The Best Practices of a Thriving Multiethnic Organization

This project addresses the obstacles and challenges along with the best practices of cultivating a thriving multiethnic organization. Ultimately, the purpose of this project is to identify the best practices in cultivating a multiethnic organization. This project was comprised of research from 20 high-level leaders in the West Michigan area. Executives and high-ranking leaders from for-profit, nonprofit, government, and church/ministry sectors were interviewed. Focus group research was also conducted with three different
organizations. Two were from the business community, and one was with a multiethnic church. In all, 52 people took part in the interviews and focus groups. The scope of the research included a rich blend of male and female as well as Caucasian and People of Color. The results of the research indicated that there were four main themes present in cultivating a healthy multiethnic organization: buy-in and ownership from top-level organizational leaders; changes that need to be made to the human resource processes that support an organization – the HR ecosystem comprised of the attraction and retention processes; the development of effective racial diversity training for all employees; and the need to be connected with an outside coach or association and/or network who will provide accountability and encouragement. If these four themes are fully embraced, organizations will have much a greater likelihood of achieving the goal of cultivating a thriving multiethnic organization.