1. Chapter 9 Managing diversity and work–life balance
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

2. Managing diversity and work–life balance
Objectives
Describe the differences between diversity management and equal employment opportunity (EEO).
Discuss the role of managing diversity for organisational performance.
Identify the initiatives that can be used to manage diversity.
(cont.)
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

3. Managing diversity and work-life balance (cont.)
Objectives
Identify the challenges facing the development and implementation of initiatives designed to manage diversity.
Describe the key features of the work–life balance program.
Identify the costs and benefits of implementing policies that assist employees to manage their work and non-work.
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

4. Diversity management (or managing diversity)
A process of managing people’s similarities and differences: it is built on a set of values that recognises that the differences between people are a potential strength for the organisation; this process of management creates an environment that allows all employees to contribute to organisational goals and experience personal growth.
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

5. Equal employment opportunity (EEO)
The government’s attempt to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity for employment, regardless of characteristics such as race, religion, sex or national origin.
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

6. Figure 9.1 Model of diversity management
Source: Adapted from Robin Kramar, 2002, ‘Equity and diversity’, in Julian Teicher, Peter Holland and Richard Gough (eds), Employee Relations Management: Australia in a Global Context, Pearson Education, Melbourne.
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

7. Diversity management and improving organisational performance
Business case
Competitive advantage
Managing change
Ideological reasons
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

8. Initiatives to manage diversity
Strategic initiatives
Managerial initiatives
Operational initiatives
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

9. Challenges associated with managing diversity
Concept of diversity
Implementation of techniques to manage diversity
Diversity enlargement
Diversity sensitivity through training
Cultural audits
Advisory panels
Demonstrating improvements
Building a business case
(cont.)
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

10. Challenges associated with managing diversity (continued)
Managing contradictory evidence
Inexperience with the process
Communication and decision making
Attitudinal issues
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

11. Work–life balance
An employee’s ability to access employment opportunities and earn adequate income while at the same time attending to the caring responsibilities of family life.
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

12. Work–life balance programs
Key features of a work-life balance program
Promotes a work environment that encourages employees to achieve work–life balance.
Leave arrangements that enable employees to have flexibility to handle family, personal and community matters.
Recognises the impact of the needs of other family members and dependents on work-life balance.
(cont.)
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

13. Work–life balance programs (cont.)
Enables employees’ flexibility in their career choices and options.
Acknowledges the interaction between work, family and other life interests and enables tensions around this conflict to be discussed and managed.
Recognises that different employees will have different needs associated with maintaining work–life balance.
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

14. ‘Family-friendly’ programs
The most widely used policies in Australia are:
Flexible hours
Part-time work
Job sharing
Telecommuting or working from home
Sick leave used for family commitments
Employee assistance programs
Relocation services
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

15. Benefits of work–life balance programs
Improved employee morale and job satisfaction
Increased attraction and retention of desirable staff
Improved customer service and satisfaction
Increased employee commitment to the organisation
Increased productivity
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

16. Costs of work-life balance programs
Discomfort associated with changing the organisation’s culture
Employees and managers need to learn additional communication and decision-making skills
Possible increased conflict between groups
Time involved in researching and writing revised human resource policies
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

17. Directions in diversity management
The primary focus has been on two aspects of diversity
Race
Sex
family status
Initiatives aim to:
Attract and retain women
Facilitate work–life balance
Manage cultural diversity
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.

18. Important influences on the future of diversity management
Changing nature of the workforce
Changing employment relationships
Pressure to ‘add value’
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19. Summary
Increasing attention will be paid to managing workforce diversity and different employment relationships.
Managers will need to understand diversity and its impact on the policies used to manage the similarities and differences in their organisation.
Managers will also need to demonstrate the value of diversity management initiatives to the organisation, and be able to build a business case for the initiatives.
Copyright  2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia 3e by De Cieri et al.