Why Diversity In the Workforce Is Imperative
Workplace diversity ensures that there will be more than one way to look at a problem.
By Gabriel Bristol •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
To remain relevant in the competitive world of business, diversity is crucial to the success of a company as it can support businesses in continued growth and prosperity. New companies are emerging every day, and in order to stay ahead of the curve, it is important for business leaders and employees to come together and create a diverse workforce environment. Ultimately, diversity breeds innovation, which helps businesses achieve goals and tackle new challenges.
Related: A Culturally Diverse Workforce Could Be a Boon to Your Business
As the CEO/president of an ever-changing customer service solutions company, I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of forming a diverse workforce with people of all ages, ethnicities, marital statuses and more. After just three years in my current role, I have seen positive outcomes from our effort of instilling diversity; in fact, the company has grown to 500 employees and has doubled its revenue to nearly 20 million this year and we attribute much of this success to our employees and their diverse backgrounds.
Through my life experiences that have ultimately helped bring me to where I am today, I am able to recognize that a diverse workforce with people, cultures, skills and personality, fosters fresh ideas and perspectives. I respect the fact that people are unique in their own way and that these differences are generally a good thing in the workplace.
Related: 4 Ways Diverse Teams Can Boost an Employer's Brand
I have witnessed the four advantages below from having a team that comes from different places and has unique backgrounds:
- More often than not a company's customer base is diverse and having a diverse workforce subtly acknowledges and respects this fact.
- People have different ways of analyzing and confronting challenges. Workplace diversity ensures that there will be more than one way to look at a problem and in turn more than one way to solve it. In short, diversity fosters creativity.
- Recruitment is less challenging when you look far and wide for the best talent.
- Diversity in the workplace ensures a varied and stimulating work environment, which is great for morale and retention.
Business leaders are understanding more and more the importance of a cohesive, collaborative and creative work environment and luckily, are acknowledging that this can be done most effectively with a diverse workforce.
I am a firm believer that diversity facilitates connectivity amongst employees and business leaders. With the help of my colleagues, I have created an environment that appeals to the experiences of all, which has been proven by the high employee retention rate and increased bottom line. Taking the time to embrace and make positive use of diversity will only strengthen your business endeavors and take your company to the next level.
