5 ways Hong Kong firms can attract and retain a diverse talent

Work places have become more diverse than ever, as employees push back their retirement and companies look to foreign talent to fill skills shortages. These vast generational and cultural differences present a new set of challenges to leadership.

Successful companies must now be in tune with different age and cultural groups, and be able to not only attract, but also retain their very diverse talent.

I've compiled a few examples of how companies can shift their leadership techniques to suit the evolving demographics of their employees.

1. Varied Communication Styles

People from different age groups and cultural backgrounds prefer different communication styles. For instance, the Asian culture is very much based around politeness and respect, and employees are less likely to provide criticism – albeit constructive – which is very different to workplaces in Western cultures, where conversations tend to be more straightforward and employees more willing to voice their opinions.

Employers need to be creating an environment that will encourage all cultures, ages and genders to communicate. When looking for staff feedback, consider holding an open town hall discussion, as well as devising a system for anonymous feedback online and through a feedback “post box”.

Leaders need to remember that employees of different ages also share and consume information differently.

The youngest generation makes use of lots of different media for communication – mobile, video and social media – while the older generation grew up with the memo and like it more. It’s about communicating the same message in several ways – such as presenting your company memo as a hard copy newsletter as well as a YouTube video.

Any corporate communications imagery should also be reflective of staff in the workplace and presented in innovate ways, covering a similar age and cultural demographic, and instructions around the office should be printed and read in all the languages used in the office.

2. Embrace Diversity

Embracing different cultures at work is more than lip service, and your staff will know if you aren’t walking the talk. Technology giant Google has put in place 18 employee resource groups, such as Women@google and the Black Googler Network, in support of diversity and the inclusion of different cultures at the workplace. These networks of employees participate in various activities such as education outreach and social events, which contribute to the understanding of different groups in the workplace.

Internal initiatives that promote cultural differences such as Google’s add to a sense of inclusion and belonging and Karin suggests simple moves such as ensuring that any food served is acceptable for all cultures (i.e. halal or vegetarian options), that there are prayer rooms for Muslim staff, and that there are rooms for women to express milk if they need to.

Consider the diversity in your workplace and tailor initiatives and practices that are practical for your employees, making sure that no one feels side-lined or forgotten just because they are part of the minority.

3. Flexibility in Leadership

Great leaders don’t lead the same way with every employee. And now, more than ever, leaders need to be careful not to alienate different groups within their staff by making use of methods that are best suited for their employees.

Companies need to be training their leaders in a variety of techniques – such as encouraging the younger generation to assist the older generations in the latest technological trends and making sure there is an accurate cross-section of their staff’s demographic present in decision making, brainstorming and feedback sessions.

4. Respect Competence and Initiative

As good leaders know, the best ideas aren’t always generated from the top.

Companies not only need to encourage talent at all levels to innovate and be a part of the company’s achievements, but they also need to listen to what the many different groups within the company are saying.

Lay’s chips didn’t gain any traction in South America until it asked the Hispanic people within its own company what they thought of the original product – turns out the chips weren’t spicy enough. Adding spice to their product, Lay’s is one of the most successful brands in South America.

The best people who can tell you what the market wants are usually within your company, so take a minute to listen to what they have to say and encourage employees to share their ideas.

5. Retention Not Attraction

Leaders and recruiters often focus on finding talent – and it’s definitely crucial – but what they really need to be doing is making sure they’re retaining the right talent.

Fundamentally, measuring attraction is the wrong thing – if you’re losing all your staff, something’s wrong.

In today’s workplace, diversity is seen as a "norm" and is expected, but the reality is that many organisations still struggle with successfully implementing measures, which foster and encourage workplace diversity.

Each company should be canvassing the groups it retains and loses to understand their motivations behind staying and leaving, and then use that information to build unique strategies around retaining diversity.

Regardless of culture or age, a universal principle stands true in the workplace – when people are engaged and happy, they are more productive and committed to the well-being of the organisation. It pays to create an inclusive workplace and the results will be well worth the efforts.