Episode 5 Transcript: The Top 5 Benefits of a Diverse Workplace

Veronica Franco
Oct 2, 2022
6 min read

This is based on the LinkedIn article I wrote earlier this year which can be found at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-5-benefits-diverse-workplace-veronica-franco/?trackingId=CX85GfqzR6CT9YliVFnb8g%3D%3D

Many organizations realize the vital importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) policies and the main benefits of these practices. Inclusively diverse organizations reap the five following benefits:

Creativity & innovation through varying perspectives
Quick & efficient problem-solving
Increased profitability through culturally intelligent marketing
Increased employee engagement & reduced employee turnover
Respected company reputation for inclusivity & employee personal & professional growth.

Each benefit is critical in maintaining a competitive edge in the current globally fierce environment and is described in more detail below.

1. Creativity & Innovation Through Varying Perspectives

Incorporating different views from others with varying professional experiences can invite their colleagues to encounter the world through a new perspective, inspiring creative innovation among the team (Reynolds, 2018). Team members begin to broaden their cultural understanding, learn more about their colleagues, and build stronger trusting relationships with their peers through continuous exposure to different points of view. Diverse team members contain varying ideologies and hidden knowledge that can broaden the perspectives of other employees and clients, allowing teams to understand the nuances of various customer needs within the global marketplace (Stahl, 2021). Each employee is culturally intelligent in different regions and can educate their peers when problems or miscommunications arise in these cultures. For collaboration within diverse teams to be efficient and successful, the organization must highlight positively inclusive and secure environments for all individuals to contribute freely to the organization's mission (Stahl, 2021). Organizations must instill a sense of belonging among their employees while valuing their individual member's unique cultural experiences to enhance their team's innovative creativity (Leroy et al., 2022).

However, utilizing diverse thoughts can only occur when all staff are engaged in achieving the same goals and are empowered to speak freely (Carr, 2021). It is vital to remember that diversity alone is not enough for creatively innovative teams to flourish without inclusive practices (Leroy et al., 2022). Individuals must feel psychologically safe within their work environment to openly communicate their ideas. However, not all individuals will comfortably share their knowledge based on cultural differences without an established, open, inclusive environment empowering all members to contribute collaboratively (Reynolds, 2018). Inclusive leaders must instill a greater sense of purpose for the employees to push aside their competitive agendas to complete the company's overall mission through creative, innovative, and cooperative collaboration.

2. Quick & Efficient Problem-Solving

According to the recent study by Baggio et al., "diversity is always necessary to solve the most complex problems" due to each member's diverse contribution to the problem-solving process (2022, p.17). Each member's varying experience, methods, and specialties increase a team's problem-solving ability, leading to happier, more cooperatively productive teams (Reynolds, 2018). The individual expertise of each member adds to their organization's overall specialized services, allowing the company to readily adapt to an increasingly uncertain global business world (Reynolds, 2018). Due to each member's increased proficiency in varying areas, diverse teams can collectively find solutions to solve tasks, effectively utilize their resources, and quickly collaborate (Baggio et al., 2022) through culturally competent decisions that understand the changing behavior of consumers (Reynolds, 2018).

Although diverse teams may have contradictory opinions on how to solve a solution, all ideas must be shared and carefully evaluated to determine the best solution that will positively impact the targeted demographic (Stahl, 2021). Homogeneous teams tend to be like-minded and have more difficulty competitively stretching their thinking to achieve efficient solutions to daily problems (Reynolds, 2018). These non-diverse teams lack enough varying opinions to creatively innovate new solutions, which stifles progress and the company's ability to remain connected to its evolving consumers. In contrast to homogenous teams that may offer one solution to a situation, diverse groups think differently and come up with multiple solutions to the same problem (Stahl, 2021). The abundance of solutions comes from the group's diverse experiences and cultural backgrounds, which promotes openly inclusive discussions to find the best possible solution to the situation as quickly as possible.

3. Increased Profitability Through Culturally Intelligent Marketing

Company profitability cannot increase without the collaboration of inclusively diverse and creatively innovative teams. Investing in a diverse workforce increases profits and generates 35% more returns (Carr, 2022) because they comprise culturally intelligent individuals with unique specialties. Utilizing native speakers and culturally sensitive practices when advertising to different international and local markets is invaluable for an organization to achieve global success (Reynolds, 2018). Employees with high cultural intelligence in a company's new market can increase their ability to make decisions that will engage their target audience to invest in their organization's mission (Reynolds, 2018). Understanding larger global markets through a diverse workforce increase the likelihood of securing new global marketplaces by seventy percent (Stahl, 2021). Organizations must remember that certain slogans and ideas that are culturally appropriate in one nation will not be received or understood similarly in a different country. Culturally sensitive marketing demonstrates to the community the organization's commitment to DE&I practices and an understanding of the consumers' cultural needs, effectively building trust between the organization and the community it serves.

4. Increased Employee Engagement & Reduced Employee Turnover

For many companies, it is easy to hire diverse staff members, but retaining them can be challenging. Hiring talented, diverse staff members attracts ambitious candidates and expands the possible workforce talent pool exponentially (Reynolds, 2018). Companies that invest in a culturally diverse organization will attract skilled personnel who share different world views and encourages others to shift their preconceived paradigms for more inclusive ethnocentric world views (Reynolds, 2018). An organization's DE&I policies respect and value each employee's unique contributions to the organization, increasing the retention of these loyal, engaged employees (Reynolds, 2018). Employees must feel a sense of belonging to their organization without having to sacrifice being their authentic selves (Leroy et al., 2022). Inclusive leaders recognize that each team member is vital and irreplaceable to the organization, inspiring employees to become ambassadors for their organization when everyone embraces inclusive practices and accepts varying perspectives (Stahl, 2021). As more employees interact with their diverse colleagues, mutual respect for opposing views thrives, fostering cooperation across cultural boundaries (Reynolds, 2018). For diverse employees to remain engaged and committed to the organization, leaders must continuously utilize DE&I practices and encourage their employees' personal and professional growth.

5. Respected Company Reputation for Inclusivity & Employee Personal & Professional Growth

For organizations to remain internationally competitive, they must maintain a good reputation with their consumers. Companies must change their approach to engaging potential workers and their community by prioritizing benefits, inclusive diversity, and positive work cultures due to the significant number of employees quitting their current jobs for more inclusive work environments (Kemp, 2022). Establishing an inclusive work environment for all personnel retains highly talented individuals and encourages thriving organizations to expand. Companies utilize culturally competent, diverse personnel to expand their organizations into new global markets and territories (Reynolds, 2018). Utilizing diverse people with culturally sensitive global advertising increases the public's perception of an organization, giving them a positive reputation for their inclusivity and expanding their consumer base (Stahl, 2021).

Organizational stakeholders also hold companies accountable for improving DE&I practices and expect them to accelerate their employees' career advancement equitably without bias (Kemp, 2022). One way for organizations to encourage their staff's professional growth is through individual involvement, giving them the skills and experience they need to advance within the company instead of leaving for new opportunities (Kemp, 2022). These employees also should work with other professionals through an international company network; international collaboration experiences enrich all employees, increasing new ventures for team members to expand their connections and advance their careers (Reynolds, 2018). Companies must implement inclusive policies encouraging employees to utilize their strengths collaboratively and gain professional expertise by governing challenging situations impacting their communities, consumers, and other stakeholders (Baggio et al., 2022). As organizations prove their unwavering commitment to DE&I practices, stakeholders will begin to trust that these organizations care about the community because the companies employ a diverse group representing their community.

Conclusion

As Haj Carr states, "If you want to embrace D&I, you must also let it embrace you" (2021, para. 17). Organizations must incorporate DE&I policies in today's globally competitive market to remain internationally relevant. Companies that embrace inclusive diversity incorporate various perspectives to inspire creative innovation. Increased innovative communication amongst diverse team members fosters quick and efficient problem-solving. Diverse teams are also more culturally sensitive, which increases an organization's profitability in other world markets. Employees who recognize their importance within the corporate team are loyally engaged in their company's mission. Inclusive organizations that encourage their employees' personal and professional growth gain a reputation for positive DE&I practices by the community while increasing their overall profitability. Through those mentioned above inclusively diverse practices, organizations will be ready to conquer any unforeseen challenges and remain globally competitive for years to come.

References

Baggio, J. A., Freeman, J., Coyle, T. R., & Anderies, J. M. (2022). Harnessing the benefits of

diversity to address socio-environmental governance challenges. PLoS ONE, 17(8),
pe0263399. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263399

Carr, H. (2021, February 9). For small companies: The time for diversity and inclusion is

now. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2021/02/09/for-small-
companies-the-time-for-diversity-and-inclusion-is-now/?sh=656cd9786322

Kemp, M. (2022, March 7). Ai, benefits and diversity: Innovating for the future of work in

2022 and beyond. Forbes.https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresources
council/2022/03/07/ai-benefits-and-diversity-innovating-for-the-future-of-work-
in-2022-and-beyond/?sh=57fd199134c7

Leroy, H., Buengeler, C., Veestraeten, M., Shemla, M., & Hoever, I. J. (2022). Fostering

team creativity through team-focused inclusion: The role of leader harvesting the
benefits of diversity and cultivating value-in-diversity beliefs. Group &
Organization Management, 47(4), 798–839. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/
pdf/10.1177/1059601 1211009683