PSY FPX 6740 Assessment 2 Values and Diversity

Student Name

Capella University

PSY FPX 6740 Industrial/Organizational Psychology Practices in Personnel and Human Resource Management

Prof. Name:

Date

Values and Diversity

Introduction

Homegrown began as a single store in a medium-sized city with six employees. Despite challenges faced by many businesses during the COVID pandemic, Homegrown has managed to sustain and expand its operations by focusing on the local community and launching online sales. As the company grows, leadership recognizes the significance of employees feeling they contribute meaningfully to the community (Donohue et al., 2009). Homegrown is committed to representing all facets of the community through a focus on diversity and inclusion as it continues to expand.

Homegrown’s Mission Statement

At Homegrown, our employees are considered our greatest asset. Our culture and business representation are shaped by the unique differences, knowledge, and talents of our employees. We value and encourage the diversity among our employees, which includes differences in age, race, family status, marital status, language, gender identity, and physical and mental abilities.

Diversity Program

Homegrown is currently developing its diversity program. The company aims to ensure its hiring process does not create barriers to employment. It is important for the community to see its representation in both physical and online store products. To support local communities where stores are established, Homegrown has initiated a program to promote franchise ownership among local members.

Initially, Homegrown provided a venue for local partners to sell small business products such as soaps, lotions, and salsa. Maintaining these values in every new community is essential. To aid minority business owners, Homegrown has introduced an incentive program to reduce commissions on sales from these groups for the first year, supporting their growth and supply needs. Additionally, these products will be highlighted in the online store for a week, including a business owner biography and their entrepreneurial journey.

Homegrown is also focused on diversity in its hiring practices and has engaged consultants to design a selection process ensuring diversity and inclusiveness in job interviews.

Hiring Practices

Targeted recruitment is an effective method for identifying applicants whose values align with those of the company (Casper et al., 2013). Homegrown is proactively addressing inclusion by integrating diversity programs that go beyond race and gender (Casper et al., 2013). The company is revising its applicant screening methods to mitigate unconscious bias in the hiring process.

To reduce unconscious bias, the company has redesigned its resume review process to eliminate identifying information, focusing instead on applicants’ qualities rather than gender or nationality. Structured interviews, where all candidates are asked the same questions, are being implemented to minimize biases (Knight, 2019). This approach ensures each applicant has an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and experience.

Homegrown has also used various personality tests during the selection process to enhance diversity. However, personality testing may inadvertently create the perception that only certain traits are valued (Bozarth, 2019). Although common, these tests may not be the best way to attract diverse talent. Many HR professionals still consider cognitive and personality tests practical due to time constraints in understanding complex findings (Martin, 2014). Consequently, Homegrown needs to reassess its use of personality tests and broaden its understanding of how these tests might contribute to bias in the hiring process (Martin, 2014).

Diversity Program

An effective diverse workplace should build teams with varied backgrounds, ages, genders, and sexual orientations, focusing on the individual’s contributions to the company and position. Research indicates that updating job posting language to appeal to underrepresented groups without deterring others can enhance diversity (Flory et al., 2021). Businesses that publicly value diversity in their employees often see an increase in the applicant pool (Flory et al., 2021).

Homegrown does not yet have a formal diversity program. Previously, as a smaller organization, they celebrated cultural events such as Native American Day and Hispanic Day, encouraging employees to share their cultural backgrounds. However, there is no research-based program in place. Homegrown also lacks a system to measure the effectiveness of diversity initiatives. As the company develops its recruitment strategy, it should consider employee feedback on diversity efforts and inclusiveness (Knouse, 2009). Effective diversity initiatives contribute to positive employee attitudes and job satisfaction (McKay et al., 2007).

Measuring Diversity

While there are many resources on increasing workplace diversity, methods for measuring its effectiveness are less developed. Executives need to understand whether their investment in diversity programs yields the desired results. It is recommended that Homegrown engage an industrial-organizational (I-O) psychologist to collaborate with HR in developing their diversity program. The Reaction-to-Diversity (R-T-D) Inventory can be used to measure program outcomes, offering a quantifiable assessment of employees’ attitudes and perceptions regarding diversity (De Meuse et al., 2001). This inventory is non-threatening and facilitates understanding and learning about diverse views on workplace diversity (De Meuse et al., 2001).

The R-T-D Inventory should be administered before and after diversity training to assess its impact. Analyzing the results can provide insights for designing and implementing more effective and tailored programs (De Meuse et al., 2001). It is important for the measurement tool to be easy to administer and accessible to all reading levels. The R-T-D Inventory, with its one-page format and ten-minute completion time, meets these criteria (De Meuse et al., 2001).

Conclusion

Homegrown, a small business expanding across multiple states and cities, recognizes the importance of integrating diversity into its operations from the outset. Engaging an I-O psychologist will assist their HR department in identifying research-based practices to attract diverse candidates, implement effective diversity initiatives, and improve retention.

References

Bozarth, J. (2019). Personality inventories: Fiction, fact, future. Research library | The Learning Guild. Retrieved October 22, 2022, from https://www.learningguild.com/insights/240/personality-inventories-fiction-fact-future/

Casper, W. J., Wayne, J. H., & Manegold, J. G. (2013). Who will we recruit? Targeting deep- and surface-level diversity with human resource policy advertising. Human Resource Management, 52(3), 311-332. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21530

De Meuse, K. P., & Hostager, T. J. (2001). Developing an instrument for measuring attitudes toward and perceptions of workplace diversity: An initial report. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 12(1), 33-51. http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fdeveloping-instrument-measuring-attitudes-toward%2Fdocview%2F234904642%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965

Ferdman, B. M. (2013). Toward enhancing industrial and organizational psychology’s contributions to diversity and inclusion practice. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6(3), 237-242. https://doi.org/10.1111/iops.12041

Flory, J. A., Leibbrandt, A., Rott, C., & Stoddard, O. (2021). Increasing workplace diversity: Evidence from a recruiting experiment at a Fortune 500 company. Journal of Human Resources, 56(1), 73-102. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.56.1.0518-9489R1

Hoever, I. J., van Knippenberg, D., van Ginkel, W. P., & Barkema, H. G. (2012). Fostering team creativity: Perspective taking as key to unlocking diversity’s potential. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(5), 982-996. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029159