DC Velocity - August 2009

population carries a lot of endemic performance and productivity baggage. For example, how much time and effort will be required to re-tune pace and sense of urgency for a worker who grew up in an agricultural village with a radically different culture and belief set? How will other, more traditional workers respond to how the newcomers are permitted to behave?

The debate gets livelier when religious practices, which may have little or no room for negotiation, get in the way of daily—or seasonal—peak volume processing or break schedules. What happens when employees have to stop work and go off to a room to pray a few times a day? And what can be done when the immigrants’ traditional garb presents safety hazards in the presence of machinery?

Facing difficult possibilities

Finally, it’s time for some straight talk. There have been African-Americans in our profession who, with extraordinary talent and effort, have climbed the mountain and reached the top—but not enough. We see people of color in operational and line supervision roles seamlessly integrated into the whole—but not enough. Our workshops are showing a growing racial diversity in their makeup—but not enough. Good things have been happening in this arena—but not enough.

It strikes us that an untapped alternative labor source might be found among the under- and unemployed in our cities. Some might argue that disconnects in attitudes and expectations, in skills and readiness, are more of a class issue than a race issue. Maybe so, but it seems to disproportionately affect minority communities. Corporations and community groups might need to work in concert to prepare future workers, to train candidates in operational processes, and to beef up capabilities in reading, mathematics, and technology application.

It is critical for all levels of supervision and management to understand how delicate and sensitive, how complex and daunting, it can be to effectively deal with these issues. Whatever we wind up doing to assimilate, accommodate, or acclimate non-traditional work forces, respect for origins, heritage, and potential must be both sincere and consistent.

But the effort may well be worth it and may even be mandatory if an adequate work force is to be built at all. Yet it’s a little like outsourcing to China. It can’t be a snap decision, and a lot of focused investigation is required to figure out what’s really involved, and what the real costs, benefits, and risks are. ;

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