In this day and age diversity is imperative to a business’s success. Diversity is no longer just about the difference between the number of women and men in the workplace. It has evolved to include so many other aspects such as age, gender, sexuality, culture, race and religion.

The advantage of openness

Businesses with high level of diversity and inclusive culture are twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets. There are many advantages to having a highly diverse workforce. The first being that the issue of inclusion which a lot of businesses face would be eliminated. Having a diverse workforce promotes an atmosphere of openness where employees are less likely to feel isolated or left out. When employees feel like this their work is likely to suffer, this in turn puts a strain on the productivity of a business as well as prevents any future growth. Diversity gives employees a better sense of belonging and security, this helps with improving productivity. An inclusive workforce is three times as likely to be high-performing.

Strengthened relationships

A diverse workforce has the ability to strengthen relationships. One of them being between employers and employees. Employees are more likely to feel appreciated and have more trust in their employers as they feel that they understand and respect their culture. The second being between your business and its customers. Customers are more likely to trust and want to do business with businesses that are known for their diversity.

Recruitment

When it comes to recruitment having an open mindset towards diversity gives you access to a much wider range of candidates as well as more top talent. It makes recruitment less challenging as there is nothing limiting your business hiring. With the changing workforce comes a different set of demands. Nowadays it has been seen that candidates consider diversity an important factor when looking at job offers.

The advantage of exposure

When employees are exposed to various cultures they not only get a better understanding of them but are able to have a better appreciation for them. From an HR standpoint this can lead to a reduction in complaints which in turn results in a better functioning workforce.

Diversity drives innovation. A diverse workforce is exposed to many different cultures and becomes a breeding ground for creative thinking. With people from different backgrounds come a spectrum of various perspectives. This helps in coming up with different ways in which a problem can be solved and thinking of future innovations. This also applies to marketing, as businesses would have the knowledge to be able to market to a wider range of customers over different cultural groups, in turn enabling your business to increase market share and become more profitable.

Diversity has a big influence over the way in which businesses function and it is important to understand how valuable it can actually be. Only with a diverse workforce can a business cater to various needs to uncover their ability to think dynamically and progress.

If you like our article and would like to share your views, please drop your comments below.