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"Diversity" |
This is a word that you may have been hearing a great deal of lately, and something you will be hearing a lot more about in the future. You might be asking, “What is it about?” or “What does that have to do with me?” In fact, it has something to do with everyone, and being aware of how it affects the way you live and do business is of paramount importance.
OCAR recognizes that our membership and staff are comprised of a varied group of talented people who have many different perspectives. We want to utilize all of this talent, so we are reevaluating the way in which we have always done business and want to open doors to new opportunities to learn and work together to be successful. This is why the Orange County Association of REALTORS has adopted a “Diversity Philosophy”.
“Our Association is committed to fostering an environment that values and encourages differences in people, their ideas, beliefs and cultural backgrounds, one which reflects the diversity of our customers and clients.
We believe all members of the Association can contribute to the Association and that our policies and practices should encourage and facilitate these contributions.
We affirm the commitment to inclusion as necessary in today’s diverse marketplace. This in turn, positively influences business conducts and the services we deliver to the communities we serve.”
To better serve our membership we will begin gathering information that will help determine the needs of our membership. There will be an online survey in the next few months that we need each and every member to complete. We will be asking you questions that the Association has probably not asked before. For example; Do you speak languages other than English? Do you prefer to use text messaging over email? Do you work full or part time as a REALTOR? How old are you? How many years have you been a REALTOR?
Just as diversity is not about just one aspect of who we are, neither are our questions one dimensional. This information is critical; it will help in determining which members are underserved by the association and help us create new programs that might be needed. 100% participation is needed.
The Orange County Association of REALTORS® has received a grant from NAR for $5000, which is the maximum amount available per cycle, to offset the costs that will be involved in our “Diversity Needs Assessment”.
We have an outside consulting firm who will be joining us at our picnic on July 18th. They will be conducting short, informal, one on one surveys. Please take a moment to visit with them while you are there.
There are great things to come for our Association in the area of our Diversity initiatives. You will know you see them when you see this symbol.