What does diversity mean?

Diversity in the workplace means that there is a variation and a breadth among the co-workers, for example regarding gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and reduced mobility. Co-workers with separate and unique life experiences are seen as an asset.

Why is it important?

When different approaches and experiences meet, the innovation capacity and the creativity increase. Diversity can also make the workplace more attractive to new co-workers, and with that the employers will have more talented applicants to choose from. The company’s capacity to understand and reach different markets and customer groups also increases according to studies.

Research also shows that the positive effects of diversity come from inclusion, which you can read about here. With diversity and inclusion, you can create a workplace where everyone feels seen, respected, and encouraged to contribute. It is a great way to improve job satisfaction, keep co-workers, and often increase the profit.

A few examples

• By her way of looking at things, recent graduate Anna, 23, can give valuable input regarding practices, products, and marketing.
• Anders, 52, has the experience and the kind of security you get from many years of work experience, which in turn gives the business both stability and credibility.
• Women and men can, from their respective experiences, put business, ways of working, and customer groups into perspective. The same goes for people from different cultures and with different religious beliefs.
• Kim, who has reduced mobility, can, besides contribute with her competence, give important feedback concerning accessibility of products and services.
• Besides bringing his competence, Ahmed, who has a migrant background, can also provide knowledge of his culture of origin, which in turn can open up doors to new markets and customer groups.

In other words, a diversity of co-workers can better reflect the breadth of society – with its expectations, needs, and desires regarding services and goods.

How to start changing

It is easy to hire people that remind you of yourself when it comes to background, gender, and ethnicity. We tend to select what we know. Start by actively recruiting co-workers from different backgrounds and begin working in-house on creating a culture that welcomes and values differences.

If looking for co-workers outside your usual channels seems tricky, you can get help from a recruitment agency. Remember to specify that you want a diversified recruitment. An advantage of using a recruitment agency is that it often has more means of contact, many data bases, and is not affected by different internal corporate cultures.

If there already are three co-workers in the staffing named David who are 45 years old, maybe the next co-worker should be called Damir, Diana, or Derifa and be 25? Think about the possible benefits for the workplace with and how your business can develop through diversity