Many companies and business leaders still consider diversity as a barrier to achieving growth and development. Different perspectives regarding beliefs, ethnicity, race, generations, and even sexual orientation are some of the reasons why it's hard to accept that Diversity is inevitable in our workplaces.
On the other hand, contemporary leaders understand that a diverse working environment is a thriving workplace that triggers leadership development, a good employer brand, and innovation. According to an article published in Forbes, "Diversity gives you access to a greater range of talent, not just the talent that belongs to a particular world-view or ethnicity or some other restricting definition."
Let's take a closer look on how your company could benefit from having a diverse workplace.
Leadership Development
Leading people with various backgrounds is one of the most significant benefits you can get in a diverse workplace.Leaders who embrace diversity understand themselves and others, so they can adapt and connect more easily – which can help them manage conflict, facilitate communication and teamwork, drive productivity and motivate talent.
Good Employer Brand
Simply put, as you show your respect and genuine trust to your employees, no matter how diverse they are from each other, you are building a respectful environment that will reflect towards your clients, suppliers, and customers, thus earning their loyalty and support to your company.
Innovation
A diverse workplace is the best place to fish for fresh, innovative ideas and creative insights. But more than just a place for gathering ideas, it is also an environment where innovative ideas and insights are executed which could also trigger breakthroughs and success for your company.
Maximizing Diversity to Spark Innovation
Easier said than done, maximizing a diverse workplace is actually hard to achieve. It's complex enough that some companies tend to disregard this idea. Though as challenging as it may seem, there are some practical ways that your business can apply to maximize Diversity in creating an innovative workplace.
1. Involve your employees’ idea
To take advantage of a diverse workplace, leaders should learn to promote an inclusive environment where ideas and insights, no matter how broad it is, is accepted and considered. In that way, employees will feel their belongingness and support from the company. Furthermore, when they think that they were heard and accepted, it won't take long before they go to you and bring another set of innovative ideas which even leads to a productive and engaging work environment.
2. Encourage brainstorming
Aside from being open to your people's innovative ideas, it is also essential to make them realize that the workplace offers a table for collaboration. Diverse ideas might be unique from each other, but that doesn't mean that they could not coexist.
When you have individuals from various backgrounds and environments, you should maximize on getting every insight and come up with a formulated idea. By brainstorming, you are not just helping them to collaborate, you are teaching them as well to develop innovative decisions for your company.
3. Emphasize Diversity in your organizational culture
As we all know, more than services, products, and technologies, your organizational culture is what makes your company unique from competitors. Emphasizing Diversity in your corporate culture is vital to remind your employees of how your company values Diversity.
Always remember that a diverse team, if properly managed and engaged, could be unified to hit specific goals, provide innovative decisions, and offer excellent customer service.
4. Provide a healthy environment
Providing a healthy environment means protecting your employees by promoting a safe space to share insights and decisions that could help the company grow.
It is also essential to let them know that in providing their ideas, you are closing the traditional toxic thinking of "providing a perfect and non-failing idea." In fact, let them know that all ideas are accepted, and failing is just part of the company's growth process.
There is no better way to develop an innovative idea without trying and testing all available thoughts. Indeed, some insights will fail in the process of testing.
Innovation and Diversity comes in a Package
By working together in making your company succeed, Innovation and Diversity can become the bedrock of your business' success.
To wrap it up, it is vital to highlight Innovation and Diversity in your company's workplace. If you're looking for a strategic way on how to spark innovation in your working environment, you need to start on building an organizational culture that values Diversity.
If you need help in designing your company's organizational culture, reach out to us, The Team at Prevo info@prevo.org and we will assist you in developing the right organizational culture where Diversity is considered as an asset for growth and development.
Other than that, we can also provide a list of proven and tested tools that you can use to maximize your diverse environment. Visit our website Prevo.org to know more!