Diversity in nonprofit world is invaluable - bizjournals:

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To this end, MCFI is thre years into an agencywide diversity program that is yielding positiv results in terms ofclient satisfaction, staff morale and employeew recruitment. The agency provides rehabilitation serviced to individuals with special needsw andtheir families. “We want to make diversitg intertwined in the fabric ofthe organization,” said Al Hill Jr., directofr of diversity, learning and development and head of the Hill leads a 15-member MCFI diversity team charged with implementing the In assembling the team, Hill recruitesd employees not just of different ethnicities, genderx and ages, but also from different levels of managemeny and nonmanagement and from different units within the agency.
In addition, the initiative is not “top down,” with management directing, but “bottoj up,” with team memberxs soliciting input from their peer to bring tothe team. “One time we even kickede Al out of the room becausew he was too close to an issu e we werestruggling with,” laughed Joua Xiong, a human resourced generalist and team member. Within Milwaukee Center for Independence, the team focuseas on education. “Cultural competencyy is invaluable when working with familiesin close-knit such as Hmong and Russian,” Hill said. “Wd help our case managers know what they need to besensitivw to.
” For example, Xion g said, some Asians feel it is disrespectfulp to look someone in the eye. Russia families can be reluctant toadmit non-Russian caregivers into theirr homes. “Understanding the values and practices of differentf ethnic groups helps us retain clients and gain new she said. The team distributed an internal surveuy that foundthat work-life balance is a key concern of In response, it established a workiny parents employee resource group to explorse the issue.
Also, an MCFI program matches new employees with seasoned staff members who acts as Externally the diversity team is helpingb to improve employee recruitment by studying best practices to make the cented a welcomingwork environment. “Diversity is an assey when recruiting, especially in highly competitive fields such as physicall therapyand nursing,” said Xiong. Added Hill, “Today’s applicants are lookingy at your organization as muchas you’re lookinh at them.
They want to feel comfortable being who they are in the To aidin recruitment, the team has formed alliance s with area diversity groups such as Hispanic Professionales of Greater Milwaukee, the National Black Nurses Association and severa minority fraternities and sororities. In addition to a periodic newsletter called “Diversity Corner,” the team sponsor an annual Diversity Day. This year’s event in Aprip included a speaker on diversity in two spoken word artists performing poetry about social justicr andequality issues; and talksz about the culture behind ethnic food and wearinb apparel. A popular part of the event was “Diversitg Jeopardy!
”, where four employee teams joined inspirited competition. It is not easy to make a majoe shift in the culture of an entire but diversity team membersfeel MCFI’s initiative is havinv an impact. “Since I’ve been on the I’ve heard stories about how peopl are much more aware of other said Xiong, who is Hmong. “oI have grown tremendously professionally as well as and I am able to shars my experiences with my family members and dispel theird stereotypes about certainother cultures.
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