5 Ways That Diversity Can Help You Earn More Money

Yup, even good 'ole Adam Smith would promote diversity.

The election of President Trump drew out some who challenged whether diversity was a virtue that was beneficial to our culture.

The truth is, not only is there a moral case for diversity, there is also an economic case for it. Diverse companies and cultures are able to outperform their counterparts. I recently caught up with diversity expert Desmonde Shalom Monroe President of The Monroe GRoup, who helped identify five ways that diversity can help a company's bottom line.

Uptick in your contact list

1. Diversity in the workplace creates a happier environment and helps fosters remarkable creativity and collaboration. It has an impact on the way we communicate with our customers and allows us to identify more with the communities we serve. By having diversity inclusion as an HR directive, we have witnessed an uptick in our contact list and have grown our current footprint within a very diverse market like the one in New York City. Companies that show gender and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to outperform those that don’t, according to global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

Increases credibility

2. When employees are also members of diverse communities, it increases the credibility of organizations working with and within them, and it increases common ground with consumers, clients, and stakeholders. Research indicates that organizations with more racial and gender diversity bring in more sales revenue, more customers, and higher profits.

Boost in company moral

3. Workplace diversity has shown to increase workers performance and a give a boost in company moral. As a result of diverse opinions we can uncover more insight into customer behavior, can follow business trends eventually lead to discovering improvements on how the company operates. Also, the more effective an organization is at supporting diversity and inclusion, the more engagement that organization will experience among its employees. A diversity of experience may also bring different ideas to problem solving, allowing for more creative, more effective solutions to complicated problems. Diversity, ultimately, can contribute to a more effective decision-making and efficient problem solving methods by providing a range of perspectives and ability.

Source talent when looking to hire

4. Networking and building relationships with ethnically diverse professional organizations and associations is one way to source talent when companies are looking for candidates. Taking proactive steps to create initiatives that help managers and employees overcome their own biases. Many regions and governing bodies recognize and reward companies who are dedicated to diverse hiring practices, and more diversity leads to more talent, more productivity, and contracting opportunities. Research shows that embracing diversity helps businesses experience higher performance and increased profitability. However, whether or not a business benefits from cultural diversity depends on their ability to integrate diversity into the workplace.

Diversity and inclusion ingrained in the company’s culture

5. Diversity in the workplace does not begin and end with hiring. Organizations should aim to address both personal and collective differences throughout the entire employee life-cycle. Diversity and inclusion need to be ingrained in the company’s culture and be considered in every phase of talent management — from recruiting, and on-boarding to professional development, leadership training, performance management, workforce planning, and more. By making diversity a part of a company’s brand, organizations will let the world know that they embrace difference and welcomes all. Business leaders can show that their company cares and Invest in diversity by offering internships and scholarships to people from underrepresented groups. If companies want to diversify their workforce, they can start by understanding how many people of various ethnic or racial backgrounds are available in your geographic area by job function and set growth targets and be accountable for meeting them.

Desmonde Shalom Monroe