Monthly Archive for August, 2014

How To Have A Culturally Sensitive Workplace

Modern society is a diverse, multicultural mix of people from different backgrounds and belief systems. There has been a lot of focus on anti-discrimination in the workplace in recent years, but in addition to providing equal employment opportunity, it’s crucial that your company values and supports cultural diversity. Read on to find out some pointers towards ensuring your workplace is providing an inclusive, culturally sensitive working environment.

Workplace  Diversity - Phil Whitehouse

Workplace Diversity – Phil Whitehouse

Engage Professional HR Consultants

Reputable human resource firms are not just there to help with recruitment. They also provide valuable training, coaching and workshopping to help develop your team to not only perform their jobs well, but also work together as a collaborative, accepting and productive team.

Visit www.chandlermacleod.com for more information about how outsourcing some of your HR can help your organisation to be more culturally sensitive.

Reputable HR firms will also help with understanding your HR Training Software.

Encourage Teamwork

When teams truly work together harmoniously and productively towards a common goal, the lines of communication are more open between one another and potential issues get discussed, not argued over. Team building exercises can be formal (e.g. planned, structured sessions with a facilitator) and informal (casual social style events like a lunch or BBQ) or a combination of both, but should be part of your long term, ongoing organisational development plans.

Educate Employees

Education can go a long way in ensuring a harmonious, inclusive working environment. It’s essential to make sure that you have a robust induction program in place that adequately equips new staff members to integrate into the workplace before they start. Regular refresher training with existing staff or conducting some workshops into working with people from different backgrounds and cultures across the business can also be beneficial to having a harmonious workplace. .

Set An Example

Management need to conduct themselves in the same way they expect employees to behave, especially when under duress. Regardless of the company’s expressed values, often the actual organisational culture is a reflection on management’s language, beliefs and behaviours. Ensure you and your team leaders/managers are leading by example.

Remember Everyone Is An Individual

Just as with religion where someone may identify as belonging to a particular faith but not agree with or practice all of the traditions associated with it, there are often variations on how individuals embrace their cultural heritage. While managers should be communicating one on one with their team regularly anyway, make sure you ask them what their personal preferences are before making any assumptions about their needs and beliefs.

Often it is a lack of awareness and understanding, not intolerance, that can cause issues relating to cultural sensitivity in the workplace. Including values that embrace and celebrate diversity and individuals in the company’s operating ethos is one part of the process. Ensuring that the way you actually go about the business lives up to those ideals is also an essential part of creating an inclusive, culturally sensitive and above all else, well performing workplace.

How would you rate your workplace’s cultural sensitivity?

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Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
Worry And Procrastination

Whenever I see or read quotes (or jokes) like this, they make me laugh while at the same time wonder if people get the REAL MESSAGE. I know too many people who procrastinate and self-sabotage their career and success. They are their biggest obstacles to just about anything they want, if only… they got out of their own way!