The Business Case for Workforce Diversity: 3 Reasons It Matters
Highlights
Workforce diversity isn’t about checking a box; it’s about recognizing the business value it brings and learning to unlock potential.
Diversity is a competitive advantage.
Diversity fosters innovation.
Workforce diversity and inclusion advances business initiatives by attracting highly skilled talent.
Cultivating and maintaining workforce diversity is good for business. And that’s not just my opinion — companies with diverse workforces outperform less-diverse competitors by up to 30% in terms of productivity and as much as 36% in terms of profitability.
It behooves us as a consulting company to seek out a wide range of people with diverse backgrounds and skills. We need diversity to achieve our business goals and objectives, including those that aren’t directly tied to diversity.
In part 1 of this Diversity Matters series, I covered why diversity in the workforce starts with leadership. Let’s build on those insights to create a business case for why workforce diversity matters to an organization’s success.
1. A Diverse Workforce Is a Competitive Advantage
Having a diverse workplace means hiring employees from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Teams draw on the collective wisdom of their team members and diverse teams bring a richer set of experiences to client work. From understanding the needs and preferences of customers, to building solutions, to driving teams toward outcomes — the variety in backgrounds results in more innovation at every stage of our work.
This variety also benefits us in terms of creativity and position in the market, especially when nurturing new prospects.
Our Prime 8 team has experienced this competitive advantage firsthand. A new client of ours has done an exceptional job of making diversity part of its core culture. As a global brand, it celebrates people from all walks of life, regardless of gender, disability, ethnic background, age, or language spoken. The company reflects its commitment to diversity in its hiring practices, advertisements, and the vendors and partners with whom they do business.
This client chose us as a consulting partner because of our aligned beliefs about diversity and inclusion. They believe that in order to create a truly diverse workplace, they also need suppliers and partners who understand the multidimensional aspect of diversity. Our alignment ensures that the right people can be brought to the table to solve their challenges and move them forward.
Companies that are able to communicate their position on diversity and inclusion and demonstrate their commitment to prioritizing diversity stand to attract business from other companies and customers who share those values.
2. Different Perspectives Solve a Range of Business Problems
Directing the value of diversity into solving big problems for companies in unique and innovative ways is how our company was founded; it’s woven into the fabric of our organizational culture.
But we recognize that many organizations are still learning what it means to be diverse. Hiring candidates based on superficial diversity requirements like gender, ethnicity, age, and background is the first step for many organizations, but it shouldn’t end there.
Companies pursuing diversity in the workplace need to understand the importance of the various elements of diversity. It’s not just gender, race, language, or age. Rather, the vectors of diversity are most useful when they’re applied to real-life situations. Once companies put diverse candidates into place, the next objective becomes to add context to diversity and how it can be used to solve business problems.
For instance, maybe you’re rolling out a new program targeting a niche set of customers. Successfully launching the program means knowing how to meet those customers where they are and connect with them in ways that matter to them. Ideally, an employee who shares a similar background to your target audience can help you find the best approach. Having employees on staff with a diverse range of skills and backgrounds can give you access to the skills you need at that moment.
When we start the discovery process for a new project, we begin by asking about the business problems our client is trying to solve. A great deal of our work is with multi-national companies that build products and implement initiatives that are either globalized and have to accommodate all walks of life or localized for a specific audience. Not every company can flex across this spectrum. Because the default ‘lens’ through which we interact with the world is one of diversity, we can fluently develop solutions for clients that are effective in targeting the breadth of their needs.
3. Building Diversity in the Workplace Supports Talent Acquisition
Clients and suppliers aren’t the only ones paying attention to your diversity and inclusion efforts. It’s also important for prospective employees to see how you value workforce diversity.
Companies that prioritize diversity in the workplace have access to a broader talent pool. Candidates that come from different backgrounds or belong to marginalized groups feel more confident in joining a company where they feel their talents will be seen and celebrated. They’ll be in a position to bring their best skills and efforts to the table without holding back. Competitively, we *know* that Prime 8 attracts better-quality talent because of our place in the market. That same talent tells us that they chose Prime 8 in part because of our diversity practices.
Ensuring Workforce Diversity with Prime 8
Embracing workforce diversity has become an “it factor” in the success of organizations. Diversity not only makes employees feel seen, heard, and valued, but it also fosters innovation, creativity, and a marketplace advantage — all of which can contribute to a growing bottom line.
I invite you to join me for part 3 of the Diversity Matters series. In the meantime, if you need unique skill sets for an upcoming project, let’s talk about how Prime 8 can help you get there.
