Embracing Diversity
Recognizing, valuing, and leveraging the unique perspectives, experiences, and talents of every individual; promoting cross-cultural understanding, fairness and inclusion throughout the organization.
Level 1 Values individual differences and invites participation while working with others.
BEHAVIORS
- Supports fair treatment and equal opportunity for all, regardless of differences.
- Recognizes the uniqueness of individuals and the value they bring to the organization.
- Respects others’ preferences, opinions, and beliefs, which may be different from one’s own.
- Solicits input from team members that think differently from oneself.
- Reflects on own behaviors to identify personal biases in dealing with individual differences.
- Adjusts own behaviors to adapt to diverse work teams and client groups.
- Seeks opportunities to learn about the unique characteristics and qualities of other individuals.
QUESTIONS
- Describe a time when you experienced a challenge dealing with someone from a different culture or background?
Probing Questions
* What were the circumstances?
* How did you deal with the situation?
* What was the impact or the result?
* Upon reflection, could you / would you have done anything differently?
- Describe a time when you questioned how you thought about or acted with someone from a different background.
Probing Questions
* How did you adjust your behaviors?
* Why did you reconsider your own attitudes, beliefs or feelings towards the other person or people?
* What did you learn about the unique characteristics or qualities of others?
* What was the long-term impact on you?
Level 2 Leverages diversity and advocates for inclusion in a team.
BEHAVIORS
- Actively seeks and integrates diverse thoughts and perspectives in order to develop more robust plans and solutions.
- Expresses appreciation of the uniqueness of each team member.
- Builds consensus when working with diverse individuals in a team.
- Puts diverse individuals in a team to build a sense of community and facilitate new opportunities.
- Identifies differences in how team members work and learn, incorporating such considerations in managing and developing them.
- Encourages team members to challenge the status quo that undermines diversity and inclusion at work
QUESTIONS
- Describe a time when you actively sought out and built a team with a diversity of thoughts or perspectives?
Probing Questions
* Why did you do this?
* What were some of your considerations when identifying and selecting the team members?
* What did you do to encourage effective team participation and achievement of results?
* What were the results?
- Describe a time when you recognized that a team made up of people from diverse backgrounds was not working well?
Probing Questions
* What were the circumstances?
* How did you identify the problem?
* What did you do to resolve the situation?
* How did things turn out?
Level 3 Builds relationships with teams across lines of differences, contributing to diversity and inclusion in the organization.
BEHAVIORS
- Encourages teams with varied backgrounds to contribute their experiences and views in the organization’s work.
- Builds consensus in cross-functional collaborations.
- Promotes collaboration and exchange of ideas between different teams.
- Seeks to understand other teams’ expertise and work style, in order to identify opportunities for synergy.
- Builds ideas, products, and solutions based on a range of perspectives.
- Leads cross-functional initiatives/programs to address diversity and inclusion issues.
QUESTIONS
- Describe a time when you recognized that cross-team or cross-functional collaboration was being challenged due to varying perspectives or cultural differences.
Probing Questions
* What was the situation?
* How did you recognize the situation?
* What corrective measures or actions did you take?
* What impact did these have on the interactions of the teams?
- Describe a time when you took action to build consensus across different teams made up of people with varied cultures, backgrounds values or perspectives.
Probing Questions
* What were the circumstances?
* Describe some of the techniques you used to assess the situation?
* How did you go about building consensus?
* What were some of the results?
Level 4 Integrates diversity and inclusion into the organization’s strategy and culture.
BEHAVIORS
- Promotes a culture that provides organization members with a sense of belonging.
- Evaluates the organization’s processes and practices to identify systemic barriers to diversity and inclusion.
- Provides programs to foster and enrich cultural understanding and promotes cross-cultural interaction.
- Fosters a climate of inclusion, where diverse thoughts are freely shared and integrated to develop plans and solutions that are best suited to circumstances.
- Incorporates consideration of all classes, races, nationalities, cultures, disabilities, and genders into organizational policy and promotional processes
- Implement processes to resolve complaints as a result of unfair or discriminatory practices.
- Implement processes and tools (e.g., diversity lens) that enable continuous monitoring and improvement in diversity and inclusion.
QUESTIONS
- Describe a time when you undertook either a formal or informal review of the organization's procedures, practices and policies to identify systemic barriers to diversity and inclusion.
Probing Questions
* Why did you feel it was necessary to do this?
* What specific issues gave rise to your moving on this review?
* How did you go about the review?
* How did you inform or work with stakeholder groups as part of the initiative?
* What were the results of your actions?
- Tell us about a time when you developed or implemented a policy or program that supported a diverse workforce.
Probing Questions
* What was the policy or program?
* What drove the requirement for the policy or program?
* What was your involvement in the policy or program development or implementation?
* What results did your development or implementation have on the workforce?
- Provide an example of a time when you implemented a process for resolving complaints related to unfair or discriminatory practices in the workplace.
Probing Questions
* What was the driving factor(s) for implementing the process?
* How did you go about designing the process?
* What criteria or measures did you use to assess the impact / results of this process?
* What changes resulted in the implementation of the new process?
Level 5 Promotes diversity and inclusion in the community
BEHAVIORS
- Culturally educates community members /stakeholders, encouraging cross-cultural interaction, both inside and outside the organization.
- Gives public recognition for diversity and inclusion achievements.
- Ensures that the organization’s workforce reflects the diversity in the community.
- Seeks opportunities to work with other organizations to promote diversity and inclusion in the community/industry.
- Serves on committees/workforces to address diversity and inclusion issues in the community/industry.
- Explains the dynamics of cross-cultural and inclusion-related conflicts, tensions, misunderstandings, or opportunities in a community.
QUESTIONS
- Tell us about a time when you championed a diversity initiative that involved a significant change in organizational culture and its relationship with the community at large.
Probing Questions
* How would you describe the original organizational culture?
* Why was the change required?
* How did you champion the initiative?
* How did you determine if the change was successful or not?
- Describe any initiative you have personally taken to ensure that the organization’s workforce reflects the diversity of the community in which it operates.