Quote of the week
“(B)uilding inclusive workplaces ensures that all employees feel included, connected, and engaged.”
— US Office of Personnel Management report
Editor’s Corner
The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released a report indicating that President Obama has had some success in making the U.S. federal government workforce more diverse.
The number of minorities has increased by 2.4% and represents 34.1% of the federal workforce.
The number of women is under half at 43.6% of the total workforce, a decline since the last reporting period of 2010-2011.
The results follow from an Executive Order the President signed in August 2011 in which he required an enterprise-wide approach to diversity in the U.S. federal government. From that, the OPM developed a Government-Wide Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan that pursues three goals: workforce diversity, workplace inclusion, and sustainability.
The Order, and the Plan, link diversity to better outcomes, arguing that such a goal is the “cornerstone of a merit-based civil service.” Of particular interest is the notion of inclusion, since if employees of diverse backgrounds do not feel welcome then engagement and productivity suffer.
Which brings one to the importance of leadership. A leader’s goal should be to ensure productivity, and one strategy is through promoting a harmonious workplace environment.
Leaders need to develop an understanding of how others respond to the office environment, appreciating that there may be different responses to the management processes of the organization and the handing out of direction, praise and criticism.
And then go out of their way to tailor their strategies accordingly.
