AAEO Helps Build Diversity

Diversity Strategy Tips

	Diversity Strategy Tips (printable pdf) Feel free to contact AAEO at 503-494-5148 for assistance and more ideas on how to increase diversity and overcome underutilization.

All organizational structures within OHSU are encouraged to prepare a plan to address any underutilization of minorities, women, veterans and disabled individuals. The Affirmative Action & Equal Opportunity department (AAEO) is available to assist the OHSU community with this effort. Following are some diversity strategy tips to remedy any underutilization.

Current Utilization & Goals

Using data from the Affirmative Action Plan, identify your administrative body’s current utilization of minorities, women, veterans, and disabled individuals. Note and make goals to address any underutilization.

Preparation/Pipeline

Identify organizations and/or programs that advance opportunities for minorities, women, veterans, and/or disabled individuals that your administrative body currently supports or plans to support in the future.
Note any programs that are aimed at introducing minorities, women, veterans, and disabled individuals to the field of study or expertise in your administrative body.

Recruitment

Consider bolstering recruitment efforts to attract minorities, women, veterans and/or disabled individuals using such methods as:

Newspaper
Multilingual website
Multilingual advertising
Job fairs
Personal contacts
Special correspondence
Career counseling
Mock interviews
Mentoring

Track your progress and the effectiveness of these methods by asking yourself if these efforts attracted diverse candidates. Determine the number of diverse candidates in the pool and note whether a diverse candidate was hired.

Give attention to recruitment methods you intend to use in the future.

In employment…	In academia…
Include diversity and/or cultural competency as a desired qualification for all positions and incorporate these requirements in job descriptions.	Include diversity and/or cultural competency as admissions criteria for the admissions committee at your school. Make sure these criteria are written in your recruitment literature.
Ensure that your employment search committees are diverse.	Ensure that your enrollment admissions committee is diverse.
Invite people from outside OHSU or outside of your administrative unit to join your search committees in an effort to increase the diversity of the committees.	Invite people from outside OHSU or outside of your administrative unit to join your admission committee in an effort to increase the diversity of the committee.
Arrange for your administrative body to offer incentives, financial or otherwise, for current employees to refer minorities, women, veterans, and disabled individuals to seek employment at OHSU.	Arrange for your administrative body to offer incentives, financial or otherwise, for current students to refer minorities, women, veterans, and disabled individuals to seek admission to OHSU.
Have your administrative body identify barriers and ways to overcome barriers that prevent minorities, women, veterans, and disabled individuals from accepting employment at OHSU.	Have your administrative body identify barriers and ways to overcome barriers that prevent minorities, women, veterans, and disabled individuals from accepting admission to a school at OHSU.
Make diversity a core competency for managers in your department.
Make diversity a component of all performance evaluations in your department.
Tie an employee’s effort to increase diversity to merit increases and bonuses.
Encourage employees in supervisory or leadership roles in your department to volunteer (such as being on a Board of Directors) at organizations that serve disadvantaged populations.

Retention

Give attention to what your administrative body does to retain minorities, women, veterans and disabled individuals as either employees or students. Consider providing the following for your employees or students:

Mentor programs
Career counseling
Tuition reimbursement or scholarships
Continuing professional training
Educational career growth
Global humanitarian outreach opportunities
Community involvement opportunities
Cultural competency training
Discrimination training

In employment…	In academia…
With a view to promoting retention, require or encourage your employees to participate and volunteer time in organizations and community functions that promote opportunities for underrepresented individuals.	With a view to promoting retention, require or encourage your students to participate and volunteer time in organizations and community functions that promote opportunities for underrepresented individuals.
Potential remedies to retaining underrepresented employees may include: Flexible work schedules Transportation assistance Childcare assistance	Potential remedies to retaining underrepresented students may include: Educational support Transportation assistance Childcare assistance
Look for grant applications for studies or projects that aim at increasing opportunities for underrepresented individuals or that enhance the cultural competency of your existing workforce.

Promotion

Give attention to the efforts your administrative body undertakes to promote underrepresented individuals. Such efforts may include:

Career counseling
Mentoring
Tuition reimbursement
Scholarships
Continuing professional training
Educational career growth opportunities
Internships

Review how many minorities, women, veterans, or disabled individuals have been promoted in your administrative unit in the past year.

Remember, you can always contact AAEO for assistance and additional ideas on how to increase diversity and overcome underutilization. You may reach us at 503-494-5148.