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Our Approach — Diversity is Central

The State of North Carolina recognizes the critical role that effective diversity management plays in achieving a high-performing organization. As stated in The Roadmap to Diversity, Inclusion and High Performance, "High performance encompasses two complementary components: competent, self-motivated employees and an inclusive leadership support system. Both are necessities to ensure the effective performance of all employees."

This understanding has lead to a philosophy in the State of North Carolina that views diversity as central to the achievement of high performance, rather than a separate component that impacts the business environment but does not direct that environment.

Definition

Diversity management is a combination of programs, policies and activities that support an environment wherein employee differences are valued and integrated into each part of the organization's operations. It assists in developing and promoting culturally diverse employees to ensure that managers retain and capitalize on the ideas and skills those employees bring to the organization. Successful diversity management initiatives enhance both the performance and the cohesiveness of an organization.

Dimensions of Diversity

Primary (based on physical characteristics and personal orientations)	Secondary (based on individual beliefs, values and cultural traditions)	Functional (based on work experience)
Race	Marital status	Work background
Sex	Religious beliefs	Management status
Age	Income	Occupation
Mental and physical ability	Military experience	Organizational placement
Sexual orientation	Political affiliation	Physical work location
Ethnicity	Parental status	Organizational hierarchy
Color	Education	Leadership style
National origin	Language	Communication style
	Creed	Decision-making style

Diversity Management Objectives

The ultimate objective is for diversity to become a valued and institutionalized component of business processes in high performance organizations. To support this objective, the diversity plan works to achieve:

• Diversity at all employment levels — Achieve diversity levels that reflect the population of the State of North Carolina at all employment levels and specifically, in policy-making positions.
• Cultural awareness — Achieve a work environment that supports cultural diversity and uses the varied experiences of employees to create a high-performance organization.
• Diversity buy-in — Achieve an organizational acceptance that views diversity as a competitive advantage in terms of achieving high performance and improving problem-solving techniques.
• Performance organization — Ensure that the varied talents and experiences of all employees are contributing to and supporting the business operations of the organization.

Each objective must be qualitatively or quantitatively measured.

Diversity Management and the Employment Value Proposition (EVP)

According to the Corporate Leadership Council, an employment value proposition is the set of attributes that the labor market and employees perceive as the value they gain through employment in an organization. The benefits of achieving a successful EVP is the ability to increase an organization's attractiveness to talented job applicants and ensuring that, once hired, those applicants maintain a high level of commitment to the organization.

Attraction Drivers	Impacted by Diversity Management	Commitment Drivers	Impacted by Diversity Management
Compensation	YES	Job-Interests alignment	YES
Health benefits	YES	People management	YES
Organizational stability	YES	Respect	YES
Work-Life balance	YES	Manager quality	YES
Future career opportunities	YES	Development opportunities	YES
Respect	YES	Future career opportunities	YES
Job-Interests alignment	YES	Senior leadership reputation	YES
Location		Ethics	YES
Retirement benefits		"Great Employer" recognition	YES
Ethics	YES	Meritocracy	YES

Where to Go from Here

The diversity approach used by the State of North Carolina can be detailed in the following areas:

1. Establishment of a leadership commitment statement and
2. Implementation of diversity initiatives

It is important to begin an organizational diversity program with a commitment statement. This statement must inspire an organization to do whatever is appropriate to successfully accomplish a goal or objective. This commitment often involves a leader empowering others to feel as if their work has meaning and purpose beyond the tasks they perform each day. In the area of diversity management, this process involves not only a change in practice and policies to meet the objectives, but also a transformation of the mind-set of the organization. This is the first step in moving toward the development of an inclusive environment.

The State of North Carolina has undertaken numerous diversity management initiatives designed to support the organizational transformation outlined in our commitment statement. Each program detailed in the initiatives is designed to support diversity management, thereby achieving a high performance organization.

“The bottom-line objective of diversity is to create a high-performing organization by leveraging the capacity of the total work force.”
                 -William A. Guillory, Ph.D.