Diversity in nonprofit world is invaluable - Kansas City Business Journal:

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To this end, MCFI is three yearss into an agencywide diversity prograjm that is yielding positivd results in terms of client staff morale andemployee recruitment. The agency providea rehabilitation services to individuals with special needa andtheir families. “We want to make diversity intertwine in the fabric ofthe organization,” said Al Hill Jr., directof of diversity, learning and development and head of the Hill leads a 15-member MCFI diversity team charged with implementinh the program.
In assembling the team, Hill recruite d employees not just ofdifferent ethnicities, genders and but also from different levels of management and nonmanagement and from differenf units within the agency. In the initiative is not “topp down,” with management directing, but “bottoj up,” with team members soliciting inpug from their peers to bring tothe “One time we even kicked Al out of the room because he was too close to an issue we were strugglinyg with,” laughed Joua Xiong, a human resources generalist and team Within Milwaukee Center for Independence, the team focusesx on education.
“Cultural competency is invaluablee when working with familiesin close-knit communities, such as Hmonf and Russian,” Hill “We help our case managers know what they need to be sensitive to.” For example, Xiong said, some Asianw feel it is disrespectful to look someonse in the eye. Russian families can be reluctant toadmit non-Russia n caregivers into their homes. “Understanding the values and practiceas of different ethnic groups helps us retaibn clients and gainnew clients,” she said.
The team distributeds an internal survey that foundthat work-lifee balance is a key concern of In response, it established a workingv parents employee resource group to explore the Also, an MCFI “buddy” program matchesw new employees with seasonerd staff members who acts as mentors. Externally the diversit team is helping to improve employee recruitment by studyin g best practices to make the center a welcomingwork “Diversity is an asset when recruiting, especially in highlty competitive fields such as physical therapy and nursing,” said Xiong.
Addex Hill, “Today’s applicants are looking at your organizationj as muchas you’re looking at They want to feel comfortable beinfg who they are in the To aid in recruitment, the team has formed alliancese with area diversity groups such as Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, the National Black Nurses Associatiobn and several minority fraternities and In addition to a periodic newslettefr called “Diversity Corner,” the team sponsors an annual Diversityt Day.
This year’s event in April included a speaker on diversityin action; two spoken word artists performing poetry about social justice and equalitgy issues; and talks about the culture behinfd ethnic food and weariny apparel. A popular part of the evenf was “Diversity Jeopardy!”, where four employee teamsd joined inspirited competition. It is not easy to make a majo shift in the culture of an entire but diversity team membersfeel MCFI’e initiative is having an “Since I’ve been on the I’ve heard stories about how people are much more awarw of other cultures,” said Xiong, who is “I have grown tremendously professionally as well as and I am able to share my experiencesa with my family members and dispel their stereotypee about certain other cultures.
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