The word “workplace” runs deeper than the definition provided by the dictionary. A workplace is an environment that promotes collaboration and teamwork. It’s an avenue for employees to share their ideas and experiences to help achieve organizational success.
This practice of encouraging people to be confident in sharing their thoughts thrives in a diverse and inclusive environment. Especially in the tech industry, employees will be more open to collaborating and creating better innovations when they feel they are in a safe space to stay true to themselves, despite age, gender, or racial labels.
In this article, let’s discuss further the importance of diversity and inclusion in tech and how it can serve as a key to your company’s success.
Why Are Diversity and Inclusion Important?
An article from Futurity reports that job seekers nowadays prefer workplace diversity over a wage increase. They are even willing to forego a salary greater than $1,000 to work at a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
This perspective of job seekers proves that diversity matters now more than ever. Not only does a diverse environment benefit employees but their employers as well.
Diversity maximizes productivity. With diversity and inclusion, companies become a melting pot of ideas and a conducive space for creativity. Jung Ho Choi, an assistant professor of accounting at Stanford Graduate School of Business, has also stated that employees consider non-monetary benefits more than the financial advantages of their jobs. This includes the corporate culture and values, the diversity within the workplace, how it is operated, and especially, how they treat their employees.
Below are more of the benefits that a diverse workforce brings:
1. It develops the moral and ethical values of employees.
Having a diverse workforce enables employees to interact with people from different backgrounds. Hence, this teaches them the importance of being open-minded and respectful of the differences among their co-workers.
By promoting daily work on your employees with different backgrounds, you enhance their ability to understand and acknowledge the various identities around one another. In addition, with a diverse workforce, you can teach employees to be morally proper human-being even outside the workplace.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people of today’s generation value mental health. Many have associated being mentally stable with a strong foundation for being professionally accomplished, so more and more employees are looking for this type of support.
Through a diverse workforce, you help create a workplace that supports the psychosocial needs of your employees. If you promote a workplace with a non-discriminatory environment, employees can focus on being the best in their tasks than facing racial or gender slurs.
As a result of this support system, turnover rates will be lessened. When employees find their workplace healthy for their well-being, they will be more likely to stay and develop their skills in that same company and, in turn, develop the organization’s reputation.
3. It widens a company’s talent pool.
A diverse composition of your talent pool will lead you to a strong list of candidates with great potential that can’t be defined by age or social class. Who knows if these professionals have more skills to help you achieve the organization’s long-term goals?
A group consisting of people from different backgrounds will be able to generate more ideas as their thinking pattern differs. This can increase your teams’ knowledge and understanding of the world, which plays an essential role in creating strategies that can lead your workforce to innovation.
How to Promote Cultural Diversity in the Workplace
If you’re wondering how you can start embracing cultural diversity, here are a few steps you can follow:
1. Learn, learn, learn.
Your and your employees’ awareness and deep understanding of cultural diversity in the workplace will be the first step to promoting it.
Ensure that you are well aware and knowledgeable enough about the cultural practices of everyone. Then, disseminate that information to every member of the organization. With this, you can help ensure that no one in the workforce exudes discriminatory behavior.
2. Embrace inclusive practices.
In a workplace, implementing programs or training that introduce cultural diversity can be advantageous and can be considered a step closer to achieving a diverse workplace.
Another effective way of embracing inclusive practices is celebrating global diversity awareness month every October. This celebration serves as a reminder that cultural diversity positively impacts society.
Employers can start by finding mentors and seeking professional assistance to ensure that the information that will be shared is verified and reliable enough to be implemented in the workplace.
3. Start with you — be an effective role model!
By setting an example, you can start igniting the fire of diversity and inclusion within everyone’s hearts. An article from PricewaterhouseCoopers proves this as it states that leaders doing the exemplary acts are more effective than those trying to persuade people through words.
Let the people around you learn by observing you. Be the spark for that change, and let them see you as an example to follow. However, an employee or employer’s status matters little. Everyone can be a role model, especially in promoting cultural diversity in the workplace.
Attract Success by Attracting a Diverse Workforce
A workplace that nurtures an employee’s well-being also enables itself to grow financially and economically. With how job seekers and employees value diversity in their workplace, it is about time you see this through a new perspective and change the strategy.
Economic and financial success can be more achievable if the organization’s employees stay committed and passionate about their jobs. In exchange, employers like you must be keen on employee welfare, ensuring they are happy and content with the treatment that they are receiving.
RECRUIT A DIVERSE WORKFORCE WITH ON-DEMAND GROUP.
When your workplace promotes diversity and inclusion, you can attract top candidates who can take you further to success. To find the best candidates for your job openings, it’s best to partner with a staffing firm that fully supports your diversity and inclusion advocacy.
Enter On-Demand Group. From award-winning technology consulting services to direct hire services, we assure you we will provide valuable services and an effective candidate pipeline. Contact us today so we can start paving the way for your success!
