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Service Provider Resources

Human Resources

Good human resource management addresses cultural diversity across all policies and practices – including staff recruitment and staff education.
 
Culturally inclusive recruitment practices will help to engage and retain a culturally and linguistically diverse workforce. Employing staff from diverse communities can increase the overall responsiveness of your service and may enhance its attractiveness for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
 
Ideally, the cultural and linguistic diversity of your staff base will reflect the community in which your organisation serves.
 
Addressing cultural diversity across all staff education and development programs will greatly enhance your organisation's skills in the area of cultural awareness. Not only will this benefit your care recipients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, it will contribute to a non-discriminatory workplace.
 
Just as aged care service providers must address the needs of their culturally and linguistically diverse care recipients, managers must address the needs of their culturally and linguistically diverse staff. This may include supporting employees’ needs through the provision of a prayer room, respecting the observance of religious holidays or providing English literacy improvement classes.

Key Considerations

Staff Recruitment

  • Consider the cultural and linguistic needs of your care recipients and the demographics of the local community when recruiting new staff.
  • Ensure the recruitment policy promotes cultural diversity and the recruitment of culturally and linguistically diverse staff.
  • Ensure the recruitment process and the selection criteria as documented in the position description do not discriminate against or disadvantage people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
  • Consider a flexible approach to the recruitment process to engage a broader range of applicants - eg by allowing applicants to respond to job advertisements and selection criteria orally (either in person or via telephone) instead of just written applications.
  • Demonstrate a commitment to cultural diversity in all position descriptions – eg encourage bilingual staff to apply, and include as a required attribute the commitment to work within a culturally diverse workforce and clientele.
  • Advertise staff vacancies in ethnic media and disseminate through community organisations via their leaders, members and venues.
  • Invite community representatives to participate in the recruitment process.
  • Ensure all staff responsible for recruitment and who sit on interview panels are trained in cultural awareness, appropriate communication and non-discriminatory recruitment practices.

Staff Education & Development

  • Provide all staff and managers with ongoing development opportunities to enhance their knowledge of culturally inclusive practices and their responsibility in implementing culturally appropriate services.
  • Regularly assess the knowledge and skills of staff in relation to the provision of culturally appropriate services, and use this assessment when developing a training plan.
  • Include a cultural diversity component in all staff orientation.
  • Integrate cultural diversity training into existing training programs.
  • Encourage staff to learn a second language as part of their education and development program.
  • Ensure the language skills of bilingual staff are formally assessed if they are to be used for interpreting.
  • Provide English literacy improvement classes as part of the staff education and development program.
  • Consider the cultural and linguistic diversity of staff and English literacy levels of staff when developing education and training programs.
  • Review training and assessment programs for cultural bias.
  • Ensure that all staff are trained in cultural awareness and appropriate communication.

Organisational Supports

  • Address cultural diversity across all organisational policies and practices.
  • If the language skills of bilingual staff are to be used - even irregularly - ensure this responsibility is clearly described in the position description and appropriately remunerated.
  • Monitor the workload of bilingual workers to ensure that unrealistic demands are not being placed on them due to their cultural and linguistic skills.
  • Understand the cultural influences on work values and practices and address them in a culturally appropriate manner with staff.
  • Provide facilities for a variety of religious and spiritual observances.

Additional Resources

Contact us for more information culturally inclusive human resource management.

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