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York businesses participate in diversity program By Susan J. Burlingame
During the Multicultural Issues in the Workforce conference at Penn State York, participants worked in small groups to develop a list of compelling issues and solutions related to creating a welcoming environment for a multicultural workforce. Their deliberations resulted in four key action steps that York area employers can take to create such environments.	York, Pennsylvania, is a city of approximately 42,000 people. According to the 1990 census, more than 27 percent of its residents are from the African-American, Latino and Asian communities. As time goes by, the population — and the workforce — is becoming more and more diverse, yet many area companies are not prepared to make their places of business welcoming and productive environments for a multicultural workforce. The good news is that local businesses see the need to learn, to open their minds, to develop welcoming policies and to train their employees to understand the dynamics associated with a multicultural environment.   A genuine concern about this local issue led to a collaboration between Penn State York, the York Daily Record newspaper and the Crispus Attucks Association. Dr. Donald A. Gogniat, campus executive officer of Penn State York, met with his community colleagues to develop a conference that would offer local businesses an opportunity to discuss multicultural workforce issues.   “The only place you are going to get workers is from the inner city,” said Gogniat, pointing out that understanding the dynamics associated with a multicultural environment in its workplace will be essential. “Businesses need to talk over what it means to have a welcoming environment.”   Gogniat, along with Michael Jefferson, director of employment and training from the Crispus Attucks Association, and Dennis Hetzel, editor and publisher of the York Daily Record, began to plan a free event that would bring businesses together to develop a set of best practices companies could use to improve their environments. The York Daily Record provided funding for lunch, and other area organizations became involved, including the York Spanish American Center, the York County Chamber of Commerce, the York Society of Human Resource Managers, the York Area Labor Management Council and the Manufacturers Association of South Central Pennsylvania.   Saying he “jumped at the idea” of helping develop the conference, Hetzel wrote an editorial prior to the event.   “My practical definition of ‘affirmative action,’” he wrote, “is making extra efforts to see that the people you hire come from diverse backgrounds and that people from many different backgrounds see your workplace as a welcoming environment. ‘You’ need ‘them,’ maybe more than ‘they’ need ‘you.’”   Multicultural Issues in the Workplace was held at the Penn State York Conference Center. More than 160 people attended from more than 80 companies in and around the city of York. Profit-making and not-for-profit organizations were represented, as were government agencies, manufacturing companies, health care organizations, human service organizations and schools.   The program consisted of two panel discussions, the first of which included four businesses sharing issues and procedures related to diversity already in place at their companies. The other panel discussion included participants from inner-city training programs who explained the challenges they have faced in the workplace. Both sessions were used to inspire participants, who then gathered in eight small groups to develop a list of key issues and actions needed for creating a welcoming multicultural environment in the workplace.   “We wanted to listen to the panels to talk over what we know and what we’ve heard,” Gogniat said. “We wanted to answer the questions: What are the best practices? What are the four most important things you should be doing?”   Each small group presented its top issues and actions after meeting to brainstorm and prioritize. The groups came up with items such as the need for businesses to hold people accountable for inappropriate behavior, to be proactive in the community, to take what they have learned to their own homes and to create a network in the business community for keeping dialogue alive. In all, about 20 different issues emerged from the groups.   Finally, the list was narrowed down by consensus to four key actions for creating a welcoming environment in the workplace: to train management and associates on acceptance of others. to promote open and honest communication within the company between employers and employees. to create a mentoring and shadowing program. to establish a commitment from top management to promote and support diversity and equal opportunity as a core value of the organization.   “It makes sense from a business standpoint to have a diverse workforce,” said Hetzel of the York Daily Record, adding that he believes the 2000 census will show increasing numbers not only of multicultural employees, but customers, as well. “It’s significant to not have everybody in your workforce be people just like you.” The York Daily Record sent three representatives to the conference, as well as a reporter to cover the conference for the newspaper.   The Crispus Attucks Association is a community-based organization in York that works to improve the lives of economically and socially challenged individuals. It has 10 distinct programs to fulfill its mission, which include day care programs, employment and training, housing and youth-at-risk residential facilities, among others.   Jefferson heads the employment and training program. He said he was pleased to be a part of the Multicultural Issues in the Workplace conference. He presented information on the association’s People Learning and Understanding Self-Sufficiency (PLUS) program during one of the panel sessions.   “We feel it’s important to do work within our community,” Jefferson said, “but we need to take that mission out into the surrounding community to promote tolerance.” Penn State and the Crispus Attucks Association are part of a group called Partners in Education (PIE). “Because Penn State and Crispus Attucks have such a presence in the community, we worked together to build this conference,” he said.   Jefferson added that he appreciates “a local institution like Penn State York and the commitment they have to improve the community around the school. Penn State York has taken on the mandate that says we’re only as strong as the community that surrounds us.”   At the conference’s conclusion, each participant received a certificate affirming his or her commitment to creating a welcoming multicultural environment. The four key recommendations were printed on each certificate.   “I thought it was a very powerful day, an important day,” Hetzel said. “This is a subject where there’s always more you can do, always stereotypes that can be debunked. I was really glad to be associated with the project.”   Jefferson too agreed the day was a success, but felt there is still more to do. “If you take what we were trying to do, what we were able to do, the discussions and the breakout groups, it was a great day. But like anything else, it has to have some follow-up or another piece to it.” Jefferson would like to have seen more chief executive officers and top management officials in attendance. “The policy-making level needs to be included.”   Will there be another conference? According to Gogniat, several possibilities are being discussed, including developing another similar program focusing on the Latino population, offering diversity training programs to businesses or holding another conference for top management officials.   “I was very, very happy with the conference,” Gogniat said. “With 166 people and a tough subject, I was thrilled with how it all turned out.”