Diversity dividends
Raj encourages employers to celebrate diversity, as they are better positioned to have:
- Full utilization of human capital
- Reduced interpersonal conflict
- Enhanced work relationships
- Shared organizational vision
- Increased commitment among diverse employees
- Greater innovation and flexibility
- Better opportunities to recruit the best talent
- Fewer discrimination lawsuits and accusations
- Lower employee turnover
- Higher productivity as employees work in unison towards common goals
Gaining ground
Diversity dividends: how employers benefit from celebrating differences
An interview with Raj Beekie, Securian Financial Group
“Together we are better.” This simple phrase speaks loudly about diversity in the workplace. Today’s workplace demographics represent multiple cultures and span as many as five generations. How can employers successfully embrace a diverse employee population?
Aware spoke with Raj Beekie, training and development consultant at Securian Financial Group, St. Paul, MN about building a foundation of acceptance and nourishing a culture of respect.
AWARE: How was Securian’s diversity perspective developed?
BEEKIE: One of Securian’s core values is respect. Our public values statement says, “We treat people with dignity, and we value diversity. Together we are better.”
We strive to present diversity as:
- Growth oriented rather than deficient
- Inclusive rather than exclusive
- Productivity-driven instead of legally driven
- Proactive rather than reactive
- Voluntary versus involuntary
- Based up on “us” rather than “we-they” and
- Focused on “self” rather than “other.”
AWARE: How does this definition translate to the workplace?
BEEKIE: We advocate dialogue rather than confrontation. In our training there is no specific set of skills in how to deal with various racial and ethnic groups. Instead, we teach a cultural approach that acknowledges diversity is both content and process, and deals with diversity as an art as well as a skill.
AWARE: How has this cultural approach been developed?
BEEKIE: A working definition of “culture” is an important first step. At Securian, we define culture as “the symbols, institutions, laws, customs, arts, beliefs, values, assumptions and transmitted behavior patterns of a community or population.” Culture is an embodiment of all our experiences. It is affected by a myriad of variables such as educational attainment, economic class, religion, ethnicity, geographic location, sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination.
AWARE: How does the cultural approach affect how employees view one another?
BEEKIE: Using a cultural perspective, no individual or group is stereotyped because of visible identities, such as race or gender. Employees are encouraged to treat people as individuals, while at the same time they are challenged to be aware that the person with whom they are interacting with may have experienced racism or sexism in the past. People need to be treated as individuals, while recognizing they are also members of groups with shared experiences, such as gender, generation, ethnicity, and so on. This is the paradox of diversity.
AWARE: Describe your diversity training and how it serves as an extension of the company’s approach to diversity.
BEEKIE: Beyond our mission statement, we have developed three diversity workshops. One full day workshop explores the broad scope of diversity. Two half day workshops focus on racial awareness and racism in society, and on gender bias, sexism and sexual harassment in society. Supervisors are required to take the comprehensive diversity course as part of their supervisory series training, and all employees are made aware of the available courses through our employee website.
AWARE: How do participants benefit from diversity workshops?
BEEKIE: Participants gain an understanding of our company’s broad perspective of diversity, our future plans related to diversity, and why addressing this issue is a business necessity. Participants will also gain a greater understanding of their own cultural makeup, discover the similarities and differences in others and learn how misunderstandings occur across cultures. We always let participants have the opportunity to shape the content of the class: participants identify issues of diversity that they would like to personally address by sharing two expectations and two questions at the beginning of each class.
AWARE: How does your inclusive perspective shape company policy and progress?
BEEKIE: Securian continues to emphasize the hiring, development, promotion and retention of women, people of color and people with disabilities. While focusing on broad diversity and promoting its value throughout the organization we also take care to address specific issues such as racism, sexism or sexual harassment. As a result, our hiring rate for people of color and for females is consistently above market availability. As a complement to explicit diversity programs, we offer a variety of employee assistance programs, flexible scheduling opportunities and child and elder care leaves. We also support employee time and participation in minority associations and related volunteer opportunities.
AWARE: How can employers foster a culture of diversity?
BEEKIE: It’s simple – honor each other. It’s about preserving human dignity. By respecting one another, all people can function more effectively and be given opportunities to excel. Education is also key; as our workplaces become more diverse, the need for diversity training continues to grow. Diversity statements and workshops are more than good public relations and good rhetoric. They are the right thing to do. When diversity is celebrated, employers enjoy a stronger workforce with employees who will continue to grow, personally and professionally.
Born and raised in Guyana, South America, Raj Beekie graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota with majors in Business Administration and Organizational Communication and a minor in Spanish. He has a master’s degree from North Dakota State University in Intercultural Communications with an emphasis in Counseling and has earned a doctorate in Organization Development at the University of St. Thomas. Raj is currently employed as a consultant for Securian Financial Group and also serves as adjunct faculty for Hamline University. Raj’s areas of interest include organization development, leadership development, emotional intelligence and diversity education. To learn more, feel free to contact Raj Beekie by email at raj.beekie@securian.com or by phone at 651-665-7812.
