The Five Phases of the Diversity Continuum:  
Where is Your Organization?
by Linda Gravett, Ph.D., SPHR

My observation as a diversity consultant is that organizations find themselves in one of five phases along a continuum at any given time.  If you are embarking on a diversity initiative, you might want to reflect on where your company is now…..and where you aspire to be by year’s end.

The continuum I’ll be describing looks like this:

>____________>____________>___________>____________ >

Status Quo      Reactive         Proactive          Redefinition             Managing

In the status quo phase, an organization has a majority workforce that’s homogeneous.  That could mean, for example, that most employees are Caucasian, or have a Master’s Degree, or are over 40.  In short, there’s very little diversity and the leadership thinks that’s just fine.  However, they’re overlooking the creative ideas and innovations that different types of people, with various skills, talents, and abilities, could bring to their company.  Perhaps the company is profitable, but how much more profitable and successful could it become?  One of the key factors that people in their 20’s and 30’s look for when considering whether to join an organization is the diversity of the workforce.  In interviews I conducted in 2001, people looking for a change said that they want to work with an organization that has diversity in employees’ backgrounds, education, culture, and age.

In the reactive phase, a company has grown large enough that it may be covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and vulnerable to lawsuits based on perceived or real discrimination.  Or the company hires a Human Resources professional who’s aware that diverse organizations can be more interesting, creative places to work and pushes for change.  Or the organization pursues a government contract and discovers that it must have an Affirmative Action Plan in order to compete with other vendors.  In any event, the reason the company begins to recruit more people of color, people with disabilities, or people of different ages is reactive in nature.  The leadership isn’t convinced at this point that changes in staffing and selection practices might enhance the company’s chances of surviving and thriving.

In the proactive phase, a different dynamic begins to occur.  As a result of new ideas and perspectives, departments or teams begin to make better decisions.  Unique approaches to problem solving begin to appear throughout the company.  The leadership takes notice that these changes have occurred as a result of having a more diverse workforce.   They begin to proactively engage in activities such as establishing diverse process improvement teams or customer focus groups.  The efforts to encourage inclusion become more intentional.

The real metamorphosis begins with a company in the redefinition stage.  The leadership desires to recruit, develop, and retain the best and brightest employees regardless of age, race, gender, etc.  Towards this end, a diversity initiative becomes an integral part of the strategic planning process.  This initiative goes beyond Affirmative Action and could include orientation, career planning, communication processes, and team design.  In order to achieve the organization’s mission, vision, and key result areas (objectives), intentional goals and tactics are established that will bring in and retain the required competencies for success.  Thus begins the phase where an organization is managing diversity.  

The final, ongoing stage in the continuum is the managing phase.  This stage is very practical and behavior oriented.  In this phase, the organization seeks every day to include and leverage 100% of its employees’ talents 100% of the time.  This phase requires constant vigilance to ensure that employees communicate effectively with each other, handle conflict positively and productively, understand how their works supports the work of others within the organization, and listen to and value different perspectives and opinions.  Each company has to decide the tactics that work the best for its needs; however, practices typically encompass ongoing training and development in the areas of coaching, mentoring, conflict resolution, and teambuilding, as well as changes in systems such as compensation, communication and networking.

In the managing phase, organizations are realizing their full potential through recognizing, developing, and rewarding the potential of each individual employee.  This entails an investment in time, energy, and money – yet the return on investment in terms of growth and profitability can be extremely rewarding.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Linda at Linda@gravett.com if you have any questions or comments on this article.