Workforce Inter-Personnel Diversity

“Drawing upon decades of her own research, Dr. Hughes provides human resource professionals with yet another useful lens to consider when designing interventions to support diversity and inclusion. Both practitioners and academics will find new ways to understand, describe and lead inclusive workplaces in her newest book.”

- Holly M. Hutchins, Professor and HRD Undergraduate Program Coordinator, College of Technology, University of Houston



Organization leaders typically look at each job position, characterized as identical based on pay and job description, in the same way. They hire employees to do that particular job and often do not consider other capabilities that the employees may possess. This book examines how to optimize workforce performance by understanding the diversity of skills and competencies of employees.

Diversity is generally explored in terms of gender, race, nationality, disability, and other physical characteristics that differentiate one legally protected group of people from another. In the workplace, however, diversity can take on a different meaning, describing not only physical differences but also work performance characteristics unique to each individual employee. Inter-personnel diversity seeks to explore those diverse characteristics and begin to understand each employee’s strengths and weaknesses so that they can be developed to benefit the employee and the organization. This much-needed text will inform scholars and scholar-practitioners in HRD and workforce development how to use these differences to enhance the individual and the organization.