Diversity: No Longer Just Black and White

By Myron Curry
President of BusinessTrainingMedia.com

Diversity in the workplace used to hinge upon the level of responsibility, pay, and respect that one could receive based upon the color of skin and ethnicity. But, these days, diversity in the workplace has become much more than that. Most CEO’s and executives alike have come to discover that diversity is what often makes for better business.

THE MORE THE MERRIER

Every one of us comes from a different background with different experiences that led to different results. Because of this, each one of us brings something different to the table. We each bring a different set of skills, knowledge, and experience that makes up the diversity of us all. It’s in this diversity that we can flourish as a company.

Instead of everyone in an organization offering the same, general aspect, diversity gives us more to work with. People with different backgrounds have different sets of skills or knowledge that can be lent to the workplace. This gives a company more variety to choose from when it comes to employee results. Understandably, any company can flourish when it has more resources. The more it has, the better.

With diversity on its side, a company stands a better chance at finding working solutions and in less time. Not only does a variety of experience and background provide a vast array of knowledge and skills, but it also sparks creativity among those involved. The creativity is sparked by those taking part in the setting of diversity itself, not only supplying their own unique slice of diversity but discovering inspiration from others around them. This creates a brand new diversity in itself and adds to that which is already diverse.

WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE…MARKETPLACE?

As it turns out, a diverse population in a company’s workforce is not only good for the company but the market in which the company provides for. To be precise, a company that is capable of managing a diverse population of employees most often attracts a diverse range of customers. It doesn’t take a strategic planner to know that the more diverse a company’s customer base is, the better it prospers in popularity and sales.

DIVERSITY HAPPENS IN AND OUT OF A COMPANY

And, because diversity is always taking place outside of company walls, this fact addresses another variable that cannot be overlooked. The general public, a company’s market, is forever changing and re-changing in its diversity. As an example, one such change grabbed the attention of most customer service companies in 2000 when census results showed that African Americans were no longer the largest minority. Hispanics had officially moved into this position and now companies had to plan how to appeal their services to and attract this new group that would dominate in a new way, verse the previous minority majority that marketing strategies had been crafted around in the past.

With diversity in the workplace, it is easy to make these kinds of transitions. With a diverse number of employees and executives at the ready, a company can be covered on many more fronts than opposed to a less diverse company.

USED MORE THAN YOU THINK

Diversity works. And, it’s not a new idea. Diversity is a concept that has been used often, even for plans as large as the creation of countries. This strategy was formed by the founding fathers of the United States and gave meaning to the nickname of the “melting pot” that the U.S. became known for.

If it can work for the tangibility of an entire country, its results on something as small as a company can be profound