Developing a Diversity Strategy

Emerging research demonstrates that including diverse employees in leadership and strategic roles is economically beneficial for organizations—often leading to better financial and all-around performance.

Two key reasons for this are that organizations that value diversity and inclusion tend to have more creative ideas and execute better than those that do not, while those that source from the largest possible talent pool tend to attract and retain more talent than those who do not.

IEDP was delighted to welcome Professor Brooks Holtom for a webinar that unpacked this research to apply it to the crucial topic of developing an organizational diversity strategy. We learnt from extensive examples from Prof. Holtom’s consulting work around the globe—and obtained a strategic framework to increase workforce diversity in our own organizations.

Specific learning objectives for the webinar include:

A) Articulating the strategic contributions of human capital to organizational success, with a specific focus on the advantages that accrue to organizations that promote diversity.

B) Developing a strategic framework that can be applied to any organization to increase workforce diversity.

1. Authentic articulation of the current state and desired future state
2. Development of a gap analysis
3. Identification of highest priorities and opportunities for quick wins
4. Creation of a roadmap for implementation

About the Speaker: Professor Holtom’s research focuses on how organizations acquire, develop and retain human and social capital. His work has appeared in the top journals in management (Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Human Resource Management and many others). In the 2007 AACSB Report on the Impact of Business School Research, his work was specifically cited as having made an important intellectual contribution to policy or practice (along with Michael Porter of Harvard, Peter Senge of MIT and Nobel Prize winner James March). He was named the 2005 Ascendant Scholar of the Year for the Western Academy of Management and has twice received the Professor of the Year award for the Georgetown University Executive Masters of Leadership Program. He has performed research in or served as a consultant to many organizations including Booz Allen Hamilton, Capital One, Citibank, International Monetary Fund, Northwestern Mutual, the Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy, Rolls Royce, POSCO, SK Group, United States Air Force, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the World Bank.

Professor Holtom is Academic Director for MSB’s Gender Equity Executive Leadership Program in partnership with USAID.