A culturally diverse workplace is good for business – there are no two ways about that. The world is a different place now – more connected, more global, and more competitive. Having a richly diverse team leading the way is the key to connecting on a much broader level and capacity. Not only is cultural diversity good for business, it is also good for the economy, because diversity innately allows for more opportunity across a wide spectrum of different ethnicities and socioeconomic levels. When it comes down to it, cultural diversity is good for everyone. Here are 5 advantages of a culturally diverse workforce.
Demographics are changing the marketplace. Industry insiders and analysts say that in the next 50 years, minorities will be the majority. What this means for businesses is that if they don’t diversify now, they will lose out on large portions of the market share. While the purchasing power of one demographic may have led the market share that many businesses rely on, this will vastly change in the coming years. Not to mention, the LGBT community will be more integrated too, so businesses don’t want to exclude what could be a massive cross section of their profit margins.
The world is becoming more global. If you want your business to connect on a more global level, having a culturally diverse workforce might be the only way. Not only will your workforce be able to communicate with more people, but also more people will want to connect with your workforce, which could increase productivity and sales. This diversity includes race, religion, age, and even sexual preference.
Everyone has something to learn from every one. Diversity can increase productivity in a number of different ways. Problems can be solved faster and solutions can be found more easily. There is no telling how much can be achieved by people of different age groups and generations working under the same roof. For instance, people who were raised in the middle of the twentieth century can have something to teach people who grew up at the end of it – and vice versa. By excluding certain age groups from your workforce you could be excluding invaluable wisdom.
More opportunities. By offering diversity training in the workplace, you can open up both managers’ and employers’ eyes to the wonders of the unique opportunities that will be made available to workers and business owners alike. It takes a while for this “diversity investment” to pay off, but if you improve the standard of life for a certain socioeconomic class, you can be creating a fresh new customer base that benefits from the goods and services of your business.
Growth. Cultural diversity is also good for the employees because it can help them grow. With all the unique cultural backgrounds, workers have a greater chance of learning about new perspectives and outlooks on life, which could, in turn, make them better employees. All in all, though, isn’t it just more fun and interesting to work with people who aren’t totally like you?