Yesterday, we celebrated World Autism Awareness Day and it got us thinking more about the business benefits of diversifying your workforce. In this blog, we discuss the importance of diversity at work, and how it can help your company go from strength to strength.
Why is diversity important?
Much like an orchestra wouldn’t work with just one instrument, having a business full of people with the same abilities, cultures and backgrounds is never going to get you far.
Having a diverse workforce ensures that your business approaches challenges holistically, becauase each decision will be backed up by a kaleidoscope of minds with different perspectives and lived experiences.
Plus, why narrow your candidate search when you could miss out on finding the best person for the role?
What are the key benefits?
1.Employee satisfaction
Creating an inclusive work environment, where everyone feels welcome is paramount to ensuring employee satisfaction (and retention!). If your employees don’t feel like they are a part of the company culture, then it will likely result in them not wanting to put in an effort - or worse, looking for gigs elsewhere. Not only will this give your company a bad rep, but also higher costs for your company when it comes to replacing staff.
2.Improved productivity
Did you know that having a diverse workforce can help boost productivity? This is because diversity nurtures new ideas and sparks interesting conversations. If everyone shared the same opinion then nothing would ever be challenged; therefore leaving little opportunity for improvement.
Gender balance is also important here - a study by McKinsey found that businesses with an equal male-to-female ratio are 25% more likely to have a competitive edge compared to those that don’t.
3. Increased creativity
Which group is going to churn a more interesting set of ideas: A) people who all grew up in the same area, have the same set of qualifications and similar lived experiences, or B) a room full of people who all have unique ways of seeing the world, who have come from a variety of backgrounds and have had different lived experiences. We know who we’d choose. Having wide range of perspectives is invaluable to business growth and often leads to finding innovative solutions you may otherwise may never have come up with. Listen to each others’ ideas and allow everyone on your team to weigh in when it comes to decision making.
Final takeaway
It is important to frequently evaluate your hiring process, business structure and company culture to ensure your workplace is making a conscious effort to improve inclusivity and diversity.
Give us a call on 0203 856 4048 today to find out more about our current job vacancies.