Embracing cultural diversity in the workplace is an important step for businesses who want to succeed long-term.
It’s 2018 - everyone knows their workplace should be diverse but they often have a hard time understanding (or believing) just how beneficial workplace diversity is to the business. In this era of technology and globalisation, it is great to see so many of our clients are making an effort to succeed in cultural diversity in the workplace.
There are some very positive benefits that can be had from having a more diverse workforce. When you think about diversity, what springs to mind? One might usually focus on factors that categorize people into specific groups such as age, gender, race, cultural background, etc., but there is far more to creating a diverse workplace than hiring people who fit into different age brackets or creating the perfect male to female ratio.
A diverse workforce employs people from all walks of life– all backgrounds, genders, ages, races, religions, and abilities. Individuals from different socioeconomic statuses. When companies recruit and retain a diverse pool of people, it brings about different benefits to the company as well as its employees. At the end of the day, everyone is their own person and can bring different things to the table, which is why diversity is so important among a team. By hiring people with different personalities and at varied stages of their career, it can help to foster creativity and offer a range of perspectives and ideas.
These benefits to include;
Reduced turnover
Increased productivity
Improved creativity
Increased profits
Improved employee engagement
Improved company reputation
Wider range of skills
Improves cultural insights
Being able to prove that diversity is embedded in the grain of your business clearly goes a long way towards helping you find the best applicants for a role. But once those applicants become employees, it’s an inclusive company culture, as people want to work in an environment who are accepting of all backgrounds and promote equality, that will actually allow you to retain them – which let’s be honest, is really the part that matters in this equation. Less diverse environments can also be hostile for those who feel they don’t fit in. When people feel cared about, and see that their peers are cared about, they stay (and they refer others). It’s a beautiful cycle.
Employees are more likely to feel comfortable and happy in an environment where inclusivity is a priority. Equality in the workplace is important for encouraging workers from all backgrounds to feel confident in their ability and achieve their best. The higher the team morale, the more productive employees are.
Teams comprised of various backgrounds and work experiences collectively come up with more creative ideas and ways to solve problems in the same way that individuals from diverse backgrounds can offer a selection of different talents, skills, and experiences By working alongside people of different backgrounds, experiences and working styles, creative concepts can be born from bouncing ideas off of each other and offering feedback and suggestions. Whereas one person may be great at generating exciting, out of the box ideas, another individual may have the necessary experience to execute it; so it is essential to play on each individual’s strengths and collaborate with others in the team.
But what about the Language barriers? Yes, Language barriers and cultural differences can often act as a bit of an obstacle however, by hiring employees who speak different languages it can make it possible for a company to work on a global basis (if that’s what you’re in to) and interact with a broader client base. Representing a number of nationalities within your company can also help to make it more relatable... just say'n.
As a whole, the workplace has made progress when it comes to diversity, but it’s still got a long way to go.
So, if you’d like your organisation to improve retention, spark creativity, attract top performers, increase revenue, and be all around better, you know what to do.
Disclaimer
This article, and any information contained on our website is necessarily brief and general in nature, and should not be substituted for professional advice. You should always seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters addressed.
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