varied perspectives and approaches to work that members of different identity groups bring. I learned this concept, when I had the
opportunity to be the program director for a new facility. Tis director opportunity widened my perspective of managing diversity from policies and procedures to so much more. For four years, I assisted in running a
new ice arena that was part of a school (daycare to 12th grade). Te single-sheet facility was set off 1,000 feet from the road with no signage and looked like a school building. Within 20 miles from the facility, there were four other facilities (nine sheets of ice). I, along with two other individuals, accepted the management positions in the facility, excited about the challenges that we would face. We had to develop new and unique ways of marketing and programming to help our facility stand out. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., our largest
customer base was middle and high school-age children from varying backgrounds. Tey used our facility for classes during the school day and after- school programs. Tey also represented a large portion of our customer base during our skating lessons and family skates, bringing their entire family into the facility. After 5 p.m., we had a hockey association, adult hockey league and other users. When our arena opened, we knew that it had to be different. We needed to find out what our customers wanted from the facility. We needed to obtain customers by developing unique marketing initiatives, programs and events. Plus, we needed to hire the right people to grow our customer base and increase revenue.
FOCUS ON CUSTOMER BASE Typically, our workforce would not be
considered diverse, because most of our part-time staff were high school age. We shifted our focus of managing diversity to looking at our customer base. We hired people who would relate to our customers and bring creativity into the facility. Four months after our arena opened,
we developed focus groups consisting of our team members, children, parents, and teachers who use our facility. We would sit with them and ask: What can we do better? What can we stop doing? What programs do we need? We created a ISI EDGE FALL 2016
volunteer program from the focus groups to help us implement the ideas. One of the focus groups, made up of
teens and parents, created a teen skate that had special lighting, a teen DJ, teens as security, volunteers who helped with different jobs, concession specials, theme weeks and more. Te youth that developed this program took responsibility for the teen skate. Tey championed the teen skate and many other events and programs within the facility. Our teen skates went from 25 individuals to over 100 teen skaters on the ice with very little problems. Another focus group consisting of
teachers and kids came up with an after- school tutoring program. Kids could use one of our rooms to get assistance with and to complete their homework before being picked up. A parent group developed a fundraising club to help families by offsetting the cost of skating lessons, and to help all of the families attend competitions together. We also had a special preschool learn-to-skate sessions and more. When our team members didn’t like
something, we always knew. No one shied from speaking up. Our workforce loved trying new things while also having consistency. We had the amazing opportunity of trying out things that most facilities would never do. Some of the ideas worked flawlessly while others went down in flames. In the four years of being a part of
this facility, I learned many valuable leadership and business lessons. One of those lessons relates to managing diversity. Te greatest challenge in this facility was communicating effectively with our workforce. We can spend hours studying how to lead people from different ethnicities, backgrounds and age groups. While understanding these differences is important, it is more important to understand the individual. I stopped grouping people into categories and started managing the individual. Managing diversity is much more
than equality policies and procedures. Managing diversity is learning to lead and communicate effectively with each individual on your team. When we turn our focus to the individual, we can better develop their strengths to become the best that they can be. My greatest compliment was when one of my team members left the facility for a leadership job because
MANAGING DIVERSITY TIPS
1. Focus on the individual. 2. Learn to adapt your communi- cation style to the person that you are speaking with.
3. Hold regular meetings with your team to allow them to share their ideas and receive knowledge of facility programs.
4. Ask Questions - Examples:
• How do you want to be rewarded/recognized?
• What ideas do you have for our facility?
• What can you do better? • What can I do better for you?
5. Provide regular training to help your team develop and improve their skills (goal setting, communication, customer service, company policies, etc.)
6. Understand your customers and how your team contributes to your customers.
7. Be Open, Be Honest, and Have Integrity.
of what we taught him/her. Take the next step in managing diversity within your facility: learn to lead the individual while understanding the group.
As coach and founder of Cooper Performance Group, Toni Cooper is a business development coach and speaker. For over two decades,
she has provided her services all over the world. Her clients have included 22 Fortune 500 companies. She recently presented on the topic of “Managing Diversity” at the ISI/PSA Conferences & Trade Show in the spring. A certified Zig Ziglar coach and figure skating instructor, she can be reached at
info@tonicooper.com
23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40