The Certificate in HR Management is excellent for those individuals who want to enhance their HR skills and prepare for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) certification exam. The 100% online program offers a comprehensive and engaging learning experience, designed to help you become an HR expert. You will have the opportunity to connect with HR professionals, attend live class sessions, and watch online lectures from subject matter experts. You’ll gain valuable knowledge in HR-related topics such as talent acquisition, compensation, benefits, and HR compliance. By the end of the program, you’ll have the confidence and skills to be on your way to a successful career in HR. Join Villanova’s program today and take the first step to advancing your career potential in the dynamic field of human resource management.  

That’s a mistake. Diversity and inclusion are both factors in the ongoing effort to make the workplace welcoming to an ever-more diverse group of professionals. They define two related but different actions.

In the workplace, diversity means that a team or office features representatives from a number of demographics. Inclusion means making that diverse group function as a team that produces positive outcomes and all the members of which treat others with respect and dignity.

“Diversity is the mix of individuals. Inclusion is how to make that mix work,” said Jameel Rush, PHR, SHRM-CP, President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Rush also is Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at The Philadelphia Inquirer, and an adjunct professor of human resource development at Villanova University, where he teaches Diversity in a Global Economy.

“Adding diversity to a team isn’t what drives better outcomes,” Rush said. “It’s adding diversity and making sure you can leverage different points of views and different perspectives to work toward a stronger solution.”

Research Shows Positive Impact

There is evidence to back up Rush’s statement. “Why Diversity Matters,” a report prepared by management consultants McKinsey & Company, found that companies in the top 25% for gender or racial and ethnic diversity were more likely to have financial returns greater than the national industry median.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Global Diversity and Inclusion survey, 87% of global business respondents say diversity and inclusion is an organizational priority.

There is a “ton of research … that shows that organizations that have gotten diversity and inclusion right outperform their peers on the Fortune 500,” Rush said.

Not every organization gets diversity and inclusion right, however.

The ‘We Got One’ Phenomenon

What Quinetta Roberson, PhD, calls “the ‘We got one’ phenomenon” is an example of diversity without inclusion or, in Roberson’s words, “diversity for the sake of diversity.”   

Dr. Roberson, a former Professor of Management at Villanova now with Michigan State University, was a guest on HR Tea, a human resources-themed podcast on Villanova’s HRD Corner Blog hosted by Bethany Adams, MA, SHRM-SCP, Associate Director of Villanova’s Graduate Programs in Human Resource Development.

Dr. Roberson described a scenario where an organization promotes or hires a person of color for a C-suite position primarily for the optics.

It’s “getting the representation, getting the person that they can now say to the news outlets, ‘We have a COO who’s a person of color,” Dr. Roberson said on the podcast.

The person’s “unique perspective, expertise and resources weren’t being used. They were just there warming a seat at the board table,” she continued.

Dr. Roberson’s observations came from a study she conducted that discovered a decrease in performance at organizations with higher levels of racial diversity in leadership. She found that, eventually, the trend reverses and performance starts to improve. Dr. Roberson believes that this occurs when the executive hired for being part of a group begins to integrate his or her unique resources into the board or leadership team.

In some organizations, belief in negative stereotypes about groups of people can just about eliminate those employees’ chances for promotion and recognition.

Categories Are Easy — and Dangerous

A lecture for the Villanova HRD course “Diversity in a Global Economy,” discusses the brain’s use of categories. Categories allow the brain to recognize that, for example, two different objects both are chairs, even if they look very different from each other. This prevents us from having to encounter objects as brand-new things. It’s a system that works well for objects, far less well for people.

According to the course, exposure to stereotypes – from family or friends, or in the media – about groups, particularly those with whom one has had little interaction, lead to generalizations about individuals who are part of the group. Stereotypes, the course teaches, are both prescriptive and descriptive. That is, they tell us, based on our classification of a person as a member of a group, how that person should behave as well as what that person is like. 

Stereotypes aren’t always negative but even when they aren’t, they generalize, applying the same set of descriptions to a group of people who may share skin color but little else. This thinking can lead to one believe that all members of group act and think the same. It also leads to in-group favoritism (favoring individuals who look and act similarly) and out-group assumptions (thinking based on stereotypes about different groups), the course teaches.

Stereotypes concerning a worker’s race, gender, sexual orientation or other characteristics can cause that worker to be denied workplace opportunities such as networking, mentoring and promotions. Conversely, employees who are viewed as similar to the organization’s staff, meaning they are of the same ethnic background and practice the same religion, for example, often are more likely to enjoy perks and promotions, deserved or not.

Bias Often Is Unconscious

People who hold stereotypical views of others based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or other factors don’t necessarily consider themselves prejudiced. In many cases, they’ve absorbed others’ opinions about these groups with little or no interaction with a group member to dispel the stereotype.

It’s important to understand that bias “is a natural part of being human,” Rush said.

“We all have unconscious biases that shape the way we deal with the world, and those things are deeply ingrained in us through our upbringing, our cultural heritage and everything about the way that we’ve experienced life,” Rush explained.

This framework is also important as it eliminates the idea that “if you’re biased, you’re bad,” he said. Once a person is aware of their biases, though, it’s vital to first acknowledge them and then “to build processes and procedures to help mitigate” those biases, Rush added.

Families Aren’t All the Same

Christian Thoroughgood, PhD, a former Assistant Professor in the Graduate Programs in HR Development at Villanova now with Georgia State University, explained how stereotypes and bias can create situations where employees feel uncomfortable being open about themselves at work.

In a guest appearance on an HR Tea podcast episode, Thoroughgood explained that while many organizations have taken a positive step by promoting a healthy balance of work and family life for employees, the concept of “family” often is narrow and exclusive, with employees in same-sex relationships sometimes feeling left out of the conversation.

Thoroughgood, together with Katina Sawyer, PhD former Professor of Psychology at Villanova) now with The George Washington University, and Northeastern University Professor Jamie J. Ladge, wrote about this situation for Harvard Business Review in an article titled “How Companies Are Making It Harder for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Employees to Achieve Work-Life Balance.”

According to research cited in the article, LGBTQ professionals experience the same work-life balance conflicts as do their straight counterparts. They, however, also deal with additional concerns, the article said, such as “a sense of tension over whether to take advantage of family-related benefits for fear of revealing their same-sex relationship, feeling conflicted over whether to bring spouses to work events, and feeling uneasy about discussing with a supervisor the family-related challenges that impact their work life.”

Most of the LGBTQ professionals interviewed in the article said their sexual orientation wasn’t a secret in the workplace, but that they still felt uncomfortable being open about their families.

According to the article, some of those interviewed were concerned that openness about their partners and/or families “ran the risk of their coworkers thinking that they were trying to make a political statement or attempting to be too brazen about their sexual orientation in the workplace.”

Thoroughgood explained that these organizations had framed social cues surrounding what a family is in a way that gave the impression of excluding non-hetero couples and non-traditional families.

It seems to be a case of organizations being unaware of an issue existing, and those impacted by it feeling inhibited about addressing it.

As one anonymous person interviewed in the article said, “I don’t think our organizations want to hurt us. They just don’t know that we’re here.”

Making Diversity Work

An organization can hire professionals from different ethnicities, sexual orientations and religions and call itself diverse. However, until those individuals’ perspectives and talents are being tapped, diversity is mere window dressing.

Professionals who have spent their careers handling human resource issues know what works and what doesn’t. Villanova’s online Human Resource Management Certificate program features instruction from industry professionals who have been on the front lines of HR for years and who can impart their experience to students. Students in the program will be taught core HR competencies and focus on developmental, strategic and global HR issues.

There are numerous regulations regarding the employer-employee relationship, and that relationship is to a large extent what human resources is all about.

HR professionals must know both federal regulations regarding employment issues as well as state or local laws on the subject. For example, while federal laws barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation are limited, many municipalities have laws that specifically prohibit this.

Important Employment Legislation

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), it is believed that the National Cash Register Company established one of the earliest human resources departments in 1901.

Known as personnel management, the department handled record keeping, workplace safety, wage management and employee grievances.

Thirty-five years previous, the U.S. Congress passed the first of many pieces of legislation that would impact the work of that first personnel department’s successors.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 prohibited discrimination in hiring based on race. The bill specifically addressed hiring — discrimination against an employee wasn’t covered.

Attorney and Villanova University Adjunct Professor Angela Francesco called Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “the cornerstone of federal antidiscrimination employment law.” Francesco’s remark came during a lecture on Title VII, part of the Employment Law course, a requirement in Villanova’s Master of Science in Human Resource Development program.

Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin and religion. Unlike the 1866 act, which barred discrimination only during hiring, Title VII covers the most essential elements of employment: “hiring, firing, how you discipline, who you pay, which benefits you give [and] classification,” Francesco explained.

Additional acts have extended protection to more groups.

• The Age Discrimination Act of 1967 protects workers age 40 or older.
• The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in employment as well as education and transportation, among other areas.
• Preceding all of these was the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Among other things, it established the minimum wage and overtime pay, and also greatly restricted child labor.

Politics and Public Policy Influence Employment Legislation

With so many statutes on the books, it may be tempting to think of employment law as static. In fact, changes are proposed frequently.

One example is a revision to rules governing overtime pay. Previously, only workers making $23,660 annually were eligible for time-and-a-half overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week. The updated rule, effective Jan. 1, 2020, raised that threshold to $35,568, far less than the proposal to double the original figure to $47,320 made when the change first was proposed in 2014 under the Obama administration.

SHRM opposed doubling the threshold as “too much, too fast.” The organization made several suggestions concerning the overtime rule change, most of which were incorporated, according to Emily M. Dickens, JD, Chief of Staff, Head of Government Affairs and Corporate Secretary for SHRM.

Changes in employment laws often begin as public policy initiatives from organizations such as SHRM.

SHRM’s current slate of policy actions include efforts to fill what is known as the talent gap, created by low unemployment rates and a stagnant birth rate, which has left more than seven million job positions unfilled.

SHRM has targeted two groups it hopes can help fill the gap. One is the formerly incarcerated, which SHRM is addressing through its “Getting Talent Back to Work” initiative. This project offers encouragement and guidance to employers to consider hiring workers with a criminal record.

Another SHRM policy initiative, this one still at the “start-up stage,” according to Dickens, focuses on the second group, older workers, roughly defined as those 50 and older. SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., said that he’s received many letters from unemployed individuals in this age bracket, many of whom are supporting dependent children and aging parents.

SHRM’s Government Affairs Department has been focusing on:

• Workplace equity, including anti-harassment efforts and pay equity
• Workforce development, including older workers, the formerly incarcerated and workers with disabilities
• Workplace flexibility and leave
• Workplace immigration to help close the skills gap

Expand Your Knowledge of Employment Law with Villanova University

Students in Villanova’s 100% online Human Resource Management Certificate will gain a foundation of the core competencies necessary for successful leadership as an HR professional.

Whether you are currently in a leadership role or aspire to a career in HR or a related field, understanding diversity, equity and inclusion – including the differences between the three – is key to success. While they work in tandem, the three elements of DEI represent three different ideas that a growing number of private companies, nonprofits and public agencies are putting into place.

As noted in a video on inclusion that Villanova University students watch within the graduate-level Diversity in the Global Economy course, DEI is just not about doing the right thing. Studies show “team performance improves by 50% when everyone is included.”

That same point is made by Jameel Rush, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for The Philadelphia Inquirer and adjunct professor of Human Resource Development at Villanova, who said in an interview that more organizations are beginning to understand DEI. “In the last couple of months, chief diversity officers are being hired at ridiculous rates, so a ton of organizations that have not had this conversation previously are now having it,” Rush said.

He also noted that while many people discuss diversity, equity and inclusion, not everyone understands what they mean. Here’s an overview of all three.

Diversity

Diversity means building a workforce that reflects demographics in the real world. That includes hiring people of different races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, socioeconomic status, ages and political affiliations – to name a few. The idea is for businesses to have a workforce that reflects the communities they serve.

Equity

Equity focuses on reducing or eliminating outcome disparities among people in different demographics. An example of this sort of disparity is the frequent situation in which a woman earns less than a man when holding a similar management position. Another example is underrepresentation of certain races in some industries. The idea with equity is to create policies that lead to similar outcomes for all groups.

Inclusion

If diversity is about hiring people of different backgrounds and identity groups, then inclusion is about how you get people from these different groups to work together, creating better business outcomes. A critical component of inclusion involves making people feel their voice is heard and they are an important part of the team.

The Need for Better DEI

The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers insight into why diversity and inclusion work so well. They note that 88% of professionals surveyed believe that diversity increases the value of a project team, an incredibly high number to agree on a single issue.

PMI reports that culturally diverse and inclusive organizations lead to higher performance across the board. That said, PMI also reports that only 33% of professionals think their organization has a culturally diverse leadership. Also, almost 60% said they work in organizations without one woman at the C-suite level.

In a report on the impact of diversity, McKinsey & Company found companies that ranked in the top 25% for gender, racial and ethnic diversity had a better chance of financial returns greater than the national industry median.

Understanding the differences between diversity, equity and inclusion can help drive better results. Rush points out that organizations achieve better results when they marry diversity with inclusion, allowing them to “leverage the different points of views and different perspectives to work toward a stronger solution.”

It is important to understand that diversity, equity and inclusion are not merely training or recruiting goals; they are a strategic mindset for leaders. HR and business leaders must evaluate all business goals and objectives from the perspective of all groups and consider all impacted. This is how organizations can truly drive better results as they make DEI part of the fabric of their strategy.

The Center for Creative Leadership offers ways that companies can put DEI to work. They include a focus on making changes that will drive equitable outcomes in an organization, setting clear goals for equity, establishing metrics for measuring success and putting a diverse group of people in leadership positions.

Students can learn about putting DEI policies into place in Villanova’s Inclusion and Diversity Strategy Graduate Certificate program. Graduates from the program have the skills and knowledge needed to lead DEI efforts in a variety of organizations and industries.

The growing demand for the job is apparent in rankings from LinkedIn of “opportunities that are in demand and hiring now.” Experts in workplace diversity ranked fifth on the list, with the title of diversity manager listed first. Other job titles include diversity officer, head of diversity and diversity coordinator.

The job network site reported that large and small companies have “turned to diversity experts who could help them bring new voices into their organizations.” Hiring for diversity positions has increased 90% since 2019.

The Importance of Diversity Management

While protests in the summer of 2020 put renewed focus on systematic racism and other race-related issues, the importance of diversity in the workplace has been building for some time. Recognizing this trend in human resources, Villanova University offers an on-campus Graduate Certificate in Inclusion and Diversity Strategy, which can be earned as a standalone credential and as a concentration for those seeking a Master of Science in Human Resource Development.

CNN noted that hiring leaders in the areas of diversity and inclusion increased 20% between 2017 and 2018, with notable examples including Uber and the National Football League. People who work in these positions focus on three areas within human resources: employee recruitment, retention and engagement.

Most people know about diversity management from a social justice perspective. But Jameel Rush, PHR, SHRM-CP, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for The Philadelphia Inquirer and an adjunct professor at Villanova University, said in an interview that diversity is not only “the right thing to do” but also a smart business move.

“Inclusion makes business sense,” he said, noting that studies have shown diverse businesses “outperform homogenous teams by leaps and bounds, and that organizations that have gotten diversity right outperform their peers on the Fortune 500.”

That’s because doing “diversity right” involves not just attracting a diverse group of employees, but also creating a company culture that retains those employees and offers them the chance for career growth.

The Goal of Diversity Management

Diversity managers typically work within the HR department, although we are seeing many organizations elevate the roles of diversity experts in organizations as they try to take a more strategic approach to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at all levels. The goal is to create diverse, high-performing organizations that sustain success. This goes beyond diversity training that has been standard practice for decades.

Today, a diversity manager works to integrate companywide diversity and inclusion initiatives that reflect the realities of the business world. For example, a company without fair representation of women in management positions may find it difficult to attract talented female employees. The same can be said of minority groups. Diversity managers work not only to change hiring practices but also to make diversity and inclusion part of the fabric of the organization and part of the long-term business strategy.

Job Duties and Salary Potential for Diversity Managers

As might be expected in such a relatively new profession, the job duties of diversity managers vary depending on where they work. A look at the requirements for diversity manager jobs posted on LinkedIn provides insight into what companies expect from diversity managers.

Skills and job duties may include:

• Building initiatives that create process standards in HR that result in a more diversified workforce and that hold leadership accountable for creating a diverse group of employees
• Staying current on diversity trends
• Driving better engagement with diverse job seekers, creating a “pipeline of talent” from a wide range of communities
• Developing metrics to determine the success of programs and initiatives, conducting post-initiative reviews to determine what did and did not meet those metrics
• Participating in the development of diversity and inclusion goals, and developing and implementing programs to meet those goals

SHRM also provides a list of typical diversity manager responsibilities. They include:

• Reviewing current company practices and policies to determine the extent to which they support or hinder diversity goals
• Evaluating data to determine the diversity of the company’s workforce and whether it matches diversity goals and standards
• Creating recruiting and hiring strategies to attract employees from diverse backgrounds
• Developing training and development that supports diversity and retention initiatives
• Working as a liaison with government agencies on affirmative action and equal employment opportunities

The average annual pay for diversity managers is $84,932, according to PayScale. That is typically someone with five to nine years in the profession. Those with 20-plus years of experience earned more than $121,000.

National long-term projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions, and do not guarantee actual job growth. Information provided is not intended to represent a complete list of hiring companies or job titles, and program options do not guarantee career or salary outcomes. Students should conduct independent research for specific employment information.

“We talk about diversity and inclusion all the time,” says Rush. “But just because diversity and inclusion comes up, that doesn’t mean people have a strong understanding of what it means. And even more so than that, people don’t necessarily understand how to drive change within their organization. It’s not just ‘We recruited a bunch of diverse talent into our company. Check the box.’ There are more and more things you need to do to create systemic change.”

That’s why he and his colleagues at Villanova spent several months determining how to teach their students a better way to approach diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The result was an Inclusion and Diversity Strategy graduate certificate program, designed to shape the next generation of business leaders on the essentials of diversity and inclusion, a career field Rush says is growing rapidly.

“In the last couple of months, chief diversity officers are being hired at ridiculous rates, so a ton of organizations that have not had this conversation previously are now having it,” Rush says.

To find out what the next evolution of diversity and inclusion in the workplace looks like, we asked Rush about the core lessons that he and his colleagues are seeking to impart to their students.

Measuring Diversity

Even with the new focus on diversity that many corporations are expressing, Rush thinks that companies need to hold themselves accountable if they’re going to effect change. “You’re saying you’re committed to diversity and inclusion in your organization, but how are you measuring success?” says Rush.

That process starts with defining success for the organization. Determining whether you’re creating a diverse and inclusive environment requires more than just bringing people in from diverse backgrounds. You need to measure both diversity and inclusion.

“Diversity is about the mix of individuals. Inclusion is about how you make that mix work together for better outcomes,” says Rush. “Measuring diversity is almost easier. You can look at the funnel of talent and the people applying to jobs and ask, ‘Who are those people getting interviewed? Who is getting hired? And do we have bottlenecks along the way that are blocking out people from specific communities?’”

You also need to look at the next part of the funnel—who’s actually progressing through the company? By looking at promotion rates, succession plans and career development to determine if the company’s approach to diversity is meaningfully giving people opportunities.

Quantifying Inclusion

But bringing people in and making sure they can move up is only one part of the battle. Inclusion can actually be a tougher challenge.

“With inclusion, we’re trying to measure if you’ve built a workplace where people feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work each day,” Rush says. “That one becomes a lot more elusive to measure—you can’t say ‘I feel 15% more included today.’”

Rush teaches his students to start to nail down that trickier subject with cultural climate surveys, asking how it feels to come in everyday and what it’s like to work there.

You can also look at key indicators in how the company operates. Reliable factors include measuring self-identification (where employees feel comfortable revealing more about their identity) as well as who is receiving professional development, and how.

“You look at things like mentorship opportunities, especially cross-cultural connections. Are people only connecting with others who look like themselves, or are they stretching across boundaries to pull up people from different backgrounds?”

In Rush’s program, this is aided by a deep, sociological approach to understanding how behaviors operate in the workplace, and how they’re influenced by larger systems.

“Just because you are an HR practitioner does not mean you have an expertise in race, and racism, and privilege,” Rush says. “We teach people what does systemic racism or male privilege really mean? We get into those cultural understandings and where these issues stem from. That makes your D&I approach so much more impactful.”

Motivating Change

“There’s a moral imperative around diversity and inclusion, and that shouldn’t be lost,” says Rush. “But there’s also the reality of the business impact that’s driven by focusing on this work.”

To help enact change, Rush teaches his students how to make diversity and inclusion appealing to executives on all fronts.  

“How are you able to build the conversation of the ROI of specific programs so that when you go talk to business leaders you can get them to buy in,” Rush says. “We’re developing women leaders because we should be developing women leaders, and oh by the way, it’s going to help us be more competitive and get better results.”

Rush notes that HR representatives can also point to the new and growing concern about diversity and inclusion to make clear why their initiatives are critical.

“Those pressures will come from clients and customers, asking do you reflect my values? It’ll come from employees, saying if you don’t value my unique identity then I don’t want to work here, and for those organizations that are public, it’ll come from investors and shareholders and boards of directors asking what have you done in this space?”

Learn more about Villanova’s on-campus Graduate Programs in Human Resource Development.

“Internationalization impacts the structure of a company,” Dr. Velazco said in Villanova’s Strategic & Global HR Leadership course, part of the on-campus Graduate Certificate in HR Leadership program. “You’re dealing with different geographies, repatriation, learning and leadership development program, compensation and performance management.”

Globalization has forced some HR departments “to hire, develop, manage and transfer employees among several international facilities while ensuring legal compliance in different jurisdictions,” said Dr. Velazco.

It has also created a new set of challenges for HR professionals and added several characteristics and qualities necessary for successful HR leadership.

New Opportunities, New Challenges

“Everything is global. No one can say that they are not participating in the global environment.”

– Dr. Enio Velazco, Adjunct faculty member in Villanova University’s Graduate Program in Human Resource Development

Globalization and technological advances mean that consumers’ choices no longer are limited by the goods available at their local shop. By the same token, that local shop can sell its goods online to customers around the globe.

Businesses can expand into new markets in foreign countries with retail outlets, distribution centers and manufacturing facilities.  

These new business opportunities create new challenges for the HR professional.

“Would you launch the same U.S. wellness program at all your international facilities? Or, would you have to change your recruiting practices to accommodate local customs?” Velazco wrote in a September 2018 article for Villanova’s HRD Corner blog.

Different languages, different customs and different ways of doing things — some subtle, some less so — can have a major impact on an organization’s fortunes in a new territory.

People Skills are a Must

There are hard skills essential for a successful global HR leader. One is the ability to navigate what Dr. Velazco calls “the organizational complexity necessary to successfully operationalize a business model across different countries.”

Other skills include addressing language barriers in the workplace, getting educated on applicable labor laws, learning local culture and customs and incorporating that knowledge into your organization’s culture.

However, social skills, such as being sensitive to cultural differences, may be just as important.

“Companies don’t pay enough attention to people skills,” global leadership consultant Ernest Antoine said in a video featured in the Strategic & Global HR Leadership course.

“In order to be able to identify the right people, first make sure these people are quite skillful in their profession. Make sure they’ve got the people skills,” Antoine said, recommending the Global Competency Inventory, a self-assessment that measures competencies in three categories: perception management, relationship management and self-management.

Those categories are reflected in Antoine’s list of three key capabilities vital for professionals working overseas:

• Perceptual management – Understanding the world through other people’s eyes, in this case, the workers native to the county in which your organization has expanded.  
• Relationship management – Forging relationships with these workers.
• Resilience – Internal strength, “because it’s difficult work being there long term,” Antoine said, noting that “everything is different,” from the food to the weather to where you go to relax, for the professional working far from home.

Let Yourself Be Known

Working overseas is an excellent opportunity for the HR professional who wants to immerse themselves in another culture as well as build a bridge between theirs and their host country’s.  

Luis Buentello, MS, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, a Villanova adjunct professor and a professional with 20-plus years of experience as an international HR executive, said he often is asked by young HR professionals how they can become part of their organization’s global team.

“I always tell them two things,” Buentello said in the Strategic and Global HR Leadership course. “Number one, be very good in understanding the HR systems and processes in the country that you’re working in. Make sure you have that expertise, because that’s how you can link to other HR systems and processes in other countries.

“The second thing, and it’s not really second, it’s 1-A, is let people know your interest,” he said. “Let the executives or your senior leadership know that you have a desire, you have an interest in the global aspect of the business and here’s some things that you think you can bring to the party. Let yourself be known.”

The Global Opportunity

Villanova’s Graduate Program in Human Resource Development is aligned with the global perspective. Its mission statement touts its goal of “developing global thought-leaders in HR who drive high performing, inclusive organizations and create meaningful work experiences.”

Villanova offers an on-campus Master of Science in Human Resource Development degree program, as well as an online Certificate in HR Management. Courses are taught by experienced HR practitioners and thought leaders, giving students the real-world perspective of professionals who have practiced HR in the U.S. and abroad.

Although the corporate world currently is dealing with trade wars and tariffs, Dr. Velazco said, “the world is still spinning, and it is a global world. There are people being moved, there are processes being moved, there’s technology that’s being moved, and you, as HR professionals, need to be in the middle of it, and in some way lead in it.”

Global HR creates the opportunity for HR professionals to not only lead, but to bring in a wealth of different perspectives from their foreign partners.

“Just imagine the opportunity on today’s global team that you can have somebody who has been taught … to see the forest and someone else who has been trained culturally … to see the trees,” said Meyer, in the Strategic & Global HR Leadership course.

“That can be a much higher performing team, a team that is much better at identifying risks and coming up with innovative ideas,” she said. “But you need to understand the benefit to take advantage of the opportunity.”

While this is great news for workers and by extension the nation’s economy, it also has employers scrambling to fill positions.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unfilled job openings has ranged between 7.1 and 7.6 million since April 2018.

A new initiative, a partnership between the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Koch Industries, aims to fill some of those open positions from the ranks of the formerly incarcerated.

Getting Talent Back to Work targets employers and particularly the human resource professionals that SHRM represents with an extensive toolkit that offers research, best practices and guidance on vetting and hiring individuals with a criminal history.

Reform Act Inspired Initiative

Emily Dickens, SHRM’s Corporate Secretary and Chief of Staff, spoke about the organization’s Getting Talent Back to Work initiative and why HR professionals should consider giving formerly incarcerated job applicants a second chance.

Emily Dickens, SHRM’s Corporate Secretary and Chief of Staff, said the impetus for Getting Talent Back to Work was the passage of the First Step Act, a major piece of criminal justice legislation that received bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. It was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Dec. 21, 2018.

Three days later, SHRM’s CEO, Johnny C. Taylor, Chief Knowledge Officer Alexander Alonso and Dickens, met with a representative from Koch to begin formulating what would become Getting Talent Back to Work.

“Justice reform is not part of our policy agenda, but we saw that it would impact the world of work in such a positive way if we came in now and said here is a path forward,” Dickens said.

“We’ve got tons of jobs and we’ve got a talent shortage,” Dickens said. “And we’ve got people we know want to work.”

Employment is the best defense against recidivism, according to “Back to Business: How Hiring Formerly Incarcerated Jobseekers Benefits Your Company,” a report published by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Trone Center for Justice and Equality.

For an individual leaving prison, being able to get a job “means that you’re less likely to recidivate. You’re not going to go back to prison because you’re out there trying to make ends meet,” Dickens said.

Risks Often Rewarded

Statistics help support the necessity of Getting Talent Back to Work’s efforts:

• Around 2.2 million individuals are held in U.S. prisons and jails, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics
• Employment within a year of release reduces the chance of recidivism from 32.4% to 19.6%, according to the United States Sentencing Commission  
• 75% of formerly incarcerated individuals remain unemployed a year after release, according to ACLU’s “Back to Business” report

Getting Talent Back to Work, Dickens said, is about giving the formerly incarcerated a second chance.

“You’re taking a risk giving someone a second chance,” Dickens acknowledged. “And yes, everything won’t always be perfect.

“But more often than not, the fact that you gave that person a second chance, means you‘ve now got someone who is loyal to you, believes in your company and your company’s mission and wants to do the best job they can,” Dickens said.

Welcome in the Workplace

A 2018 survey by SHRM and the Charles Koch Institute of more than 1,000 full-time employees consisting of HR managers (including C-Suite executives) and non-managers, further details the benefits of hiring workers with criminal histories. Overall, the survey revealed that a majority of customers, managers and co-workers are open to working with people with nonviolent criminal records. Highlights from the survey include:

• 78% of Americans are comfortable shopping with businesses where a customer-facing employee has a nonviolent criminal record
• 76% are comfortable doing business with a company that offers second chances by hiring the formerly incarcerated
• 74% say they are comfortable being employed by a business at which some coworkers have non-violent criminal records   
• More than 80% of managers say workers with criminal records bring as much or more value to the organization as workers without records
• 74% of managers and HR professionals believe the cost of hiring workers with criminal records is the same as or lower than the cost of hiring workers without criminal records

According to Dickens, whether a jobseeker has a criminal record isn’t the most important consideration for HR professionals looking to fill a position.

Skills Are the Key

“Can they do the job? Do they have the skills to do the job?”

Dickens said that should be the first question when it comes to hiring any potential employee, including the formerly incarcerated.

“That’s the first thing you consider,” Dickens said.

She also pointed out that many who end up on the wrong side of the law possess valuable, marketable skills.

“People went into prison with skills and they may have a skill that we’re looking for now,” Dickens said. “That’s why the focus when you’re hiring someone has to be on what skills they have so that we’re able to get them into these industries.”

Dickens noted that many industries are reskilling and upskilling current employees for positions that otherwise are going unfilled, skills that some formerly incarcerated jobseeker may already possess.

“We want to meet people, see what they have and be able to get them back into their profession,” Dickens said. “It’s an excellent opportunity for these persons coming into the work force to get skilled in new areas, or use their existing skills to get in the door.”

Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

Further, Dickens said, a truly diverse workplace, one that reflects the larger community, must acknowledge Americans who have some sort of criminal record.

“We try to tell people that a diverse workforce isn’t just about what people look like and their agenda,” Dickens said. “It is really about their experiences and everyone has a different experience.”

“A diverse workforce is going to rightly include people who’ve had some experience with the law that either had to be incarcerated or were on parole or probation at some point. That is part of creating an inclusive environment,” Dickens said, “and if we’re going to be the organization that represents those HR professionals who are the gatekeepers, we’ve got to make it easier for them to create an inclusive environment.”

“Diversity isn’t what drives better outcomes,” said Jameel Rush, an HR professional and adjunct professor at Villanova University, where he teaches Diversity in a Global Economy.

“Adding diversity and making sure you can leverage different points of views and different perspectives to work toward a stronger solution — that’s what adds up to better business results,” Rush said.

Getting Talent Back to Work’s toolkit is aimed at educating employers on hiring the formerly incarcerated. The site also includes a pledge that asks signers to provide second chance opportunities to qualified jobseekers with criminal records.

Dickens said the response from SHRM’s chapters nationwide has been positive.

“Our chapters have taken an amazing interest in this,” Dickens reports. “They came back and said, ‘We want to do more. What can we do to create an even more inclusive environment?”

Expanding on that topic, as well as addressing the issue of older workers — “An inclusive environment doesn’t look like a company full of 20- and 30-year-olds,” Dickens said — will be part of Getting Talent Back to Work’s continuing efforts.   

The initiative benefits both SHRM’s constituency and the formerly incarcerated, “so this was a win-win,” Dickens said.

“We look for ways to bring policy to life,” Dickens said. “If it’s something that will impact work, workers or the workplace, we want to figure out how to bring it to life and this was a good way to do that.”  

According to Enio Velazco, PhD, HR executive and adjunct faculty member in Villanova University’s Graduate Program in Human Resource Development, human resources roles are expanding, changing from the typical mold of the HR professional of 20 years ago. HR professionals must now be a human capital strategist, a trusted advisor with more business knowledge, technology savvy, data analysis competence and change management expertise.

“Technology will continue to bring about changes in the workplace. [HR professionals] will act more like internal consultants and lead job redesign teams charged with selecting which tasks and jobs to automate,” Dr. Velazco said.

Newer responsibilities of HR professionals include helping employees make their way from entry-level to senior staff member, offering them training opportunities and guiding them through their professional development throughout their employee journey. This can lead to better organizational efficiency and help retain employees and acquire new talent for business needs.

This shift is due to a changing economy and more employee options, said Kimberly Nash, MBA, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, who teaches Villanova’s online Human Resource Management course, a required course in the Certificate in HR Management program. Nash warns that those who stick to the old ways of conducting HR business will lose out – or, at least their companies will.

In these days of near full employment, people have more choices and don’t feel trapped in their jobs, Nash said. They have options, and part of an HR department’s core duties is to promote a strong culture to help increase employee retention.

“The HR field is changing and in order for a professional to be successful, it requires that individual to change their mindset,” Nash said. “Doing the things HR has always done will not work going forward.”

Nash gave technology as an example. “We need to streamline our processes. The Gen Zs do everything by technology,” she said of the generation of workers born after 1997. “If you want to be a workplace of the future, you have to be on technology.”

Research conducted by Accenture and the World Economic Forum on The Digital Transformation Initiative, shows that 87% of workers polled believe new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) will improve their work experience. They are willing to invest their own time to learn the new skills necessary to carry them forward.

Employees Are Looking for Validation

In today’s workforce, staffers are seeking validation rather than feedback, Nash said. “We have to transition our performance management and employee strengths and determine what they are doing well.”

HR must focus away from weaknesses and zero in on an employee’s strengths, she continued. “Have ongoing short conversations with them to validate what they are doing. They know how to make it better.”

Employees are much more likely to stick around if they get validation, feel like they are making a difference and like what they do.

“HR must continue to make changes in people processes, rewards, learning and development and organizational structure to bring about the employee behaviors that result in a better workplace,” Dr. Velazco added. “The better the employee experience, the better the workplace.”

A New Workplace Experience

Jeanne Meister, who writes for Forbes about trends shaping the future of work, discusses three new HR roles in the age of AI that address a compelling vision: creating an experience that cares as much about the employee as the customer.

1. Vice President of Data, AI & Offering Strategy – a role created by IBM to align with the vision, “Optimizing HR for speed, personalization and democratization to deliver irresistible employee experiences.” This person works to retain good employees by studying data, offering strategy and looking at pay and skills.
2. Senior Vice President Global HR, Performance and IT – a role Kraft Heinz created using AI to incorporate people analytics and data analysis. This person uses data to predict employee retention and determine who’s worthy of a merit increase. It is based on the premise that people decisions are made on meritocracy.
3. Senior Vice President, Employee Well-Being & Benefits – SunTrust created this position to focus on employee financial well-being. It considers the high rate of college debt. A program to help de-stress employees provides online and face-to-face training in how to pay down loans, improve a credit score or apply for a mortgage. SunTrust determined that those who complete the program are twice as likely to stay with the company after 18 months.

“As HR professionals, we can be leaders in our organizations by being prepared with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to move our organizations forward,” Nash said.

Prepping for Future HR Roles

“Expect those in HR (if it’s still called that) to be akin to championship coaches, guiding employees throughout their careers and becoming more essential than ever to business analytics and strategy,” wrote Susan Milligan, in a 2018 article for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) titled, “Seven Critical Strategies to Prepare for the Future of HR.”

While AI and machines will perform tasks once performed by humans, that doesn’t leave out humans. “Tomorrow’s HR leaders will need to be bigger, broader thinkers and they’ll have to be tech-savvy and nimble enough to deal with an increasingly agile and restless workforce,” Mulligan wrote.

Good companies will stop seeing HR as “a purely tactical kind of role,” she said, and start seeing such professionals as strategic business partners.

Some companies are even swapping traditional HR titles with catchier descriptions such as Chief Happiness Officer or Director of Talent-Acquisition Strategy. And because companies put most information online, those chief of happiness professionals have more time to develop strategy and work on employee career paths.

“It’s best to be out there connecting with the employees,” Nash said.

By incorporating analytics into the HR realm, professionals can understand the workforce and better predict what a company needs in the way of skill sets.

“It is a huge change when you look at the history of HR,” Nash said. “It is very much employee facing and connecting with the employees.”

“In general, a high-performing organization needs a strong HR unit to create the necessary conditions to attract, develop, retain, engage top talent. Conditions that would facilitate innovation, collaboration and a learning mindset. No organization can continually deliver top performance without improving employee experience – without offering a supportive and collaborative workplace along with proper resources,” Dr. Velazco said.