There has been a steady evolution in the workplace in terms of how businesses regard diversity. Historically, diversity was associated with affirmative action plans requiring some businesses to hire and promote under-represented groups of women and minorities. The goal of affirmative action was to assure the workforce demographics of businesses were representative of the population demographics in the communities where the businesses operated.

Today, when we think about a diverse workforce we consider a much broader definition, including differences in ethnic and cultural groups, generational variety, language, education, sexual preference or lifestyle choices, physical abilities and even organizational position. While most employers appreciate the changing scope of diversity, there remains a great deal of untapped potential in how businesses can leverage diversity.

To create sustainable change, business leaders must first make a personal commitment to promoting diversity within their businesses and communities. The cooperation and participation of the entire management team is essential to supporting a culture of inclusion that believes diversity is the ‘secret sauce’ to building a competitive advantage.
Inclusion is a journey – not a destination. Like all quality initiatives, inclusion requires an ongoing focus. Business leaders must be more innovative in their approach to recruiting, developing and leveraging diversity to hire and retain top talent in a shrinking labor market. The most profitable organizations are filled with people who express a wide range of views, values, customs and norms in an increasingly diverse marketplace. When diversity becomes a core value, business opportunities emerge, communication improves and collaborative work environments develop. Diversity creates an environment where employees feel safe contributing competitive ideas and share in access to opportunities and challenges. These dynamics influence business growth and profitability while reducing attrition and absenteeism.

Managing diversity can be complex and time-consuming. However, businesses don’t need to hire a Director of Diversity. The best approach is to develop a team of employees representing all levels of the organization and all walks of life. This team is responsible for defining what an inclusive workplace looks like and creating a roadmap to enhance participation from a broad cross section of employees. It is critical to develop a communication strategy to help employees understand what the business is trying to accomplish and how their roll contributes to the overall success of the company. Most importantly communication must be genuine, highly visible and ongoing.

To assure that diversity is not viewed as a ‘flavor of the month,’ inclusive behaviors must be integrated into the heart and soul of the organization. Managers must consistently role model the behaviors the organization wants to create. Responsibility for encouraging and supporting diversity sits with all levels of business leaders, from front line supervisors to the CEO. To assure an organization is effectively focusing on the right things they should measure perceptions from employees and applicants from time to time to understand their employment experience. Better yet, conduct an employee survey prior to implementing improvement efforts to create a baseline for assessing the impact of the change efforts made.

A diverse workforce mirrors the changing demographics of our marketplace. Customers make increasing demands upon businesses to understand their unique needs. Businesses that adopt diverse perspectives and ideas from a well-rounded workforce will be positioned to build a competitive edge through new product development and growth into new markets. At the same time, the work culture will become more collaborative with an emphasis on teaching, learning and sharing information. Every individual will have an opportunity to participate … to be listened to … to contribute … and to learn from perspectives different from their own. Successful businesses will move quickly to identify tools and training designed to educate their workforce about the benefits of diversity.