Organizational culture is described as the “shared values, beliefs, and assumptions about how people should behave and interact, how decisions should be made, and how work activities should be carried out” (Managers.org.uk). Easily said, organizational culture is how a place of work operates, both the explicit and implicit rules. Companies often have rules about office conduct, but there are also norms that are followed that higher ups in the company might not even be aware of.
Blog By Estelle Bah
PMG Intern
I’m sure most of you have heard the term “boy’s club” when describing a workplace environment where the majority of employees are men. The “rules” these employees have made amongst themselves about how day to day operations run are norms, not policy. This does not just occur in male dominated fields, but also in fields dominated by a certain race: often white. That is why minority employees often feel left out or isolated from their coworkers, which is why minority employee turnover is often higher (Avery).
Although this is not the company’s intent when hiring diverse employees, it is their responsibility to guarantee all of their employees are flourishing. One of the best ways to ensure this is by establishing a mentorship program. This allows new hires to have someone to talk to and be more comfortable in new surroundings. Implementing a mentorship program increases retention rates of minority employees anywhere from 15-38% (Conboy & Kelly).
As if being more equitable was not enough, having a more diverse workforce also promotes more innovative thinking and problem-solving techniques (Bond) and contributes to generating different potential solutions when confronting a problem (Ayers). Such an easy solution can make such a huge difference in the lives of your minority employees.
https://www.managers.org.uk/~/media/Files/PDF/Checklists/CHK-232-Understanding-organisational-culture.pdf
Avery, D. R. Does Diversity Reduce Employee Turnover? Gethppy. https://gethppy.com/employee-turnover/diversity-reduce-employee-turnover
Boisnier, A. D. (2009). Meg A. Bond: Workplace Chemistry: Promoting Diversity through Organizational Change. Administrative Science Quarterly, 54(2), 337-340. doi:10.2189/asqu.2009.54.2.337
Conboy, K., & Kelly, C. (2016). What Evidence is There that Mentoring Works to Retain and Promote Employees, Especially Diverse Employees, Within a Single Company? Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1120&context=student
