authority held by the diversity function and its most senior person Percentage of respondents sayng ... No nfuencepower gh nfuencepower Base: 184 respondents Base: 192 respondents
E
ven in organisations where there is a senior person responsible for diversity, only 46% of respondents believe that this person has some level of authority over others in the organisation (Table 13). Similarly, only 39% of the respondents think that their diversity function (where one exists) is influential.
Only 38% of respondents report that their organisation makes sure that diversity is at the heart of everything – that is, integrating diversity into business activities (Table 9, page 13). Diversity activity focuses on people management and development issues, with 82% of respondents saying that diversity is central to HR (Table 14).
Only 61% of respondents say diversity is central to advertising; 51% say it is central to customers and consumers; and only 49% feel it has a central role in corporate social responsibility. Even in marketing and sales, where maintaining and growing market share is a key objective for sustaining economic success, just 35% identify a link with diversity. These figures drop even lower for other ‘core’ business functions, with only 11% of organisations reporting that diversity is central to their finance and accounting functions, 18% saying it’s central to manufacturing and production; and just 23% say it is central to suppliers despite the duty in the public sector to promote the importance of equality regarding race.#p#分页标题#e#
The lack of a diversity focus in core business activities spotlights enormous potential for business growth opportunities.
organisation
iFunction l 1 2 3 4 l 5 1 3 15 40 42 Advertising 7 7 26 39 22 Customers and consumers 6 9 34 30 21 9 13 29 28 21 Strategic management/ corporate strategy 10 10 27 33 20 branches/chains 15 20 28 20 18 Marketing and sales 24 17 25 19 16 19 17 35 17 12 27 26 28 12 6 Suppliers 19 27 32 19 4 Finance and accounting 32 28 28 9 2 Table 14: The extent to which diversity is central to the activities of different functions/departments in the Percentage of respondents sayng ... Not centraVery centraHuman resources Corporate social responsibility National/regional/local Shareholders Manufacturing and production Base: 285 respondents
8 Diversity in business – a focus for progress
Conclusions and implications
Organisations
have made good progress in managing diversity, but the results of the CIPD unique electronic survey suggest that the state of the nation in managing diversity reflects a more cosmetic than deep-rooted success and that businesses are missing out on ways that diversity can add greater value.
Although most organisations seek to follow the law and use this as the main lever for change, most are failing to recognise the broader aspects of the business case that can support business objectives and deliver improvements to the bottom line.
The failure to adopt the good practices used by the pioneering public sector organisations that understand the integral nature of managing diversity highlights rich opportunities for managing diversity as a 指导英国ESSAYmainstream business process that can add real value to business performance.
For managing diversity to move away from being a cost burden to a performance driver, it’s imperative that information about the business case arguments and diverse business benefits are well communicated. This can be done through general education and awareness-raising based on evidenced arguments, case study material and management tools. In addition, there is a need for more formal training to help those responsible for driving progress, which is not limited to specialist understanding of diversity issues, but extends to an understanding of the broader business case arguments for diversity, ability to understand and engage with business needs and expertise in change management and influencing skills.
To be sophisticated in managing diversity, organisations need to meet their legal duties in addition to integrating diversity into all their operational activities
– contrary to popular opinion, to be sophisticated in managing diversity and a leader in the diversity field, an ‘either/or’ approach just isn’t an option.
The differentiator in good diversity practice is the adoption of the broader aspects of the business case, as shown by the diversity sophistication index developed from the survey results.#p#分页标题#e#
The survey shows that the majority of respondents see the law as already being important and work to meet its requirements. But the evidence also shows up the importance of paying more attention to understanding the business case.
Organisations shouldn’t simply focus on increasing diversity but need to learn how to manage it better in ways that address organisational and personal needs. This requires greater understanding about what managing diversity is and how to manage it effectively.
This knowledge gap needs to be filled. It should be placed at centre-stage by the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. This new organisation could gain considerable mileage in driving diversity progress in the UK by focusing energy and attention on the issue of education and awareness-raising. This activity should be informed by research into good practice and the provision of guidance and support, rather than policing legislation as a priority.
A facilitated network for those with responsibilities for driving diversity would help to support them in making progress.
This survey shows that education and awareness-raising engages employers’ interest and commitment and triggers change, as evidenced by the activity of many organisations to tackle age discrimination well ahead of the introduction of age law in October 2006.
Diversity
in business – a focus for progress 9
Background
T
he questionnaire survey was designed as a multi-level tool, based on the many different drivers at the national, organisational and individual levels, which organisations have identified as reasons for addressing diversity.
The survey was carried out electronically through a self-completion online questionnaire, which was piloted for clarity and accessibility. This was promoted on the CIPD website, supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission, Age Positive, the Commission for Racial Equality and other diversity networks, over a six-week period in February and March 2006. Direct emails were sent to 4,200 CIPD members who had expressed an interest in equality and diversity. Articles were also placed in the CIPD’s People Management magazine and in other CIPD member communications.
The research generated 285 completed questionnaires from people with a responsibility for diversity. The overall response rate provides a representative sample in terms of organisational size, location, industry, and sector. See Table 15 for further details of distributive attributes of the survey participants.
The sample reflects the female-dominated nature of diversity and equality professionals in the UK – only a quarter of the respondents were male. The largest age group was 41–50 years, and middle management was the most common organisational status for survey participants.
While there were a few participants whose diversity roles stretched beyond national level, the majority of the participants had organisational- and unit-level responsibility in diversity management. All economic sectors, geographical areas and sizes of organisations were fairly represented in the survey. Diversity in business – a focus for progress 20#p#分页标题#e#
Profile of the respondents
Sex
Male 21 Female 79 16–25 3 26–30 11 31–40 30 41–50 42 51–60 13 61–65 1 Managerial level 6 4 Middle management 41 Senior management 37 Supervisor 10 3 3 13 41 35 Sector Chemicals, oils and pharmaceuticals 3 Construction 0.4 1 3 Food, drink and tobacco 2 General manufacturing 1 continued Table 15: Distributive attributes of survey participants Percentage of respondents Age group Board member Junior staff Level of diversity role European-level responsibility International/global-level responsibility National-level responsibility Organisation-level responsibility Unit-level responsibility Electricity, gas and water Engineering, electronics and metalsDiversity
in business – a focus for progress 2
Sector
Mining and quarrying 0.4 Paper and printing 0.4 1 4 11 5 2 IT services 2 0.4 Media 1 Retail and wholesale 4 3 Communications 1 Other private services 4 3 1 Private sector services – charity services 2 Private sector services – housing association 0.4 Private sector services – other voluntary 1 0.6 Education 13 Health 6 12 Other public services 7 4 4 4 3 Number of employees 250 or less 35 251–500 10 501–1,000 14 1,001–5,000 21 5,001–10,000 7 11 continued Table 15: Distributive attributes of survey participants (continued) Percentage of respondents Textiles Other manufacturing/production Professional services Finance, insurance and real estate Hotels, catering and leisure Call centres Transport, distribution and storage Private sector services – voluntary, community and not-for-profit Private sector services – care services Central government Local government Voluntary, community and not-for-profit – care services Voluntary, community and not-for-profit – charity services Voluntary, community and not-for-profit – housing association Voluntary, community and not-for-profit – other voluntary 10,001 or more Diversity in business – a focus for progress 22
Region
North-east England 4 North-west England 8 Scotland 12 London 18 7 Midlands 16 3 South-east England 18 South-west England 12 East of England 5 2 Table 15: Distributive attributes of survey participants (continued) Percentage of respondents Yorkshire and Humberside Wales Northern Ireland
Diversity in business – a focus for progress 2
Acknowledgements
T
he CIPD is very grateful to all those organisations and individuals who gave their time to take part in the survey.
The working party that produced this research includes:
Ahu Tatli, Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity at Queen Mary, University of London
Professor Mustafa Ozbilgin, Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity at Queen Mary, University of London
Dianah Worman, OBE, Chartered FCIPD, Diversity Adviser, CIPD
Emma Price, Senior Press Officer, External Affairs, CIPD
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Diversity in business – a focus for progress#p#分页标题#e#
We explore leading-edge people management and development issues through our research. Our aim is to share knowledge, increase learning and understanding, and help our members make informed decisions about improving practice in their organisations.
We produce many resources on diversity management issues including guides, books, practical tools, surveys and research reports. We also organise a number of conferences, events and training courses. Please visit www.cipd.co.uk to find out more.
Charter
指导英国ESSAYed Institute of Personnel and Development 151 The Broadway London SW19 1JQ Tel: 020 8612 6200 Fax: 020 8612 6201 Email: cipd@cipd.co.uk Website: www.cipd.co.uk
Incorporated by Royal Charter Registered charity no.1079797
Issued: March 2007 Reference: 4049 © Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2007
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