Cultural Diversity in the Workplace and Its Benefits

There are some very positive benefits that can be hard from having a more diverse workforce. Let’s discuss eight amazing benefits to individuals and employing companies;

Increased productivity
Improved creativity
Increased profits
Improved employee engagement
Reduced employee turnover
Improved company reputation
Wider range of skills
Improves cultural insights

Before we dive in to the main benefits though, what exactly do we mean when we say diversity?

What is cultural diversity in the workplace?

Cultural diversity in the workplace is when companies are open to hiring employees from all sorts of different backgrounds; regardless of race, religion and culture. When companies recruit and retain a diverse pool of people, it brings about different benefits to the company as well as its employees.

Think of the human race as a whole; we are a very diverse species across the globe, with many different cultures, languages and beliefs. Why then, in this age of globalisation, should we not focus on ensuring our workforces are just as diverse?

“When employees respect each other and get along in the workplace, it’s amazing how productivity increases, morale increases and employees are more courteous to customers.”
– Maureen Wild

Cultural diversity can improve productivity levels

Do you know that a diverse company can lead to greater productivity? Diversity brings in different talents together, all of them working towards a common goal using different sets of skills.

In their research, The economic value of cultural diversity: evidence from US cities, the Authors conclude that “these findings are consistent with a dominant positive effect of diversity on productivity: a more multicultural urban environment makes US-born citizens more productive.”

Companies will also gain from each employee by learning from each other’s experiences and applying this new-found knowledge to their work. Employees from all sorts of different backgrounds get to learn from their colleagues’ experiences from a different perspective. Thus, they are able to bring fresh ideas to the project by thinking out of their comfort zone.

Remember that a diverse workplace combines employees from different backgrounds, ethnicity and experiences, and together breed a more productive environment.

Cultural diversity can increase creativity

Another benefit of cultural diversity in the workplace is the increase in creativity among teams, and the ability to have a more diverse set of solutions to specific problems.

In this Forbes article, the writers points out “Research on creativity and innovation has been consistent in showing the value of exposing individuals to experiences with multiple perspectives and world views. It is the combination of these various perspectives in novel ways that result in new ideas “popping up.”

With so many different and diverse minds coming and working together, many more solutions will arise as every individual brings in their personal way of thinking, operating and solving problems and making decisions. Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability.

Cultural diversity can increase profits

Many recent studies have shown that increased cultural diversity in the workplace can lead to greater profits for the organisation.

A 2013 survey undertaken by think tank, Center for Talent Innovation, found that 48 per cent of companies in the US with more diversity at senior management level improved their market share the previous year, while only 33 per cent companies with less diverse management reported similar growth.

48 per cent of companies in the US with more diversity at senior management level improved their market share

This may be in part to global business trends, and the benefits of language diversity.

For example; with the rise of companies dealing their businesses in China, a company that hires employees fluent in Mandarin to increase the company’s reputation in Chinese communities. This could result in an increase in sales, and resulting in improved profits.

Cultural diversity can improve employee engagement

What better way to learn about other culture and ethnicity than from colleagues that come from a different background than your own? Forget about researching them online.

Ask and learn them from employees during lunch break or after work drinks. What is the point of having a pool of diverse employees when they do not learn more about each other’s lifestyle and culture.

When your employees are sharing their personal experiences when they were in high school or what each or every festive season meant to them, they have built a trusting relationship among their colleagues.

This is great because it increases employee engagement and at times increase employee motivation as well, which is great for the company.

Cultural diversity can reduce employee turnover

A company that embraces cultural diversity in the workplace would immediately entices a wider pool of candidates for its job vacancies. Higher-educated candidates who experienced diversity while at university may feel that a diverse company is more progressive and therefore will want to work there.

The more candidates that applied for a job with a company, the company would generally enjoy a larger pool of candidates; the company is than spoilt for choice.

Companies who are recruiting from a diverse pool of candidates only mean a more qualified workplace. When companies recruit from a diverse set of potential employees, they are more likely to hire the best of the best for the industry.

In a constantly increasingly competitive economy where skills and talents are crucial to improving the company, put together the most diverse set of candidates is increasingly necessary to succeed in the market.

Studies also show that job seekers are often drawn to companies with diverse workforces because it is publicly obvious that these companies do not practice employment discrimination.

Cultural diversity reflects positively on reputation

Another benefit of cultural diversity in the workplace is the positive reputation that the company would receive. Companies who recruit and encourage individuals from a wide range of backgrounds generally gain a reputation for being a good employer.

Potential clients often feel more valued and thus give more business to these organisations.

A diverse collection of skills and experiences allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis because the company is able to relate and understand their clients better, and some even on a personal level.

Cultural diversity encourages wider range of skills

When companies hire a more diverse workforce from all backgrounds, these employees inevitably bring their own specific skills, that can be often just as diverse.

Having a wider range of skills and knowledge available to them, these companies often enjoy a more diverse and adaptable range of products and services that they can offer to their respective markets.

Diversity in cultures means diversity in skills and therefore products and service offerings.

Cultural diversity improves insights and reduces racism

By enjoying a more culturally diverse workforce, it is often found that employees then spend more time in their daily lives with people from cultural backgrounds that they are often never exposed to.

The end result of this is that employees learn new cultural insights and this in turn, reduces negative emotions such as racism, homophobia, sexism and the like.

by 6q