Diversity and Inclusion are two separate terms that can never operate exclusively in a modern workplace environment. These are becoming business-critical initiatives and no longer nice-to-haves. Increasing diversity is important and means having representation from various race, gender, age, educational background, cultural background, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, and skills.
Increasing inclusivity is taking it to the next level. This focuses on making sure the diverse perspectives are included, and the diversity you have is retained and cultivated—diversity and Inclusion at the workplace effort and initiative. Just like businesses need to create actionable, measurable business goals to move their strategic revenue goals forward, a business must create actionable, measurable diversity and inclusion initiatives to move the needle. The return on investment is tangible. Some returns on investment are below.
The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in a Modern Workplace Environment
More Diversity Leadership Teams Creates a Financial Return
According to a recent global study published in the Financial Times, there has been a 2-4% increase in profits because of the 10% increase in gender diversity. You give your employees the chance to be more competitive and take responsibility for certain challenging roles. Then, you will automatically receive a higher profit and better financial performance. Diversity allows for an increase in revenue through higher market shares and innovation.
Increased Diversity and Inclusion allows for the recruitment and retention of diversity talent.
Diversity has a way of attracting talent, so by creating an inclusive environment in your company, you can recruit and support a diverse workforce that comes with many benefits. The more diversity in the workforce, the more efficiency and progress you witness before you.
Increased diversity creates increased innovation
Increasing your workforce’s diversity means seeing new ideas and perspectives. This helps a company flourish creatively and, at the same time, solve issues faster. With a bigger and diverse workforce, you can easily point out mistakes and fix them. Consequently, they prevent a company from facing a disaster while increasing profits.
Increased Reputation and Marketing
If you want to attract the right clients and customers, you have to showcase inclusive leadership. This will draw their attention to your company. In today’s era, people look for modernized backgrounds and teams to work with. So if you can offer that, you build a stronger corporate reputation. This is a great marketing technique, as well.
Bottom-Line
Any organization, company, association, or firm will benefit from focusing on Diversity and Inclusion. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s a business-critical initiative in today’s market. If your organization needs support, hire a consultant. There’s no reason to re-create the wheel, and the return on your investment both from a morale, brand, retention, and recruiting standpoint is worth doing Diversity and Inclusion right.