Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Benefits of creating a diverse workforce

What is diversity in the workplace?

Diversity in the workplace means an organisation is open to hiring employees from a wide range of individuals with different backgrounds; varying gender, age, religion, race, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation, languages, education, and abilities.

Diversity and inclusion is more than a trend

Businesses who encourage diversity and inclusion within their hiring process can bring a real competitive advantage to their organisation. Understanding the real benefits of creating a diverse workforce within your organisation, will not only improve the company culture and team, but having a team from a diverse background will increase performance and the success of your organisation.

What are the benefits of diversity in the workforce?

Diversity in the workplace gives access to variation of perspectives, where different characteristics and backgrounds can bring different skills and experiences. 

Reduced employee turnover

Diversity in the workplace can form a foundation for employees to be happy because they feel accepted and valued. Employees that are happier and more content in their place of work often stay longer in their job and are less likely to move to another place of work. The turnover rate tends to be lower for those organisations that have greater diversity in the workplace. As a result, employees who are happy at work are less likely to look for jobs elsewhere and a low staff turnover will lead to a decrease in recruitment costs in the long-term. 

Wider range of skill set

Diversity in the workplace can bring a wider range of skill sets to your organisation from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. A broader range of skills in your organisation provides a potential to be more adaptable and offer a wider range of products and services. Having a workforce composed of employees from different backgrounds, experiences and skills will bring a variety of ideas for your organisation. Individuals in a diverse workforce can bring different perspectives to problems and when these are brought together solutions can often be found much quicker.

Improved company reputation

Diversity in the workplace can contribute towards boosting your employer brand. An organisation that works towards hiring people from diverse backgrounds can positively improve the reputation of the company and make it easier for job seekers to relate to your brand. How job seekers see your organisation will influence their opinion of you as a potential employer and those organisations that do not present a diverse workforce could lose out on the top talent. A positive employer brand will attract new talent into your talent pool by creating an interest as a diverse employer.

Top Tip: Showcase to potential candidates e.g. Include photographs on your social media of your diverse workforce. Don’t use stock photos to show that you are diverse.

Increased creativity

An increase in creativity can be found in those organisations that prioritise diversity within their workforce. Those with different backgrounds and experiences can view the same thing in different ways, therefore bringing a variety of ideas to the table. Therefore, improving the creativity of your workforce. Diverse groups tend to make better decisions and generate more innovative ideas.

Improved employee engagement

A diverse workforce lends itself to higher levels of employee engagement. When an employee feels more comfortable and included within an organisation, they are automatically more engaged. This employee engagement can be heightened through hiring a diverse workforce. Hiring a diverse workforce and being inclusive provides the opportunity to all employees to contribute equally in the workplace. Employees working in an environment where inclusivity is a priority are motivated to perform better in their job role. Equality in the workplace can encourage employees, regardless of background, to be confident in their abilities.

Fact: 74% of millennials believe that their organisation is more innovative when it has a culture of inclusion

It widens your talent pool

Diversity in the workplace starts in the recruitment process and can bring real benefits to your organisation and the candidates. With skill shortages across the UK, broadening your search of job seekers to include people with diverse backgrounds can widen the talent pool you have access to. A wider talent pool of candidates to choose from can decrease the time it takes you to hire and reduce your cost per hire. An organisation embracing diversity will also attract a wider range of candidates to their vacancies, therefore widening your talent pool.

Recruiting a diverse workforce within your organisation is not just a trend for you to follow, but will lead to better hiring results when seeking top talent. Diversity in the workplace can boost your employer brand, increase employee engagement and reduce the turnover rate of employees. 

See how we can support you on attracting, engaging, managing and onboarding a diverse workforce in your organisation, or check out our blog on delivering a discrimination free recruitment process.