THE BUSINESS CASE FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

WHY SHOULD ANGLO MALES CHAMPION DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION?

Tim Destri- Senior Forecaster/Meteorologist

NWS-WFO New Orleans/Baton Rouge, LA

Appreciation to the VA for allowing me to use information from “THE BUSINESS CASE FOR DIVERSITY & INCLUSION”

NOAA SES (124 people): 79% male 21% female

4% Black

2.4% Hispanic

4% Disabilities

90% White (88% male, 23% female)

4% Asian Pacific Islander

0% American Indian

0% Alaskan Native

Data from Charly Wells at NWS Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management.

IS NOAA DIVERSE?

87% White

6% Black

3.5% Asian Pacific Islander

3% Hispanic

1% American Indian

1% Alaskan Native

IS NOAA DIVERSE?

NOAA All Employees (12,229 people)

Data from Charly Wells at NWS Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management.

Business Imperative

Does workforce diversity have a quantifiable effect on business/performance outcomes?

Economic ImperativeIs there a financial/economic benefit to workforce diversity?

What is the human cost?

Human Imperative

How does organizational culture impact one’s contributions to the mission?

What does the research show?

We know there is a legal imperative, but is there a…

WHY DIVERSITY & INCLUSION?

Diversity Research Network

Workforce diversity is positively associated with higher business performance outcome measures.

Racial diversity is positively associated with higher performance in organizations that integrate and leverage diverse perspectives as resources for product delivery.

Gender diversity is positively associated with more effective group processes and performance in organizations with people-oriented performance cultures.

The Effects of Diversity on Business Performance: Report of the Diversity Research Network, October 2002.

What does the research show?

THE BUSINESS IMPERATIVE

Diverse teams are more creative and perform better in problem solving than homogeneous teams.

Diversity in workforce and processes results in better decision-making.

The effects of diversity are highly dependent on the presence of facilitating or inhibiting conditions in the organization

What does the research show?

THE BUSINESS IMPERATIVE

Center for Creative Leadership

Marian N. Ruderman et al. (eds.). Selected Research on Work Team Diversity. 1994.

Absent facilitating conditions, the aforementioned outcomes are reversed.

“When you are surrounded by sameness, you get only variations on the same.”

Kevin Sullivan - VP of HR of Apple Computers

Conclusion

Diversity enhances performance but requires facilitation.

THE BUSINESS IMPERATIVE

The Conference Board

Racial and gender diversity are positively associated with higher establishment productivity, product quality, and economic benefits.

Linda Barrington and Kenneth R. Troske. Workforce Diversity and Productivity: An Analysis of Employer-Employee Matched Data. April 18, 2001

Diverse companies generated 18% higher productivity than the U.S. economy overall.

National Urban League

National Urban League. Diversity Practices That Work: The American Worker Speaks, 2004

THE ECONOMIC IMPERATIVE

What does the research show?

THE ECONOMIC IMPERATIVE

What does the research show?

Wall Street Journal

Workforce diversity reflecting consumer/market diversity results in:

New product development

Consumer confidence

Increased product/service marketability

Carol Hymowitz. “The New Diversity,” Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2005.

UNC Business School

Workplace conflict results in 22-53% lost productivity.

EEOC

25-40% of workforce attrition rate and 5-20% in lost productivity can be attributed to poor diversity management.

Average EEO complaint costs approximately $60,000 (administrative process) up to $250,000 (including settlement/damages).

THE ECONOMIC IMPERATIVE

The Flip Side…

Turnover costs 75-150% of the replaced employee’s salary.

ConclusionDiversity requires investment, but the return on investment outweighs the cost.

THE ECONOMIC IMPERATIVE

.

Employee engagement is a valid predictor of organizational performance.

Sirota SurveyKey motivators for employees are equity, achievement, and camaraderie.

Gallup Organization. Q12 Employee Engagement Survey, performed in the Food and Drug Administration, February 2005

David Sirota et al. The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Employees What They Want, 2005.

THE HUMAN IMPERATIVE

Gallup Survey

Diverse workplaces with culturally competent workforces have the highest employee engagement.

What does the research show?

THE HUMAN IMPERATIVE

ConclusionEmpirical data show a quantifiable link between diversity and employee engagement and performance outcomes.

By 2042 there will be no single majority demographic.

46% of employees who experienced intolerance/discrimination indicated they would remain with the organization.*

* The Gallup Organization. Employee Discrimination in the Workplace, Public Opinion Poll. December 8, 2005.

THE HUMAN IMPERATIVE

Non-Caucasians will comprise more than 50% of the U.S. population.

The majority of new entrants into the labor market will globally diverse.

Our labor market, like our economy is irreversibly global.

Observations

71% of employees who had not experienced intolerance/discrimination indicated they would remain with the organization.*

Cognitive Diversity

BEYOND THE EEO STIGMAAND TRADITIONAL DIVERSITY

Traditional Diversity

Identity/Physical Diversity

Pioneering Diversity

Purposive Diversity From Jeffrey Cupo “Diversity Beyond Diversity”

Defining diversity solely as race and gender can have a detrimental effect; inclusion and multidimensionality are essential in defining diversity in order to gain acceptance.

Stella M. Nkomo. “Identities and the Complexities of Diversity,” in Susan Jackson and Marian Ruderman (eds.), Diversity in Work Teams: Research Paradigms for a Changing Workplace, 1999

gender

ethnicity/race

sexual orientation

age

education

culture

experiences

personality

goals and values

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace enhance performance and productivity; they are business, economic, and human imperatives.

Diversity should be broadly defined, including but not limited to legally protected groups.

Diversity and inclusion strategies must be strategically aligned with business goals.

Diversity management strategies must be complemented with inclusion strategies and effective conflict management.

Intolerance to diversity breeds costly results; agencies must first guarantee equity in the workplace before diversity can thrive.

What does this mean for the NOAA/NWS?

TAKE-AWAYS

EMBRACE AND PROMOTE THE BENEFITS DIVERSITY

We must draw fully on the vast talent and experience of our workforce.

We must continually strive to make the NWS a truly diverse agency.

Empowering the employees of the NWS will allow them to guide and advance the mission of the NWS and meet the needs of our diverse customers.

WFO LIX, LMRFC

Huge range of personality types, age, birth location, colleges

Many diverse groups are represented above the NOAA average (?)

Service area diversity (WFO)– two urban centers, suburban, inland vs. water, high dry ground/swamp, rural, MS/LA, large black population, Cajun, Creole RFC – much larger service area

Office “throwdowns” conducted with diverse themed foods

Outreach/tours for diverse groups

Discussion/input (help)

TIM DESTRI and other ANGLO MALES AS DIVERSITY CHAMPIONS

Embrace and encourage positive energy, teamwork

Personal relationships with staff, partners, customers

THANK YOU

Outreach

Non-discriminating

Discussion/input (help)

Respect, recognition of exceptional performance, encouragement