As global mobility becomes more prevalent among organizations, diversity is also fast becoming an important topic in harnessing the future of workforce.
Employees under the Global Exchange Program (GEP) acquires an improved understanding of diversity and inclusion that can be operationalized to harness human capital. This powerful and nuanced kind of diversity, called diversity of thoughts brings a lot of benefits both to the organization and the workforce.
Diversity today is not just defined by differences in genders, races or nationalities but also about fostering diversity of thoughts. Leaders must leverage both cultural and educational perspectives of the workforce during the decision making of business ideation. With employee becoming more multi-cultural, teams can tap into niche areas that are exclusive to specific demographics, enabling them to harness expertise and skillsets to improve the business process
Workplace Diversity
By now, you should already have a clear understanding of how important diversity is for the business, but if not then you are missing a lot. Diversity makes your company more effective, successful and lucrative.
According to McKinsey, organizations in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity was 35% more likely to receive above-average returns and those in top quartile for gender diversity was 15% more likely to get above average financial returns.
A diverse mindset should go beyond the conservative understanding of demographics and should accept that people have unique identities that influence their productivity. Whether you look at it in a cultural or economic perspective, age and gender, disability or personality types, everyone has different reasons to feel valued and included. Disregarding this, would generate a divide and exclusion that would stop employees from reaching their potential.
As the global tech giant, Apple Inc. once stated: “The most innovative company must also be the most diverse.”
Include a Human Approach
Incorporation more than accommodation, this is what inclusion is all about. Adopting an inclusive work style allows employees to thrive and be open in expressing their ideas that would cause better engagement and performance. It is easy to question the value of incorporating inclusivity when traditional processes are working. Why fix something that isn’t broken, right? But to give employees the choice and freedom to not conform to a rigid set structure elevates their employee experience and yields better work performance. As a whole, an organization gains massive value in becoming a diverse and inclusive company.
GEPs, for example, offers employee engagement initiatives that enable a culture of inclusion. For the workforce, it offers an opportunity to learn from foreign team members and challenge the status quo with their abilities and collaborative efforts. Organizations must also provide equal opportunities for all demographic groups to succeed and take on leadership roles.
AppLift, a marketing data platform, is among the advocates of global mobility through their International Talent Program (ITP). In an interview with FastCompany, Applifts events and community marketing manager Johana Leeflang shared her experiences with the company’s ITP program.
“Seeing how things were done in India was a fascinating way to cap off that work,” said Leeflang. “I got to see from a business perspective how to do a show in another country. Mobile marketing is at a different stage in India and getting an immersive look at the market was invaluable.”
Diversity and inclusion go hand in hand and provides a win-win situation for both employees and businesses. Employees become happier, productive and satisfied while businesses become successful.
From the human resource perspective, global mobility enables diversity and inclusion that would open cross-border expansion. A successful global exchange program would promote an elevated work experience for people that would propel your company to success.
Related Posts:
