Cultural diversity poses a multitude of benefits in the workplace. An open, inclusive, and supportive workplace can stimulate employees and, in turn, enhance innovation, boost productivity, increase employee retention, improve brand reputation, and just generally foster a great professional environment.
Many companies are striving to build and maintain a more culturally diverse workplace, and a great way to get started is through free diversity and inclusion training from Evolve Communities. This program can teach you about cultural awareness, especially concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and help you establish inclusive practices in the workplace.
Defining Cultural Diversity
What is diversity in the workplace, exactly? A diverse workplace can be characterised as an environment wherein all persons can freely be themselves–without any barriers from biases and prejudices. Diversity in the workplace ensures that there is openness and inclusion and that each team member is valued and provided equal growth opportunities.
In the past, the definition of cultural diversity was largely limited to race, gender, and religion. But actually, it encompasses different aspects that make up a character, including their education, personal upbringing, political beliefs, and the like.
How Cultural Diversity Affects the Workplace
Cultural diversity brings a lot of advantages to a workplace. Here are some ways that it can positively affect a professional environment:
Enhanced Creativity and Innovation
A culturally diverse workplace will welcome perspectives from people of all kinds of backgrounds, and that can stimulate the minds of employees and empower them to think outside the box. This powers innovation that can greatly push a company ahead of its competitors. Plus, the views of different people can be used to reach out to a wider market.
Boosted Productivity
When creativity and innovation are at a high, employees are more likely to be motivated to do their work–and well, at that. This invigorating energy translates into more productive workflows, which, in turn, can bring in more profit and revenue, helping a business achieve its goals at a faster and more efficient pace.
Increased Employee Retention
Workplaces with cultural diversity are more likely to have employees who are happy to check in every day since they feel more valued and heard. This increases employee retention, which is good news for your Human Resources department. You’ll also likely have a good reputation in the professional market, which will make it easier for you to hire from a diverse talent pool of better applicants.
Improved Brand Reputation
When a company is known to have a culturally diverse workplace, it signals that they are more socially conscious and responsible–a value that customers greatly appreciate. A culturally diverse work environment will most probably have more loyal followers.
Better Workplace Culture
Promoting diversity brings an overall better culture in the workplace, one that can resolve conflicts better and arrive at solutions more efficiently. It’s an important step to ensuring that you run a well-oiled machine.
How to Foster Cultural Diversity in the Workplace
Fostering cultural diversity in the workplace doesn’t happen overnight. This is a process that often takes at least a couple of months, and it requires the participation of everyone in your team. Here are some steps that you can take to get started:
Enrol in D&I Training
Evolve Communities’ diversity and inclusion training is a free program that enables cultural awareness in the workplace by teaching you how to champion Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in your company. This is an enriching course that helps build cultural awareness and is a great first step towards fostering cultural diversity in your professional space.
