Category Archives: News

Abstract
Although many strategies have been employed to specifically recruit and select minority employees, the selection rates for designated minority groups are often lower than those for the majority group. Minority candidates with high cultural maintenance (CM) are particularly vulnerable to cultural bias in selection procedures, a process which has proved difficult to change. This paper aims to examine whether these effects may be moderated by recruiters’ perceived diversity outcomes; whether they view diversity as beneficial or threatening to the organization’s performance. In an experimental study, participants belonging to a cultural majority group played the role of recruiters (n = 99). Their diversity perceptions were manipulated by asking them to think about, and discuss, either positive or negative outcomes of cultural diversity in the workplace. They were then asked to rate fictional profiles of minority candidates for a job opening. The results confirm that CM of minority candidates has a negative main effect on the ratings they receive in assessment procedures. However, as predicted, this effect is moderated by diversity perceptions. Recruiters who perceive individual differences in the workplace as positive and beneficial, give higher ratings to candidates who maintain their own culture. This provides a promising insight in possible ways to reduce cultural bias in selection procedures.

Reference
Hofhuis, J., Van der Zee, K.I., & Otten, S. (in press). Dealing with differences: the impact of perceived diversity outcomes on selection and assessment of minority employees. International Journal of Human Resource Management. doi: 10.1080/09585192.2015.1072100

Voor HRM-medewerkers in zorg- of welzijnsorganisaties zijn het interessante tijden. Door de aanstaande transities in de sector dienen zich veel boeiende nieuwe vraagstukken aan die om een oplossing vragen. Veel zorg- en welzijnsprofessionals zullen deel uit gaan maken van interdisciplinaire netwerken op wijkniveau, waarbij de burger centraal komt te staan. Hoe deze samenwerkingsverbanden het beste kunnen worden georganiseerd blijft tot op heden onduidelijk. Ook worstelen veel organisaties met de vraag hoe zij hun strategisch HRM-beleid kunnen aanpassen aan de nieuwe situatie.

Op basis van een exploratief onderzoek onder professionals, managers en bestuurders biedt dit artikel een overzicht van gesignaleerde spanningsvelden en thema’s waarop HRM in de nabije toekomst keuzes zal moeten maken. Dit overzicht kan houvast bieden bij de herinrichting van organisatiestructuren en -processen.

Lees verder

Ten Den, L.M., Hofhuis, J., & De Vries, S. (2015). Het roer moet om in het HRM van zorg en welzijn. Zwolle: Hogeschool Windesheim, Lectoraat Sociale Innovatie en Verscheidenheid

Abstract

Purpose
– Cultural minority employees often display higher rates of voluntary turnover than majority employees, which reduces organizations’ ability to benefit from diversity in the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to identify specific job domains which are responsible for this difference.

Design/methodology/approach
– Study 1 compares actual turnover motives of voluntarily resigned minority and majority employees, based on seven job domains. Study 2 compares satisfaction with the same domains, and the subsequent relationship with turnover intentions, of remaining employees within the same organization.

Findings
– The two studies provided consistent results, revealing that minority employees experience more negative social interactions in the workplace, and experience less opportunities for career advancement. Both factors are shown to be more predictive of turnover intentions as well as actual turnover decisions among minority employees.

Research limitations/implications
– This research makes use of a distinction between several broad job domains, two which are shown to predict turnover of minority employees. Future studies should focus on uncovering more specific factors involved in these two particular domains.

Practical implications
– Based on the results, the authors advise organizations to pay specific attention to reducing negative social interactions between cultural groups and fostering inclusion, for example, through interventions aimed at intercultural leadership and establishing a strong diversity climate. These activities may also support career advancement of minority employees, but more specific interventions aimed at equality in career perspectives could also help reduce minority turnover.

Originality/value
– This paper is the first to directly compare turnover motives and predictors of turnover intentions between majority and minority groups in the same organization.

Reference

Hofhuis, J., Van der Zee, K.I., & Otten, S. (2014). Comparing antecedents of voluntary job turnover among majority and minority employees. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, 33 (8), 735-749. doi: 10.1108/EDI-09-2013-0071

Enkele weken geleden werd ik benaderd door het Belgische HR-vakblad Peoplesphere voor een interview over culturele diversiteit op de werkvloer. Klik hier om het volledige artikel te lezen.

This summer I will teach at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing, China. I am responsible for the course on Intercultural Communication at the International Summer School 2014.

Abstract


This paper describes the development and validation of the Benefits and Threats of Diversity Scale (BTDS), an instrument which measures how employees perceive the effects of cultural diversity in the workplace. By analyzing employees’ perceptions, organizations may be able to communicate more effectively about diversity, and reduce potential diversity resistance by targeting those employees who feel most threatened by the process of diversification. First, a conceptual framework is established regarding possible positive and negative perceptions regarding cultural diversity in the workplace, based on both existing literature and qualitative data gathered in interviews. The final structure of the BTDS includes five subdimensions of benefits, and four subdimensions of threats. The internal structure, reliability and construct validity of the BTDS are established using quantitative data gathered in existing organizations. Our results also show that the respective dimensions of benefits and threats are mostly independent. This implies that individuals who perceive many benefits of diversity do not perceive less threats, or vice versa. This, in turn, suggests that individuals are not either pro or con diversity, as is often assumed in existing literature, but instead may possess a more nuanced view.



Hofhuis, J., Van der Zee, K.I., & Otten, S. (in press). Measuring Employee Perception on the Effects of Cultural Diversity at Work: Development of the Benefits and Threats of Diversity Scale. Quality & Quantity.

Sinds vorige week ben ik officieel gecertificeerd als docent hoger onderwijs (BKO), met dank aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam en het Centrum voor Nascholing.

Vanaf 1 september 2013 ben ik, naast mijn functie bij de Universiteit van Amsterdam, ook verbonden aan de Hogeschool Windesheim, waar ik als senior onderzoeker zal werken binnen het lectoraat Sociale Innovatie en Verscheidenheid.

Op www.innovatiefinwerk.nl vindt u een uitgebreide Diversiteitstoolbox in vijf delen:

• Verschil meten en doelen stellen
• Verschil toelaten
• Verschil hanteren
• Verschil waarderen
• Verschil benutten/innoveren

Op 29 oktober heb ik met succes mijn proefschrift verdedigd aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Dank aan iedereen die mij heeft gesteund bij het uitvoeren van mijn onderzoek de afgelopen jaren.