Benefits to Diversity in Business

There are tremendous benefits for companies that have a diverse workforce. Hearing a great deal about diversity and inclusion in the workplace recently, I came across a Harvard Business Journal article that discussed how diversity plays a role in innovation for businesses. I enjoyed this article, however, I wanted to better understand the benefits that having a diverse workforce brings to companies. 

For background, diversity can be something as simple as age, race, gender, or a disability. There can also be deeper level differences in personality or values such as religion, socio-economic backgrounds and sexual orientation. Here are just a few of the advantages of having a diverse team:

1. A variety of points of views and perspectives are available – As in the premise of my blog, “Changing Your Lens”, a diverse workforce provides numerous lens to view situations from.  This allows additional approaches to problem solving as well as identifying opportunities which can result in better leadership decisions.

2. Better relatability to customers – In a global marketplace, the customer base is increasingly diverse.  By having diverse teams, companies can greatly improve their relationships with customers and their organizational effectiveness.

3. Improved Creativity – The more diverse the teams are, the more creative the ideas will be.  

Considering the benefits from having a diverse company, try Changing Your Lens and look beyond biographical or cultural characteristics when hiring and instead focus on the individual capabilities the individual possesses. Leaders need to seek to understand and respect the unique characteristics that each team member can bring to the company.  

“Diversity is an advantage for any company, and can be an important factor in its success.” – Richard Branson