Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace
Many organizations add diversity to their mission statements, but what does that mean in practice? Although it's good to promote an inclusive workplace, diversity isn’t just a buzzword. It is important to follow up words with actions.
Taking action to build a diverse workplace is important for a positive environment where employees feel encouraged and welcome. Having an inclusive team also results in a more productive, innovative workplace.
If you’re not already, you should consider diversity and inclusion when hiring. There are different ways to build a diverse team, whether you’re starting from scratch or have an established team.
Wherever you are in your hiring journey, we’ll outline what a diverse workplace is, the benefits, and how to foster a diverse workforce.
What is Workplace Diversity?
Workplace diversity is when:
An organization employs people with different backgrounds, genders, ages, races, religions, sexual orientations, languages, education, abilities, socioeconomic statuses, and skillsets.
It is when many employees come from various backgrounds with a wide range of characteristics. This gives organizations a variety of perspectives and opinions on different topics.
Benefits of Workplace Diversity
Having a diverse team results in tons of benefits for the organization and the team. We’ve rounded up eight benefits of diversity in the workplace:
Spark Innovation
Diverse employees come from different walks of life. Their experiences result in differing ideas and methods than those from similar backgrounds. Exploring many perspectives sparks forward-thinking and new strategies, leading to more innovation. Diverse teams even result in 19% higher innovation revenues.
Higher Employee Engagement
If a professional feels welcomed in a company, they’ll be more comfortable sharing their opinions. Since they feel included, they have less fear of fitting in. They are more likely to stick their neck out with new ideas. No matter where someone comes from, it’s important that they feel included.
Improve Problem-Solving
Professionals are exposed to new ideas and skills with differing approaches and methods. So, teams aren’t only considering standard techniques. Instead, they collaborate instantly and can choose the best solution quicker.
Grow Your Customer Base
A new way of thinking with a global perspective will increase customers. But that’s not the only way diverse teams expand your customer base. When your company reflects the community that you serve, your image will improve. So, you’ll be more likely to expand into more diverse markets. Diverse leaders are 70% more likely to capture new markets.
Increase Profitability
Diverse workforces are great for your business’ bottom line. If the first four benefits weren’t enough for you, these all result in a more profitable business. Culturally diverse companies are up to 33% more profitable.
Attract More Talent
Diversity makes your company more desirable to job seekers. You can reach more talent with diverse backgrounds by fostering diversity and inclusivity. Two out of three job seekers look at a company’s diversity before applying to a role and consider it an important part of their career decision.
Lower Turnover
Diverse teams are inclusive of various characteristics and perspectives which results in stronger employee retention. Employees who feel accepted are happier and want to stay with your organization longer. This sense of belonging lowers turnover rates.
Opportunities for Growth
Diverse workforces share opinions and learn from others, resulting in an enriching environment. This provides greater opportunities for personal and professional growth. Professionals can develop international networks and expose themselves to skills and approaches they wouldn’t otherwise.
How to Foster Workplace Diversity
Now that you know some key benefits of diversity in the workplace, you’re probably asking how to build an inclusive environment.
It’s easier to start as a small business, startup or if you only have a small number of employees. Then, you can build momentum from the ground up and keep diversity front of mind. If you have an established employee base, that’s okay; you can still start now. You may have a bit of catch-up to do to incorporate more diversity.
You can try a couple of different methods to become more diverse and inclusive. First, be intentional in your hiring. Start to recognize some of your biases and work to overcome them. Be conscious in your candidate search and explore people with different backgrounds.
Second, assess your hiring process to see if you can make it more blind. Blind hiring blocks a candidate’s personal information that could influence your decision. You can block a candidate’s name, photo, or education or switch your job applications to do this for you. Or look at your job postings to see if there is anything you can add or edit (i.e., gender-neutral language) to attract diverse candidates.
Our number one tip is to start now! The earlier you start building a diverse team, the easier it is to foster in the future.