Setting the PACE for Measuring Diversity Management

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

The purpose of diversity programs has evolved over the years and is now seen as a key business strategy that empowers each individual to maximize their individual talent while collectively achieving an agency’s goals. Previous Maricopa County Diversity program goals were focused on increasing the awareness and understanding of diversity and the quantity of performance measures were limited. To compound the problem, there existed no performance measures that reflected this new shift in the purpose of diversity programs. In order to address this change, a comprehensive evidence-based performance management system was implemented called the PACE (Performance Assessments to increase Capabilities by Empowerment) program. The PACE performance management system provides not only effective feedback of diversity initiatives but innovatively influences the positive behavior of employees. This influence empowers the employees by increasing their awareness and understanding of themselves and of others by measuring the impact of cultural events, presentations, and training events. Influence also is achieved by measures that encourage specific behavior that promotes active engagement within our agency. By developing a work environment that empowers individual employees to participate and give their potential, Maricopa County will also increase their level of services to county residents, indicating that this program is not only a success for the county government but for the community as well.