Have you considered establishing a more diverse workforce in your company? If the answer is yes, you have probably done your homework on the value diversity has in the workplace. If not, you may want to do some research. Employers who hire diverse candidates not only demonstrate open-mindedness, but they also understand the benefits diverse candidates can offer a business.
To help explore these issues, College Recruiter is hosting a College Recruiting Bootcamp on LGBT and other diversity hiring issues on Tuesday, September 29th at the Twilio headquarters in San Francisco. Join us.
Prior to that event, we’ll publish the opinions from a number of talent acquisition and recruiting leaders about why and how employers should diversify their workforces. In today’s article, Beth Zoller discusses the benefits XpertHR believes there are to having a diverse workforce.
Beth Zoller, Legal Editor at XpertHR
“Creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce has myriad benefits for employers and their workforce and can assist employers in achieving important goals in the workplace. Employers who maintain a diverse workforce may have an increased ability to serve customers and improve customer relations because they will have the opportunity to communicate with customers and potential customers of different cultures, races, religions etc. Most employers’ customer bases are becoming increasingly diverse due, in part, to changing population demographics. A diverse customer base is best served by a diverse team. This may result in increased sales and profits especially in a marketplace which is becoming more global.
By maintaining a diverse workforce, an employer may increase productivity and efficiency because employees are encouraged to focus on their strengths and different experiences, talents and backgrounds are valued. A diverse employer benefits from multicultural capabilities and competencies. A company that is diverse may be more attractive to investors, customers and potential employees, and have an improved public image.
Diversity can result in a positive work environment where there is a focus on respect, tolerance and teamwork. Diversity can lead to creativity, innovation and new ideas because of the multiple perspectives in the workplace when it comes to problem solving. This can help to obtain richer solutions and better results. Employees exposed to new ideas may be increasingly flexible and able to adapt in a global marketplace that is rapidly changing. A diverse workplace may result in less turnover among employees who feel valued by the employer and understood by co-workers. Lastly, a diverse workforce can promote fairness, civility and decrease the number of conflicts because individuals are evaluated on their merit, skills and qualifications.”
Beth P. Zoller is the legal editor for the discrimination, affirmative action, harassment, retaliation, employee privacy, and employee handbooks/work rules/employee conduct content in the employee management section of XpertHR. Prior to joining XpertHR, Beth practiced law for more than 10 years representing employers with respect to employment discrimination and harassment claims, contractual disputes, restrictive covenant issues, family and medical leave, wage and hour disputes and a variety of other employment-related claims.
