Utah work-force diversity grows

About one in every three new Utahns is a member of an ethnic minority group, resulting in the most culturally diverse work force the state has seen in its history, according to the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

The increasingly multicultural workplace is presenting Utah employers with challenges they have heretofore seldom encountered.

"The message is, 'We are already diverse in Utah, and it's not going back,"' said Monica Whalen, president and chief executive officer of The Employers Council, a nonprofit, member-supported association that provides management training and advice. "So let's learn how to deal with it and manage it effectively to have a productive work environment."

The Employers Council held a seminar Thursday in downtown Salt Lake City on "Managing a Multicultural Work Force." Among the topics discussed were the state's changing demographic makeup and the implications for employers.

Whalen said many employers are learning to embrace diversity and its potential business advantages, but some have also had to learn to avoid stereotyping certain minority groups and to understand and appreciate their differences.

"We need to take a step back and invest some energy in listening and putting yourself in other people's shoes and gain an understanding of how they may see the world and respond to the world very differently than you do," Whalen said.

She said Utah's manufacturing industry has seen the greatest increase in the diversity of its employees in recent years, and other sectors are experiencing their share of changes, as well.

"In Utah, our demographics are being driven by a larger percentage of our population being older and a larger percentage of our population being foreign-born," she said.

Since 1990, 20 percent of Utah's population growth can be attributed to foreign-born immigration, according to Pam Perlich, senior research economist with the university's research bureau. She added that by 2010, one in five Utahns will be a minority.

Employers at the seminar said that for businesses to remain successful, they will have to adapt to the evolving makeup of their employees.

"It's a matter of what you must do to be successful in a changing work environment in Utah," said David Pierce, a human-resources manager with Sweet Candy Co.

"In Utah, frankly we've just been too white," he said. "When you get into a diverse cultural environment, you get a synergy of different cultures and ethnicities, and as you build that cohesive multicultural team, you get the best of all of them."