As the workforce becomes increasingly diverse, companies are realizing the importance of having a diverse workplace.
In 2011, Forbes Insights conducted a survey of 321 companies with more than $500 million in revenue, finding that 85 percent agree diversity is essential to workplace innovation.
“Competition for talent is fierce in today’s global economy, so companies need to have plans in place to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse workforce,” stated the results.
A 2009 survey conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management found that many companies are working to mix diversity into their workforce strategy using some of the following methods:
- Leading from the top down
- Making diversity a core value
- Revising business processes to support diversity
- Setting targets to incorporate diversity and tracking progress
- Offering diversity training to management and employees
- Partnering with external organizations to expand recruiting efforts
An overwhelming 55% of respondents said their companies “strongly promote” diversity. However, when prompted to name groups that are underrepresented at the company, 79% cited women, 46% named workers over 50 years of age, and 39% said ethnic minorities.
Four Benefits of a Diverse Workforce
Diversity in the workplace can have an overwhelmingly positive impact on your company in a number of ways, including:
Added thoughts & viewpoints: A diverse workforce has access to the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of a wide-variety of people, instead of just one group. This can help companies generate ideas to reach new audiences, create new products and services, and improve inefficiencies.
Increased employee satisfaction: People want to work for a company with fair hiring practices. Not only do these companies have higher retention rates, they’re also more likely to receive employment referrals from current employees with qualified connections.
Greater partnership opportunities: Many companies opt to only work with organizations with shared values, like diverse hiring practices.
More attractive to customers: When deciding which companies to do business with, customers have many choices. Many feel a close connection with organizations who promote diversity and actively seek them out. Diverse hiring practices can help draw customers in and strengthen public perception of the company.
After establishing your company as a diverse workplace, you can improve your overall recruitment efforts to include ways to obtain your desired pool of qualified candidates.
At TalentBridge, our commitment to diversity starts in our own workplace and ownership. Diversity is both a strength and a benefit we believe every organization should promote. We specialize in clients who encourage an inclusive work environment. Our team can help you create an intelligent, thoughtful approach to create a diverse workforce. Let us provide you with assistance in your company’s diversity initiatives.