Role of HR Policy in anticipating and mitigating challenges of a diverse workforce

Running Head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 1
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Running Head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Role of HR Policy in anticipating and mitigating challenges of a diverse workforce
Since workplaces have become more dynamic, the workforce has also become global, creating
workforce diversity. Workforce diversity stands for the similarities and dissimilarities among
employees with respect to gender, sexual orientation, age, background, culture, race, intellectual
abilities, physical abilities and religion. It is a feature present at every organization. It is bound to
happen because no two human beings are alike. Moreover, diversity in the workplace and even
in academia is a feature that is promoted to earn better rankings on a local and global level.
However, this diversity creates portals for several advantages and for various challenges from
discrimination, racism, favoritism, to groupies’. The term workforce diversity can ensure better
productivity but can also hinder the personal wellbeing of employees which may lessen the
productivity. Certainty in the effects of workplace diversity is difficult to assume. However, a
good HR policy can steer the developments of a workforce into fruitful outcomes (Cascio, 2015).
A good human resource department of an organization maintains the record of workforce
diversity as the biggest challenge in managing a diverse workforce is the identification of
diversity. The HR department must measure diversity by audits of not only employees but also
while recruiting (Cascio, 2015). In addition, it is also responsible for recruiting and training a
diverse workforce. These roles are known as Diversity Management and, the Human Resources
are clearly responsible for creating and maintaining a positive environment in the workplace in
which every employee feels included irrespective of other differences that may be (Shen,
Chanda, D’Netto & Monga, 2009).