Interview - Sharon E. Jones

An interview with Sharon E. Jones, Founder and President of Jones Diversity Group, LLC, February 18th 2007

Why is diversity important to international businesses? How does if affect the bottom line?

Diversity is important to the bottom line of global businesses in numerous ways. For example, as our countries become more racially and ethnically diverse, our educational institutions become more diverse. As companies compete for the best talent, they must compete for diverse talent in the traditional talent pools. Changing demographics affect the client and consumer demand for diverse teams and products relevant to diverse markets. Organizations which fail to create inclusive cultures which fully utilize diverse individuals have high attrition rates for those individuals. High attrition directly affects the bottom line. Diverse teams create the best ideas and solutions and are more effective and efficient. So you see that diversity impacts business success from both the income and cost side of the business.

As a diversity consultant, what do you actually do?

Diversity consultants do a variety of things. I often begin exploring the vision of success for the organization. What goals regarding diversity do we seek to achieve? When we use the term “diversity” to what are we referring? Sometimes people think only in terms of race and ethnicity. Sometimes people think only about gender. Diversity is a very broad term and I help the organization define its goals. Then I work to assess the organization’s culture with respect to diversity and inclusion. I want to measure it at the start of the diversity and inclusion initiative and to measure it over time. Then I work with the organization to create a customized multi-year strategic plan to create a culture that is diverse and inclusive. This is a cultural change initiative and I work closely with an organization’s leadership to drive the change throughout the organization. The strategic plan may include formalized mentoring training, diversity training, flexible work policies, success strategy coaching, recruiting strategies and other approaches to achieve a diverse and inclusive culture.

When you are working with or consulting with a company, what is the first thing that you look for or assess?

The first thing I assess is management’s commitment to the diversity and inclusion initiative. Specifically, I like to speak with the top person(s) and then the next level of senior management to see if they understand the business case for diversity and its importance to the organization’s short term and long term success.

If a company is interested in diversity, but not really sure how to take action what would you recommend?

I would recommend hiring a diversity consultant—someone experienced in strategic planning regarding diversity and inclusion and implementing cultural change initiatives. This is not a do it yourself change. It is similar to a technological change within your organization. You hire experts in the technology and you rely on them to lead you through the change. Diversity and inclusion is a similar change process.

What lessons can British businesses learn from the experience of diversity in America? What’s the most important thing that the UK should learn from the United States experience?

The United States has been dealing with issues of diversity in the workplace for the last 30 years. This has given the US an opportunity through trial and error to develop some strategies to create diverse and inclusive workplaces. The UK can learn from these experiences and avoid some of the errors. One important lesson is that it takes time to create diverse and inclusive cultures. It requires a long term commitment and a consistent focus to achieve sustainable change. Management commitment is central to the success of the change initiative and diversity and inclusion goals and concepts must be fully integrated into all aspects of the organization’s structure and culture for the initiative to be sustainable and ultimately successful.

Other than racial statistics, how else can you tell whether a firm or business has created a diverse multi-cultural work environment?

Racial and ethnic statistics provide some information. Diversity focuses on many types of difference, for example: gender, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, among others. I look for disparities in hiring, firing, promotion, mentoring, quality and quantity of work assignments and other factors within the environment. I also review the cultural images in marketing materials, look for fairness within policies and practices at the organization, its supplier diversity program and the diversity of its civic and philanthropic activities. I also rely on employee perceptions of the inclusiveness of the work environment.

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