Application of diversity policy

Diversity policy aims to preserve the workplace diversity. This includes commitment of the employees towards maintaining the organizational culture. Typical component of this policy includes measurable objectives, annual disclosure for the shareholders, Remuneration and Nomination Committee. One of the essential components is the consequences of breaching the policy (Huong, Zheng and Fujimoto, Y., 2016). Diversity policy can be found at online links, company policies and procedures, induction process, contracts for employment and standards and protocols outlined by the Australian law.

The policy aims to meet the key requirements towards managing the workplace diversity within the Commission. As a matter of specification, the policy is adopted for maintaining the workplace ethics. The policy proves helpful for the managers in terms of respecting the workplace culture. One of the main uses of the policy is to remove the employment related biasness, which are encountered by the minority or the community people (Hsiao, Auld and Ma 2015). This policy assists the managers to provide innovative services to the clients for gaining their trust, loyalty and dependence. This way they intend to create a conducive workplace environment. Training and development programs are introduced for the employees in order to enhance their awareness towards enhancing the workplace diversity.

Training is one of the important actions, which makes the employees aware about the policy. An online class is also beneficial in terms of clarifying the doubts of the employees even if they are not physically present in the class. Meetings, discussions and open forums are also effective agents in terms of enhancing the awareness related to the diversity policy. These mediums act as evaluations towards assessing the appropriateness, effectiveness and feasibility of the policy in terms of the identified diversity criterion (Hays 2016). This evaluation, in turn, helps in strategizing the implementation activities. Presence of senior and experienced members in these meetings proves beneficial in achieving guidance regarding effective implementation of the policy. Rationality and consciousness is crucial in this direction, as it helps in the achievement of loyalty, trust and dependence from the clients and the customers.

Feedback and suggestions from the clients and the customers enhances the awareness of the policymakers about the effectiveness of the policy. Uploading the feedback forms on the website helps the policymakers to reach to a large number of audiences. Specifically, it helps in increasing the trafficking of the audience towards the service, which is important for gaining their trust, loyalty and dependence (Roberson, Holmes and Perry 2017). Consulting the experts and consultants can prove beneficial for achieving potential suggestions about the effectiveness of the policy. Implementing the policy is one of the best means for gaining the approaches of the customers. This would provide opportunity to the policymakers to make innovations within the workplace services. Maintaining the traditionalism in the process of bringing innovation possesses flexibility towards achieving large scale customer satisfaction.

Actions for making the policy understood and implemented

The employees employed in the organization belong to different socio-cultural background. They differ in their thoughts, customs and traditions. This reflects the true essence of the workplace diversity. The managers need to make the employees aware of the importance of respecting each other’s culture, which enhances the collaborative output and adjusting skills (Sakdiyakorn and Wattanacharoensil 2018). I personally feel that respecting the other cultures creates a positive image in the minds of my colleagues, which is crucial for maintaining the workplace culture. However, when I see others differing from my personal opinions, I become frustrated. I think this is my weakness, degrading my personality. Sometimes, I forgot the lessons, which I got from my seniors regarding respecting the other cultures. This is my incapability towards fulfilling my duties diligently.

We are instructed to wear formals on Mondays in the workplace. One day, one of my colleagues wore a dress, which seemed funny and strange to me. I asked him, however, he become furious and complained to the HR. I told him that it was just a joke, which made him more furious and there was difference of opinion between us. I think that it was not my fault as I jokingly asked him about the dress. However, my tone might have been unacceptable, but my intention was not to harm his culture and custom.

Equality is one of an important attribute in the process of recruitment and selection. Herein lays the appropriateness of the Equality Act (2010), which needs to be followed by the companies and organizations. This is in terms of providing equal opportunities to all of the desirable candidates looking for better and prospective job opportunities (Guchait,  Madera and Dawson 2016). Human Rights Commission needs to be consulted for ensuring that the recruitment and selection is executed efficiently and effectively. This is vital in terms of catering to the candidates, who have faced injustice from the clients. Anti-Discrimination Act is also important in terms of preventing the instances of discrimination, harassments and conflicts at the time of recruiting the rightful candidates.

Rehabilitation of the Offenders Act (1974) also needs to be adhered for ensuring proper placement of the employees, who have been offended in some way. This would be an innovation in terms of making the employees understand the significance of maintaining the workplace diversity. Complying with the standards and protocols of the act is crucial in terms of achieving positive outcomes (Thuesen 2017). Herein lays the appropriateness of Disclosure and Barring Service, which consists the formal criminal records. One of the other dimensions in this is consulting the Human Rights Convention. Strategic approach would be appropriate in this direction because of the systematic execution of the activities.

Feedback and suggestions for improving the efficacy of diversity policy

One of the main aims of the personnel, in terms of respecting the workplace diversity, is to take suggestions from the clients and the customers. This would result in the achievement of positive outcomes. The employees need to be provided with enough choice, so that they can feel assured about the protection of their individual rights. Adequacy in the execution of the task would make the candidates assured of the quality services, which are offered by the companies and organizations (Ali, Metz and Kulik 2015).

In terms of recruitment and selection, equality is of utmost importance. This is in terms of preventing the instances of conflicts, harassments and discriminations, which contradicts the aspect of diversity.

The employees employed in the organization are different in their thoughts, opinions and viewpoints. This results in difference of opinion within the team members, adversely affecting the productivity. The managers need to be conscious about these differences and attempt to mitigate them. For this, meetings, conferences and discussion forums prove effective in terms of identifying the differences, which exists within the team. Most of the employees hesitate to speak out the issues, which they encounter in the execution of the allocated activities. For them, private counselling sessions prove helpful. These sessions forms a platform for those employees to raise their voice against the issues (Meyers and Vallas 2016). Privacy of the employees need to be maintained for assuring them that their individual sentiments would be protected. This assurance is vital in terms of gaining the trust, dependence and loyalty from the clients and the customers.

Based on the responses of the team members, the managers need to organize training programs for gaining awareness about the differences, which exists within the team. Assigning challenging and enduring tasks to the team members would help the team leaders to find out the exact nature of differences. Feedback and suggestions can be taken from the team members regarding dealing with the differences efficiently and effectively. Evaluation through the consideration of templates and checklists would help the team leaders in gaining an insight into the extent through which the differences can be resolved (Rock and Grant 2016). Sending drafts about the progress update to the Board of Directors would broaden the perspectives of the team leaders. Meetings would act as a platform for suggesting additional ways and means through which the differences can be mitigated. Involvement of the externals in the meetings would result in the achievement of positive outcomes.

Foster respect for diversity in the work team

The team members differ in their thoughts, opinions and viewpoints. This differentiation results in the achievement of differing and contradicting suggestions towards completion of the business activities. Differing working styles compels the team leaders to face difficulties in terms of handing over the reports to the managers. This inability generates tensions and fears of getting scolding from the managers within the team leaders. These thoughts adversely affect the psyche of the team leaders, deviating their focus from the allocated duties and responsibilities (Farrell 2016). This is a crisis period, which stalls the productivity. In such a scenario, systematic approach is crucial in terms of restoring the lost balance. One of the major steps is training, which makes the employees acquainted with the harmful consequences of possessing differing opinions. Countering this, the team members would possess differing opinions, as they belong to different socio-cultural background. Training is the means, which makes the employees acquainted with the workplace environment. Training results in the assemblage of the different corporate minds, which can be unified through the lessons on culture and diversity. Within this, group discussions prove beneficial in terms of enhancing the adjusting skills among the team members (David 2015). Group work generates collaborative feeling among the members of the team, which is extremely helpful for the team leaders. This is in terms of extracting the required labours from the employees.

Maintaining frequency in the training programs helps in mitigating the differences, which exists in the teams. However, the grasping power of the employees needs to be remembered. Conscious approach in this direction leads to the achievement of positive outcomes. On the contrary, if the courses are haphazardly delivered to the employees, there would be negative results, which would stall the productivity. These aspects contradict the aspect of “teamwork”, nullifying the true purpose of training (Janssens and Zanoni 2014). Group activity needs to be adequately placed within the planning for the training programs. Adequate planning for group work would generate collaboration among the team members.

The team leaders can pay individual attention towards reducing the differences of the team members. This would broaden their perspective and enhance the decision-making skills.

The staffs entrusted with the responsibility of assisting the employees with difference encounter severe difficulties. The managers need to be conscious of extending their full support towards these staffs. Strategic planning is beneficial in terms of getting positive results. Within this, effective utilization of the organizational resources attains the top priority (Hajro, Gibson and Pudelko 2017). The team leaders need to be made aware of the advantages of making judicious use of the resources. If they grasp the lessons, they would be able to pass on the knowledge to the team members. This process aligns with the knowledge transfer, which is crucial in terms of enhancing the preconceived skills, expertise and knowledge. Judicious use of the resources leads to the production of quality products, which satisfies the needs, demands and requirements of the clients. Taking suggestions from the clients helps in gaining awareness about their specific tastes and preferences.

Aim for diversity in recruitment and selection

Adopting social media marketing helps in increasing the trafficking of the audience towards the services of the organization. Maintaining rationality and consciousness in this direction enhances the parameter of “customer relationship management” (Manoharan and Singal 2017). Maintaining stability in the relationship with the customers is important in terms of bringing innovation within the services. This is in terms of expanding the scope and arena of business in terms of achieving large scale customer satisfaction. An important aspect here is adhering to the Data Protection Act (1998), Equality Act (2010) and guidelines of the Human Rights Commission. This is vital in terms of respecting the individual sentiments of the clients and the customers.

Addressing the allegations is beneficial in terms of upgrading the workplace practices and policies. Exposing conscious approach towards the allegations generates the feeling of respect for the services of the organization in the minds of the clients. Along with this, it also mitigates the chances of receiving complaints from the external agencies. One of an important benefit is that it saves the cost of legal actions (McKay and Avery 2015). Mention can be made of the Anti-Discrimination Laws, under which the organization possesses the responsibility of taking steps to restore the lost justice of the victim. Reasonable precautions and due excise diligence needs to be considered for preventing further discriminations and harassments in the workplace.

Presence of the complaint handling procedure is crucial for ensuring that the complaints are tackled judiciously and rationally. The essential attributes of this procedure are fair, confidential, transparent, accessible and efficient. Of these, accessible is the most vital, as it provides equal opportunity to the employees in terms of restoring their lost respect (Vassou, Zopiatis and Theocharous 2017). The compliant procedure is handled through an integrated process. The first step is the initial contact point, which results in the establishment of contact between the victim and the Human Rights Commission. This acts as a counselling session for both of them, where the victim can speak out their minds in terms of the issues, which they have faced during the execution of the allocated tasks and responsibilities.

In some of the cases, there is early resolution, as the intensity of the case is not so much. However, if the case consists of the self-respect of the employees, it needs to be handled tactfully and rationally. Upon receiving the complaint, meetings are organized among the Board of Directors and the managers to discuss the intensity of the issue (Sania,  Kalpina and Javed 2015). After this, the victims are called for taking their verdict. If they have not yet filed a complaint, they are adviced to claim a suit for the case. This is according to the legal procedures, which helps in averting the instances of harassments, discriminations and conflicts.

Training needs to identify the differences in the team

Promoting workplace diversity helps in enhancing the brand image of the organization. This promotion needs to be done rationally and tactfully. Non-compliance with the legislations proves detrimental in terms of securing the respect of the personnel. Moreover, it also aggravates the complexities of the personnel towards preventing the instances of discriminations, harassments and conflicts (Leslie 2017). This aggravation bestows taunts and mocking on the organization, which contradicts the aspect of enhancing the brand image and reputation. Internally, employee resource groups can be created for the promotion of the diversity. This group is an open platform, which enhances the diverse thinking of the employees. Here, the main aim is engaging the employees in the mainstream business activities for gaining an insight into their mindset towards the allocated duties and responsibilities.

Online forum is also one of the platforms, which helps in approaching to the employees for getting responses on enriching the diversity. This forum witnesses the interaction between the panels, employees and their family members, which itself expand the diversification of the workplace (Sherbin and Rashid 2017). Typical example of this is the communication mediums, which improves the communication skills of the employees. One of the striking facts is that the experts can be brought into the discussion for creating video conferencing. This activity would make the employees feel that their viewpoints are valued and respected. This would generate within them an urge to carry out the tasks efficiently and effectively.

Organizing talk shows can also be an effective example of the promoting diversity. Here, getting sponsorships adds an extra feather to the aspect of promotion. Moreover, sponsors provide financial support to the organizations for spreading awareness regarding the maintenance of diversity. Involving external experts in these talks results in the broadening the scope and arena of the organization in terms of maintaining the workplace culture (Lu et al. 2015). Trainings are recommended by the external agents for upgrading the internal infrastructure. These trainings are unbiased, as the employees from different socio-cultural background are provided the access to enrich their knowledge.

External experts can be hired for providing training to the employees on diversity and its effects on the business. Group work is the agent, which helps in gaining an insight into the capability of the employees towards exposing collaborative output. The scores of the group work is essential in terms of appraising the performance of the employees. Equality is important in the appraisal also. This is in terms of inculcating the feeling within the employees that their individual sentiments would be taken care (Schilpzand et al. 2016).

Employee records are the evidence, from where data on diversity can be collected. These records reflect the diversified workforce, which the organization possesses for executing the business processes and activities. Herein, performance of the employees is a crucial aspect, which determines the approach towards diversity management and preservation. Based on the performance of the employees, the managers can make estimates about the time, which is needed for completing the activities. This is possible only through the exposure of collaborative output, which enhances the diversity among the teams (Urciuoli 2016). This enhancement upgrades the internal environment of the organizations, paving way for expanding the business into the international markets.

Research is needed for studying the proposed market entry. This is in terms of attracting large number of customers, which indicates the achievement of competitive advantage over the contemporary brands. Without this research, the organizations are bound to achieve negative outcomes. Typical example of this is vulnerability in the market position, which declines the market position of the organization. This decline is a serious challenge in the competitive phase, as it results in utter losses.

Adding to the workforce can be one of the effective solutions. However, rational approach needs to be exposed in this direction. Adhering to Equality Act (2010) would help in the achievement of positive results. Along with this, Data Protection Act (1998) is also beneficial in terms of securing the respect and privacy of the employees (Humanrights.gov.au 2018). Market survey would reflect the steps taken by the contemporary brands for managing the workplace diversity. Copying those steps would not help the organizations to reach to large number of customers. Instead, if the personnel take feedback from the employees, then they can produce services, which would lure the clients towards the services. Preserving the rights of the employees is essential in terms of inculcating respect within the employees for the services of the organization. If the clients feel that they are being valued, they would feel the urge to avail the services of the organizations. This results in the expansion of the scope and arena of business. Consciousness towards serving the customers makes the organizations popular among the clients (Barak 2016).

Most of the organizations adopt “top down” strategy for valuing the workplace diversity. Active participation of the team leaders, managers, CEO and the employees result in the introduction of effective planning for the enriching the diversity. Communication is the main agent, through which the managers engage the personnel into the mainstream business activities. Hesitations and dilemmas is the common expression, which obstructs the path of the employees towards achieving voicing out their opinions. This is because they fear taunts and mocking. This is mainly due to the lack of confidence (Guillaume et al. 2017).

If the employees are aware of the diversity goals and objectives, they would be able to deal with the task of diversity management in an efficient and effective manner. The employees can be engaged in the process of surveys. Privacy cookies are followed for maintaining secrecy of the organizational data. Non-compliance with the cookies is a gradual progression towards deviating from the objectives and the requirements.

Cultural competence is one of the other aspects, which the personnel need to cater. This competence is directly related to the business expansion, as it makes the personnel acquainted with the different cultures (Lam and Mayer 2014). Cultural issues are discussed in the form of presentations, which helps the managers to test the knowledge of the team members towards diversity and its preservation. Mention can be made of Employee Resource Group, which acts as a platform for the employees to speak out their minds towards the enhancement of cultural diversity. Mentors are selected for guiding the employees, when they go on a wrong way. Planning is made for altering the workplace scenario. This is in terms of bringing positivity into the services and attracting large number of clients and customers (Bal and Boehm 2017).

Continuous improvement can be adopted for upgrading the standards and quality of the services. Herein lays the appropriateness of the surveys and feedbacks, which results in the assemblage of clients from different socio-cultural backgrounds. Willingness and eagerness towards enriching the diversity is crucial in terms of achieving loyalty, trust and dependence from the clients. Adhering to the legislations helps in averting discriminations, harassments and conflicts. Consciousness in this direction leads to the achievement of positive outcomes. Assistance from the Human Rights Commission reflects the reliability and authenticity of the services, attracting more and more customers (Davis, Frolova and Callahan 2016).

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