Diversity Toolkit for Business

Our community is changing at a rapid pace—and the reality is these changes will hold both challenges and opportunities. Your response can mean the difference between merely surviving the changes or thriving in the new marketplace.

Your success depends on understanding your customers. That’s why investing in understanding diversity is so important. The Diversity Toolkit for Business is an online resource that puts the information you need to succeed at your fingertips.

Section 1: The Business Case for Investing in Diversity

This management primer includes essential data on how diversity initiatives offer long-term return on investment in order to:

• Increase market share in growing segments;
• Attract and retain the most talented and productive workforce; and
• Create an atmosphere of respect and inclusion among employees

This section clearly summarizes the data on customer and employee demographics for four specific industries as well as for business in general, and outlines the challenges and opportunities that our increasing diversity will bring.

Section 2: Training Tools

These training activities are brief enough to incorporate in a staff meeting, flexible enough to use in large and small groups, and easy to use with clear objectives and instructions to guide the user.

Section 3: Ready Resources

This collection of brief reference guides provides you with information at your fingertips on topics such as unbiased interviewing, reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, Somali culture, communicating with non-native English speakers, recruiting a diverse workforce, and much more. We also provide you with links to a variety of online resources for more information.

Section 4: Training Opportunities

This section outlines Diversity Council workshops that are available for in-depth training on issues relating to race, language, white privilege, immigration, the business case for diversity, cultural proficiency, and more.

FREE PREVIEW

The Diversity Toolkit for Business is provided at no cost for corporate members at the Sponsor level and above ($500 or more). Nonmembers may purchase the toolkit for $250. For more information, contact Kami Jordan at 507-282-9951 or info@diversitycouncil.org.

THE MARKET OF TOMORROW IS NOT THE MARKET OF TODAY

Minority buying power in Minnesota will increase 50-100% between 2002-2007. (Selig Center for Economic Growth)

Students in Rochester schools now speak more than 50 different languages. (Rochester Public Schools)

In the next 25 years, jobs in our community will grow by 41%, but our pool of workers will only grow by 20%. (Rochester Olmsted Planning Department).

In the next 25 years, 40,000 additional people will move to Olmsted County. 57% will be people of color. (Rochester Olmsted Planning Department)

1130 1/2 7th St NW, Suite 204 , Rochester, MN 55901 · Tel: 507.282.9951 · Fax: 507.282.9964 · info@diversitycouncil.org

Diversity...It's all about respect.