The Benefits of Embracing Diversity in the Workplace
Something that is important to many people is that they work in an inclusive workplace, where their colleagues reflect the diversity of the world around them. In workplaces where that isn’t the case and it is predominantly one particular gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or age, it can feel quite artificially constructed. Don’t be surprised to hear employees questioning the lack of diversity and wondering about the hiring practices of the company.
A dearth of diversity will always paint a company in a negative light, particularly to Generation Z who are more aware of such things than previous generations were and it may even lead to them not wanting to work there. Some surveys have suggested that having a diverse workplace is one of the largest priorities for this generation, and since they are going to make up the majority of new workers entering the workforce for the next decade, it makes sense to take on board their views and adjust accordingly.
Benefits of a Diverse Workforce
The above are the downsides to a lack of diversity in the workplace, let’s now look at the benefits that a diverse workforce can bring.
Greater Employee Retention
At this time when there are skills gaps in many areas of employment in the UK, it is increasingly important to retain your existing staff and not have them leave to join your competitors. It is proven that having more diversity in the workplace has a positive correlation with employee retention numbers.
If people are part of a minority group, they are unlikely to feel comfortable in a workplace where they aren’t properly represented and may feel unwelcome or pressured to leave. This may not be the intention of the company but it can be how it feels to people from diverse backgrounds when this is the case.
Where there is greater diversity, this helps to boost the overall morale of the employees and retention numbers increase accordingly. This is a major benefit in troubling economic times and could be the difference between survival and going to the wall for some companies.
Larger Talent Pool
Employees with a diverse workforce will find that they have a larger talent pool at their disposal when looking for candidates. It stands to reason that if you are only choosing from part of society, you have access to a much shallower pool of talent than if you have opened it up to everyone.
If you are excluding older people from your selection process for example, you are missing out on a working life worth of experience that could be getting passed on to younger members of your team.
With the advent of remote working, it is also far easier to include many disabled people who may have otherwise felt alienated from the opportunity to work with you, but who have the skills to do the job well. Many disabled people have said that they felt genuinely included for the first time ever when remote work was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the first time, they felt like they could be part of the workplace like anyone else, but as the pandemic has waned and support for remote working is facing a drop off again, they are once more beginning to feel excluded. Don’t let this often overlooked part of the workforce, which contains a great many talented individuals pass you by, make it as easy as possible for people with disabilities to apply for your jobs. This means allowing fully remote working and video interviews.
Increased Productivity
This is something that happens because people are more at ease with their colleagues and find it easier to work collaboratively together in healthy and positive ways. Being comfortable around fellow workmates can help to foster teamwork and cooperation and this is enhanced by embracing diversity.
In this environment, employees feel a lot more free to bring their whole selves to work and interact positively about things they have in common, which helps them to understand each other better and achieve superior results when undertaking work tasks.
Various studies have also shown that companies with greater ethnic and gender diversity can outperform companies with lower levels of diversity by up to 25%.
Better Problem Solving
When you have a company where everyone is from the same background, who have had the same kinds of upbringing and are around the same age, the chances are that their thinking processes are much the same. If you have a more diverse workforce, they will have had different experiences which have shaped their lives, so they will bring new and interesting ways of looking at problems that can bring a different element to the table.
The back and forth of ideas can then lead to real progress as everyone has their say from their different perspectives and adds to the solutions that are available. This all leads to better problem solving across the company and better outcomes for everyone.
Creating a Positive Brand as an Employer
In order to attract the best talent in your field, you need to be seen as an employer that people actively want to go to, not just as another company to work for. If you can embrace diversity and make it a key part of your company culture, you will be building your brand as an employer and your reputation will help to gain new and talented hires.
Many companies don’t even realise what their former employees are saying about them and how this is harming and tarnishing their reputation to other job seekers. In order to find out what your ex-employees think, offer them an exit interview when they are moving to another company, and make it clear that being truthful will in no way impact their reference from your company in future.
Perhaps even offer a financial incentive to take part, as a way of acknowledging the time they are giving up to do this. This can be an excellent way to both gather information and leave on better terms.
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