Contents

Before you begin vii

Topic 1: Implement diversity policy 1

1A Locate and review diversity policy 2
1B Apply the policy to specific work contexts 12
1C Ensure that the diversity policy is understood and implemented 17
1D Provide feedback and suggestions to ensure currency and efficacy of diversity policy 25
Summary 29
Learning checkpoint 1: Implement diversity policy 30

Topic 2: Foster respect for diversity in the work team 35

2A Address own prejudices and demonstrate respect for difference 36
2B Select and recruit diverse staff  41
2C Identify and address training needs to address issues of difference in the team 47
2D Manage tensions and encourage collaboration and respect between staff 51
2E Assist staff to see the benefits of diversity 54
2F Manage allegations of harassment and address complaints according to
organisational procedures 56
Summary 62
Learning checkpoint 2: Foster respect for diversity in the work team 63

Topic 3: Promote the benefits of diversity 67

3A Promote the organisation’s diversity 68
3B Capture ideas and information to enhance products and services through a
diverse workforce 73
3C Support organisational efforts to value diversity 76
Summary 79
Learning checkpoint 3: Promote the benefits of diversity 80

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Characteristics that make up diversity

Organisations can employ or interact with people who are diverse in ways that have
different implications for interactions.
Here are some categories of diversity and a short explanation of each.

Ability, aptitude or disability

Staff may have a basic education or be highly

qualified.
People may have a physical or cognitive disability.
Some people may be more suited to a particular
job role than others based on their skills,
ambitions and aptitudes.

Age

An organisation may employ people of all ages,

from young people straight from high school to
mature age people in their 60s or 70s.

Personality

A diverse workforce has people with a range

of different qualities, such as people who
are outgoing, shy, cheerful, quiet, talkative or
imaginative.

Marital status or family arrangements

Staff may be married, not married, in a de facto

relationship or separated. They may be a single
parent, have children or have no children.

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Diversity policies
To ensure organisations are meeting their legal
obligations to follow the principles of workplace
diversity in their business practices and culture,
management should develop a diversity policy (also
known as an access and equity policy or an equal
opportunity policy) that shows how they plan to
ensure their workforce is diverse and how they will
display respect for their customers and the public.
A diversity policy also enhances an organisation’s
competitiveness and standing in the community, as
well as staff morale and satisfaction. The policy must
relate to all staff: permanent, part-time, casual and
contracted.
It is not a legal requirement for all organisations to have a specific diversity policy, but it is
implied under the law that all organisations must adhere to the principles of diversity and
equity. Some organisations, such as registered training providers and childcare centres, are
required under legally binding industry codes to establish such policies.
Under Commonwealth anti-discrimination legislation, an employer may be held legally
responsible for any discrimination or harassment that occurs in the workplace or in
connection with a person’s employment unless it can be shown that all reasonable steps have
been taken to reduce this liability.
A diversity policy helps an organisation plan and administer a management system and
culture that encourage diversity, and implement practices and procedures to ensure the
policy is enacted.

Components of a diversity policy

A diversity policy should be relevant to the specific workplace and have the endorsement of
the CEO, board and/or manager responsible. It may also include supporting documentation,
such as an ethics guide, code of conduct, workplace behaviour guidelines, and guidelines for
managing poor behaviour in the workplace or a complaints procedure.
The policy should begin with a framing statement on diversity that states the organisation’s
philosophy on diversity, which should include the need for staff to reflect the Australian
community and include people of different abilities, ages, genders, ethnicities and
backgrounds.
A diversity policy should include the following components.

Components of a diversity policy

•• Definitions of discrimination, harassment and behaviours that will not be

tolerated in the workplace
•• Consequences of breaches of the policy
•• Management responsibilities for equal employment opportunity (EEO)
•• Procedures for complaints and how these are to be made and managed

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Implement diversity policy

Comply with diversity legislation and

organisational policy
When applying the diversity policy in the workplace, managers need to be aware of how to
proactively comply with the policies and how to avoid noncompliance.
Here are examples of diversity legislation and organisational policy.

Age Age must not be a consideration when hiring an employee.

Discrimination on the basis of age may include hiring only
younger people or not employing younger workers even
though they have the required skills to perform the work. Your
workplace may be able to employ older workers by adjusting
the physical conditions of some jobs or recruiting them on a
reduced-hours basis.

Ability, aptitude Employment should be offered on the basis of a person’s

or disability ability to carry out the job. It is illegal to refuse to hire
someone with a disability that does not prevent them doing
the job.

Personality Employees must be hired based on their ability to do the job.

Rejecting an otherwise suitable applicant for a job based
on personality (for example, ‘She’s too outgoing to be a
manager’) is a form of discrimination.

Culture Celebrating important cultural events in the workplace is an

example of promoting diversity, as is allowing people to dress
according to their traditions as long as this does not breach
safety laws or dress codes. Refusing leave requests made in
a timely fashion to attend cultural or religious festivals and
ceremonies can be discriminatory.

Language Important notices should be translated into community

languages for display on noticeboards. It is discrimination
to hire a person who speaks a language other than English
and not offer them safety information in their community
language.

Ethnicity and race Staff must be hired, promoted, trained and rewarded based
on merit, regardless of ethnicity. Offering better conditions to
members of a specific ethnic group is illegal. A person’s race
must not be made an issue in hiring, promotion or workplace
behaviour. It is against the law to allow racist behaviour, such
as jokes being circulated in the workplace that insult people
of a specific race.

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Information sessions and formal presentations

It is a good idea to make a formal presentation about the diversity policy to senior
management and board members to ensure their acceptance and understanding. Emphasise
that the policy complies with current legislation. Check that all relevant staff are present and
follow up with any who are absent on the day.
Work with other managers to support their role in informing team members of their rights
and responsibilities and how they can use diversity in their everyday work practices.
You can deliver an information session to staff focusing on the diversity policy and
their responsibilities towards other staff, customers, visitors and contractors. A session
could include an electronic presentation, an expert speaking on diversity and legislation,
opportunities to role-play, handouts with an overview of the policy, and/or tips to
implement diversity within each team.
Make sure the language expression is appropriate for the audience and handouts are written
clearly in English and/or relevant community languages. Explain technical words and
discuss legislation using plain English. Make sure the content does not offend anyone; for
example, be careful that a description or joke intended to illustrate an area of diversity is not
offensive to any specific characteristics of your audience.
Organise presentations in the following way.

Characteristics of information sessions and presentations

Hold them in a comfortable learning environment

Make them relevant to the workplace and the staff of the organisation

Have clear objectives

Provide a variety in activities with time for participants to check their understanding

Provide an opportunity for participants to brainstorm ideas, ask questions or discuss

the information and how it impacts on the workplace with team-mates

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Implement the policy

There are many ways to ensure the policy is being successfully implemented once its
implementation has become a goal of the organisation.
Here are strategies and tips for managers who have implementation responsibilities.

Strategies for implementation Tips for implementation

•• Observe staff in their day-to-day •• Ask a colleague for advice on how to

interactions with others. approach a client or customer from the
•• Check that procedures for recruiting and same cultural background.
promoting staff are being followed. •• Learn how to say ‘hello’ in community
•• Identify the number and types of languages and use this to greet colleagues
complaints being made in relation to who speak these languages.
harassment and discrimination. •• Speak up when someone tells a joke
•• Discuss diversity at performance appraisal or makes a comment that appears
sessions to confirm understanding. derogatory based on specific human
qualities such as age, gender, race or
•• Check that recommended changes are sexuality.
being implemented, such as celebrating
other cultures, including newsletter •• Scan for any indirect discrimination when
articles on diversity or introducing flexible reviewing policies and procedures; for
work hours for parents. example, where a requirement that should
apply to all staff accidentally excludes
some members of staff on the basis of
specific qualities or characteristics.
•• Seek balance when approaching staff as
volunteers for a specific task; for example,
encourage both younger and older people,
and both men and women to volunteer for
tasks.

Measure success
There are various ways of monitoring whether the implementation of a diversity policy has
resulted in positive changes in the workplace.
Here are examples of ways to measure success.

Different measures of success

Responses of staff from observation, sampling, interviews and quizzes in the

organisation’s newsletter can show the levels of understanding and acceptance of
the policy.

Completing a profile of staff with respect to age, gender, ethnicity and so on can
show the diversity of the workforce and whether it is more diverse than previously.

A job satisfaction survey can reveal an increase in job satisfaction, with positive
comments for flexible work hours.

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 Topic 1
Implement diversity policy

Conduct a formal, critical review of the policy

A review of your organisation’s diversity policy requires planning and is a more formal way
of evaluating the currency and effectiveness of the policy.
Making sure all staff are consulted will indicate how effective the policy is. Go through each
section of the policy and check it for currency, how effectively it relates to the organisation,
what amendments or additions should be made and whether it could be written more
clearly.
Here are examples of actions that could be undertaken as part of a review of diversity policy.

Strategies for consultation and review

•• Open informal forums that encourage input, debate and an exchange of

ideas and views
•• Arranging for staff to visit other workplaces to research best practice
•• Surveys or questionnaires completed by staff, managers and board
members
•• Interviews with relevant stakeholders
•• A suggestion box for anonymous comments and suggestions related to
diversity and policy implementation
•• Engaging state/territory agencies responsible for implementing diversity
legislation to review the organisation’s diversity policy and practices
•• Role-plays that challenge staff members to manage situations involving
potential incidents of noncompliance with the diversity policy

Make suggestions to improve the policy

You may be able to suggest a range of improvements following a formal review, staff
feedback, observations and informal discussions. If so, follow the organisation’s procedures
for implementing suggestions, such as preparing a formal report to management, discussing
the improvements with staff and ensuring training is organised.
You may have found that the religious practices of growing numbers of your staff have not
been adequately catered for and suggest including new provisions in the policy: a request
form to attend religious ceremonies; a specific area for staff to observe prayer requirements;
and a dress code that embraces people’s cultural dress while still complying with safety
regulations.
There are a number of ways to address issues you have discovered in your review of the
efficacy and currency of your organisation’s diversity policy.
Suggestions to strengthen your diversity policy include:
• revising the wording of the policy to eliminate complex language
• conducting regular diversity discussions with staff
• making the policy more visible through displays or newsletter articles
• promoting the organisation’s diversity policy within the local community.

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Topic 2
Foster respect for diversity in the work team
One of a manager’s responsibilities is to encourage and promote diversity in the workplace.
They can do this by addressing their own prejudices about people who are different
to themselves and by being a positive role model for changing negative attitudes and
behaviour.
Strategies that support the organisation’s diversity policy include promoting the benefits
of diversity, providing training in diversity to staff and managing conflict between team
members.
In this topic you will learn how to:
2A Address own prejudices and demonstrate respect for difference
2B Select and recruit diverse staff
2C Identify and address training needs to address issues of difference in the team
2D Manage tensions and encourage collaboration and respect between staff
2E Assist staff to see the benefits of diversity
2F Manage allegations of harassment and address complaints according to organisational
procedures

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Foster respect for diversity in the work team

Positive interactions
Here are some tips for respecting differences when interacting with others.

Strategies to promote positive interactions

•• Use inclusive language that recognises a person’s worth. Avoid remarks

that are demeaning, such as referring to women as ‘dear’.
•• Avoid jargon and Australian colloquialisms; use plain English when
speaking and writing.
•• Be aware of a person’s physical and mental limitations, but do not assume
that a person needs to be treated differently because of a physical or
intellectual disability.
•• Acknowledge the experience and skills that older people bring to the
workplace.
•• Develop a professional rapport with colleagues and customers.
•• Be aware of different learning styles and adapt your interactions to
accommodate the ways other people like to work.
•• Show genuine interest in other people’s beliefs. Listen actively and ask
clarifying questions.
•• Respect people’s traditions such as bowing when greeting, having
sufficient personal space when speaking and addressing people in certain
ways.

Example: a manager addresses own issues and prejudices

Steve is employed in a food distribution business as an overseer, supervising the work of the
dispatch team of five workers. The company has recently undergone expansion and now imports
canned foods from Spain, Greece, Italy and Croatia.
As much as he tries not to, Steve finds he still gets impatient with some
of his crew who do not speak English well. He becomes annoyed when
he has to read documents aloud for individual crew members, as his own
reading skills are not strong.
The training manager arranges literacy support for the crew, which
Steve also attends. He says he is only there to help his crew. The
sessions focus on reading workplace documents.
By the end of the sessions, everyone has improved their reading skills,
including Steve. Morale at work improves and Steve now enjoys working
with the crew. He asks for their help in reading the labels on the
imported foods, using their community language skills.

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Interviews and selection of candidate

During the interview process, discrimination against applicants (either intentionally or
unintentionally) is unacceptable. All members of the interview panel need to understand
diversity, equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination principles, as well as
associated legislation and their legal obligations.
Here are examples of the process that could be followed when interviewing and
selecting staff.

How to interview and select staff in an equitable way

Prepare interview questions and check these for discrimination before the
1 interviews begin. To maintain consistency, all applicants must be asked the
same questions.

Devise a rating system to rate each candidate against the key selection criteria.
2 This makes the decision objective, rather than subjective. You may choose to
have certain criteria worth more ‘points’ than others.

Record the selection process and how a decision has been arrived at. This is
3 crucial if an applicant appeals a decision.

Provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants; this process is useful to the

4 applicants, but also enables the selection team to make objective decisions by
asking the panel why a specific candidate was not chosen.

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Grievance management

└└ Employees need to know how to make a complaint about alleged

discrimination, harassment or bullying. Managers and HR team
members need to understand the organisation’s grievance and
dispute handling procedures. Training may also include how to identify
grievances before they are formally lodged.

Recruitment and selection

└└ Recruitment and selection training emphasises the need for non-

discriminatory practices during the recruitment and selection process.
Strategies to avoid indirect and direct discrimination in recruitment and
selection should be explored.

Industry-specific training
Different industries have different client groups and issues.
Here are two types of training that are delivered in industries where understanding of ethics
and human rights is considered essential.

Ethics training Human rights training

Ethics training focuses on an industry or Human rights training focuses on human

a specific type of industry (for example, rights legislation and people’s rights and
business services, manufacturing or aged responsibilities. This is especially valuable
care) and the established ethics of working in for people working in the disability sector or
that industry. Definitions of ethics and codes with refugees and asylum seekers, and links
of conduct are discussed. human rights legislation and day-to-day work
with clients.

Training design and delivery

Team training sessions are useful to provide input and share ideas and thoughts, while
training conducted by an external agency or trainer can introduce new ideas and provide
new perspectives.
Here are some examples of training providers.

Types of training providers

•• Specialist learning and development staff

•• A manager or HR team member assigned to the task
•• Representatives of a training institution or registered training organisation
(RTO)
•• A consultant with appropriate expertise from a state or territory agency
established to support and promote diversity in the workplace

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Here are some tips for using conflict management strategies and negotiation skills.

Conflict management strategies

Listen to the position of each party in the dispute or conflict without judgment or
questioning of their position.

Get to the root of the problem and analyse whether the problem has a plausible
solution or is a personality clash that requires you to separate the conflicting parties.

Speak to both parties about the nature and cause of the problem and suggest small,
simple changes that can improve the chances of resolving the conflict successfully.

Work further with each party separately, and with both parties together, to come up
with possible solutions. Obtain agreement from both parties regarding a solution.

Implement a solution.

Review and learn from the incident.

Example: a manager assists her team to collaborate and deal

with tensions
Following a state election, two departments are combined into one. One of the departments is
external to the ministry and comprises six men who are career public servants with an average of
25 years’ experience. The men were all born in Australia and are of Anglo-Celtic ancestry. The other
department consists of five women and two men and has a much lower average age. All have
university degrees. One of the men is gay. Four members of this group were born overseas.
Fiona, the manager of the new department, addresses each group separately and acknowledges
that the groups have different qualities and values. She asks each staff member to write,
anonymously, what they are most concerned about with regard to the
restructure.
On the first day of the new arrangement, all 13 staff attend a half-day
program to facilitate the restructure and work through a process to get
each person to talk about their skills and what they offer the new team.
Fiona then facilitates a process to determine what skills gaps exist
that could be addressed through training. She arranges for the group
to attend a program called ‘Working with diversity’. Other plans include
having a fortnightly lunch together. Staff meetings are to be held once a
week, where they can air any grievances or talk about issues that have
arisen.

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2F Manage allegations of harassment

and address complaints according
to organisational procedures
The complaints process set out in the diversity policy and supporting
documentation (procedures and a complaints form) are designed to provide a fair
process for dealing with allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination.
All staff should be aware of the complaints procedure and feel able to use it when
necessary.
This helps minimise the legal risks associated with noncompliance, which can be
costly in terms of morale and lost staff time.

v1559
What is harassment?
Harassment in the workplace includes actions by one person towards another that
humiliate, intimidate or offend and are unwelcome and uninvited. Harassment can be
unintentional or deliberate.
It includes behaviour that may be physical, verbal, nonverbal and/or written (including
inappropriate emails, text messages and social media comments).
Harassment is behaviour that is derogatory towards a person’s:
• race, where race includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origin
• sexual orientation, lawful sexual activity or gender identity
• gender, marital status or age
• parental status, pregnancy or breastfeeding
• physical features
• impairment or disability, including total/partial loss of body function/part; mental or
psychological disorder; disease, malformation, disfigurement
• religious beliefs or activities.

Laws relating to harassment

Harassment is against the law. This is underpinned by a series of Commonwealth and state/
territory Acts that form the legislative base for policy developed by organisations to address
potential claims of harassment, discrimination and bullying.
Bullying can also be regarded and handled as a WHS matter. A criminal case can be
brought against another person (a colleague) for workplace harassment, as well as for
bullying or discrimination.
Here are some relevant laws.

Commonwealth laws relating to harassment

•• Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986

•• Racial Hatred Act 1995
•• Sex Discrimination Act 1984
•• Disability Discrimination Act 1992

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Organisational responsibilities
Organisations need to be aware of their responsibility to protect individuals’ rights by
having a robust anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy in place, with associated
procedures implemented in the workplace.
Here are examples of an organisation’s responsibilities around the management of an
individual’s rights.

Organisations’ responsibilities regarding rights of individuals

Having an effective and workable grievance procedure

Making the policies available to all employees in the workplace

Training employees on the policies and procedures and how complaints will be
managed

Implementing the policies and associated procedures where a breach arises

Taking immediate and appropriate action when a harassment complaint is made

Having arrangements for adequate supervision and monitoring of the workplace

Contact officers
Some organisations select and appoint contact officers, who are trained to support anyone
in the workplace who needs to discuss an incident. A contact officer’s role does not include
investigating the incident.
Here are some tasks that can be undertaken by a contact officer.

Contact officer’s tasks

•• Be an initial point of contact for inquiries from staff related to harassment,

bullying or discrimination
•• Discuss actions the person can take based on the organisation’s policy
and procedures
•• Act as a support person once a complaint is acted on
•• Contribute to staff awareness of policy and procedure related to
harassment, bullying and discrimination
•• Provide feedback to the HR manager or diversity officer related to the
number of issues raised with contact officer

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A complaints form
A complaints form may require details such as the complainant’s name, the date and a
description of the incident, the name of the alleged harasser and actions already taken.
Following an incident, the organisation should conduct a review of what occurred and how
the complaint was managed, to strengthen its commitment to preventing harassment in the
workplace and managing incidents in the future.
Training in incident investigation and managing complaints is available through registered
training organisations and appropriate agencies.
There are a number of possible outcomes when a formal complaints procedure has been
entered into. Here are several examples of formal complaint outcomes.

Possible outcomes of a formal complaint

•• A formal apology
•• Counselling
•• Disciplinary action against the harasser up to and including dismissal or
demotion, transfer, suspension or probation
•• Official warnings that are noted on the harasser’s personal file
•• Conciliation or mediation conducted by an impartial third party, where the
parties to the complaint agree to a mutually acceptable resolution
•• Reimbursing of any costs associated with the harassment and crediting of
any leave taken as a result of the harassment

Examples: instances of harassment

Example 1: failure to support Example 2: provision of support

A staff member sees a colleague, Zac, walking Bert is a keen cricket fan and barracks for
along the street holding hands with another man. England. At work, Bert gets teased about his
The next day, he tells some of his colleagues at support for the English team. After a while, he
work that Zac is gay. The next week, someone asks his colleagues to ‘knock it off’, as he is
in the workplace sticks a postcard of two sick of the comments. His colleagues ignore
men dressed in suspenders and stockings on his request and he is subjected to a barrage
Zac’s computer monitor. Zac complains to his of abusive and negative comments about the
manager, who says she will take action if he can English cricket team.
tell her who did this. As Zac does not know the He talks to his manager, who is at first
culprit, the manager expresses sympathy but dismissive of the issue until Bert appears
says she can’t do anything. to be close to tears. The manager then
Over the following weeks, an array of cards, approaches the main staff members
notes and newspaper clippings alluding to responsible for the comments and has an
his sexuality are stuck on Zac’s monitor. Zac informal chat with them about harassment
talks to his manager again but receives little and how it is dealt with in the organisation.
support, so he raises the matter at a staff The comments stop and one of the group
meeting. He tells his colleagues that his apologises to Bert. The two men have an
sexuality is his own business and that the interesting discussion about cricket and
behaviour of some people in this workplace decide to go together to a forthcoming one-
is harassment, against the law and contrary day game.
to the policy of the organisation. The activity
stops from that point onward, but Zac decides
to look for another job.

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Foster respect for diversity in the work team

7. Complete this table to show why a team member may need additional training in
diversity and how to address this training need.

Area Reason for training Strategies to address

the training need

Diversity training

Equal
opportunity
training

Part B
Read the scenario, then complete the task that follows.

Case study

You work for a local government department that provides support for a range of community
groups, including groups that support people from specific cultures, older people, people with
disabilities and youth. You have been asked to recruit three staff for a new branch of your
organisation.
The abilities to speak community languages and to work with people of diverse backgrounds
are essential selection criteria for these positions.
The current staff profile of the council is not representative of the local community, which has a
high percentage of people born overseas. Your task is to ensure there is greater diversity within
the organisation by recruiting staff with diverse backgrounds.
As the first step, you are asked to write down the process you will use for recruitment and
selection.

Prepare a one-page document (using dot-points) to outline the strategies you will use to
manage the selection process.

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 Topic 3
Promote the benefits of diversity

Acknowledge workplace diversity

Here are some suggestions of opportunities that may be used to enhance the organisation’s
image and reputation by acknowledging the workforce’s diversity.

Staff meetings

Arrange for staff other than managers to chair staff meetings so a diverse range
of staff are given a high profile within the organisation.

Newsletters and bulletins

Newsletters and bulletins are usually available to all staff and may also be
available to customers. Newsletters can demonstrate the organisation’s
commitment to diversity by including an article on different learning styles,
providing a staff profile to show the organisation’s diversity or describing
improvements to the office layout and workstations that provide better access for
people with disabilities.

Staff updates

Staff updates can be used to celebrate achievements associated with diversity,

such as an employee’s return to work after maternity leave or a male staff
member going part-time to be at home with young children.

Poster displays

Before posting on noticeboards, the organisation may translate posters

providing safety, quality and other important information into relevant community
languages or develop them so as to address different learning styles and abilities.

Induction materials

Induction materials can explain the diversity policy and associated procedures,
and can include a component that provides training in cultural awareness.

Organisational website

The organisation’s website or intranet may be used to showcase events within

the organisation that promote diversity, such as a morning tea to celebrate a
culturally important event.

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Improve the layout of the business, to assist staff and customers with disabilities.

Actively promote the diversity of the organisation’s staff in the industry, as a

strategy to attract new customers and contribute to competitive advantage.

Suggest that the organisation investigates having an onsite crèche if there are
many single parents on staff.

Strategies for capturing suggestions

Information and ideas may come from many places. As a manager, you should be alert to
ways that you can capture the ideas and information raised by staff. Record the results of all
sessions and any actions to be taken.
Here are some examples of ways you can source ideas and information.

Sources of ideas and information

•• DIscussion forums where new ideas for products and improvements to

customer service are put forward and debated
•• SWOT analysis sessions to identify where there are opportunities to
increase the organisation’s competitive advantage and its strengths and
weaknesses
•• Discussions at inductions
•• Team meetings
•• Review of incidents to learn from mistakes
•• Visits to other organisations to share ideas on embracing diversity in
running and managing the organisation
•• Guest speakers who present ideas on how organisations can become
better at managing diversity
•• Conferences and in-service sessions focused on diversity issues

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Promote the benefits of diversity

Profile organisation

•• Research statistics, census figures, and industry and community

benchmarks for diverse workforces.
•• Compare the organisation with the information obtained.

Promote organisation efforts

•• Promote efforts in media and at conferences.

•• Research suitable trade journals, magazines and other publications and
suggest writing an article for them.
•• Draft articles for publication.

Diversity contact officer

•• Implement a diversity contact officer program.

•• Research how this type of program works and prepare a business case
for establishing one at your organisation.
•• Train a volunteer as a diversity contact officer or offer support to
contact officers in their role.
•• Support a staff from your department to volunteer as a diversity contact
officer.

Award program

•• Apply for awards for excellence in diversity.

•• Research awards and volunteer for a committee to apply for awards.

Recruitment and selection

•• Apply diversity to recruitment and selection.

•• Contribute to drafting new procedures for training material.
•• Offer to sit in on interview panels as an impartial person from another
area of the business.

Develop products

•• Develop new services or products by capturing ideas and information

from the diversity in the workplace.
•• Contribute to organising a consultative approach.
•• Research other organisations that have been successful in this area
and publicise the results.

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Summary

1. Whenever the opportunity arises, managers should help promote the organisation’s
workforce diversity in both internal and external forums, to enhance the organisation’s
image and reputation.
2. Internal forums for promoting an organisation’s workforce diversity include staff
meetings, management meetings, newsletters, bulletins, poster displays, induction
material, the intranet and the website.
3. External forums for promotion include conferences and seminars, professional
networks, press releases, trade journals and awards.
4. An organisation should plan how to capture and use its employees’ skills, ideas
and abilities, to enhance its products and services, and to add to the organisation’s
reputation and advantage over its competitors.
5. Staff who have different backgrounds, such as overseas business experience or
experience with discrimination, may have ideas, suggestions and information that the
organisation can use to improve its practices.
6. Ideas and information may be captured at discussion forums, SWOT analysis sessions,
inductions and team meetings.
7. Managers have a responsibility to implement, support and promote organisational
efforts to value diversity in the workplace.

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