Employing people of various ages, genders, races, sexual orientations, cultural origins, and educational levels is what diversity in the workplace entails. Cultural diversity at work is important not only for creativity and social justice, but research also indicates that a diverse workplace is good for business. In fact, organisations with a diverse workforce are 35 percent more likely than their non-diverse counterparts to see higher financial returns.
To mark World Day for Cultural Diversity we have highlighted the huge benefits to not only the employee, but also the business when it comes to having a culturally diverse workforce as research shows that diversity drives innovation and captures market share.
How can cultural diversity help to attract talent?
We are currently experiencing The Great Resignation. People are quitting their roles and deciding to launch their own businesses or find something more suitable. There is a lot of opportunity out there currently which means businesses need to be more attractive to job seekers rather than the other way around. If you are wanting to attract the best and brightest talent to your organisation then they need to be able to look around and see people like them.
When it comes to attracting talent, cultural diversity is crucial. People will find your company to be an attractive place to work if they can see a diverse team. Many people of colour are underrepresented, and minorities could become more conscious and careful about where they work.
Multiple backgrounds provide multiple viewpoints
It’s no secret that a diverse team will naturally boost creativity and innovation and companies are always looking for new thoughts and outside–the-box ideas. People from various backgrounds have different life experiences and see the world differently to each other so multiple perspectives will bring innovative and unique ideas to the table. Multiple perspectives from different backgrounds means teams are better at problem solving as well as diverse teams improving decision making by up to 60% compared to non-diverse teams.
Diversity is able to provide that spark that can drive a forward thinking and innovative approach for businesses to build their success. It also comes as no surprise that research also supports this with culturally diverse companies seeing more success in terms of innovative outcomes.
More success for the business
Many recent studies have found that increased cultural diversity in the workplace can result in higher revenues for the company. According to a survey conducted by the Center for Talent Innovation/Coqual, organisations with more diversity in senior management increased their market share by 48% over the previous year. This could be due to global business trends and the advantages of language diversity in developing the business even further. The increased profits can be put down to higher productivity and creativity levels in a culturally diverse team. More ideas and methods are possible in a diverse workplace. This diversity of talent means that employees have a greater range of skills, as well as a variety of experiences and viewpoints, which lead to increased productivity.
How can you support cultural diversity at work?
Managers and employees must both understand how to build a diverse workplace culture. A company must implement policies that take into account their employees’ diverse origins and establish a culture that appeals to everyone. Here’s what you can do:
- Value all your employees equally
- Promote career development opportunities to everyone
- Support workplace collaborations
- Identify any potential bias and be fair to all backgrounds
- Educate teams on cultural diversity to encourage respect
- Implement a diverse recruitment strategy
- Respect all beliefs by offering workplace flexibility
Here at Virgin Incentives, we have a senior leadership team who believe in being inclusive for employees of all backgrounds, here’s what our COO, Danni Rush has to say:
“A business must have policies which consider the different backgrounds of their employees and create a culture which appeals to every background.”
Involving employees from all backgrounds in HR decision-making processes is a key strategy to develop a diversified working culture. Employers should communicate with their employees to confirm that any proposed policies are applicable to them, and to see if any improvements can be made.
Employee involvement in the decision making process for new policies or a reward and recognition programme guarantees that everyone’s input is heard and that the company’s direction is consistent with both the employees values and the business values. Need help with a reward and recognition programme that can support employees from all backgrounds and support diversity at work? Get in touch with us below:
