Why is Diversity in the Workplace Important?

I think most of us have a basic understanding of what diversity in the workplace is. The demographics of your employees should reflect those of the larger pool of people you’re hiring from. So why is this important?

When I think about maximizing diversity, I think about maximizing creativity. Diverse employees bring a variety of experiences and perspectives that can be applied to problem solving and innovation. More efficient and creative strategies and processes are developed when people employ different ways of thinking.

Of course, it doesn’t matter how diverse and ceative your employees are if they don’t feel comfortable enough to share their perspectives. Employees have to believe that their ideas matter. For this, leadership needs to think about the quality of the culture. Have we created an environment in which everyone believes their ideas are valued? Is the culture flexible enough to be inclusive? Important components of culture are inclusion and equity, which I will discuss in a future post.

Fostering Creativity in the Workplace

How do we foster that creative edge among employees?   

Creative performance and productivity are directly related to the quality of the organizational culture.  A positive culture fosters clear, direct, open communication.  It increases job satisfaction which, in turn, contributes to employee investment and commitment.  

For it to be effective, organizational culture has to be created and maintained from the top, and has to be part of the mission statement of the company.  Employees need to believe they are valued to contribute at a deeper level.  

3 Key Steps:

1. Fostering Communication:  Communication should be fostered in all directions both formally and informally.  Formal communication policies can include 360 degree performance evaluations, in which employees are also required to give constructive feedback to managers.  Managers can hold "office hours" on a regular basis to encourage drop in work-related conversations.
2. Identifying and Nurturing Employee Strengths and Interests within the Company. 
3. Explicitly Rewarding the Behavior You Want To See:  The culture of secrecy around rewards/incentives (raises, bonuses, promotions, etc.) doesn't foster motivation.   It is important to make the link between specific behaviors/outcomes and incentives explicit. Create clear pathways for people to follow, and make individual achievements and rewards public within the company.