Diversity Management

According to the Federal Statistical Office, in 2012 there were some 16 million people from migrant families living in Germany. Almost every fifth member of the workforce has their roots in another country. The numbers highlight the importance of cultural diversity for the German labour market. Although the present study shows that cultural diversity is not (yet) a burning issue for almost half of companies (46.8 per cent), many different di-versity management measures are already being implemented. Common examples are cul-turally mixed teams, training courses in developing intercultural competences and foreign postings. They are to be found primarily in larger companies, including firms where fur-thering cultural variety is not yet an obvious priority. The main motive for companies to become active in this field is usually a wish to promote creative processes by networking employees with different cultural values, biographies and experiences (61.6 per cent). Second comes the desire to enlarge the pool of job applicants by systematically addressing skilled workers from abroad (47.9 per cent). And indeed, the policy seems to pay off: there is a robust positive correlation between a company’s innovation performance and if and how it uses diversity management measures to mingle different cultures.