Accessibility and inclusivity in the workplace hold more untapped potential than just sitting as a buzzword in the industry. In fact, based on Deloitte’s research, diverse companies improve team performance by over 30% and enjoy 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee. While accessibility and inclusivity may be challenging to implement at first, fostering a highly diverse workplace offers clear benefits which will be further discussed in this article. So be sure to read until the very end to know how an inclusive environment produces higher quality work and establishes a sense of belonging among employees.
Larger Talent Pool
The key to finding top talent that is a great fit for the organization is to expand recruitment searches to more diverse candidates. According to a recent survey conducted by Glassdoor, 67% of workers consider diversity a significant factor when seeking employment. The same goes with HR Managers as a large percentage of them choose to hire more diverse individuals from different backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities to attract more qualified and interested applicants. With a well-managed talent pool, employers can significantly save money from job recruitment ads and reduce the time to hire instead of relying solely on the traditional approach of applying for specific criteria or roles when considering a candidate.
Boosts Company Productivity
Not only will employers be able to get access to a bigger talent pool, but they will also reap an insurmountable amount of benefits as highly engaged employees tend to go the extra mile for the organization, which has a ripped effect on productivity levels, employee retention, team morale, and company profitability in the long run. In fact, according to Cerebral Palsy Family Network, 53% of individuals with cerebral palsy are competitively employed and yield high performance given that they were provided with the right accommodations that vary depending on their degree of limitations. As this shift starts to take place, more and more employers realize that hiring persons with disabilities is not a charity but a wise business choice as they tend to be more productive in the workplace and loyal to the organization.
Provides Fresh Perspectives
Having a working environment filled with employees of different experiences, backgrounds, knowledge, and skills allows wider perspectives to be integrated when brainstorming new ideas and solving problems for the business. With several points of view, team members can build off each other’s ideas and enable everyone to contribute in a way that they can feel proud about. A Harvard report echoed this sentiment, stating that diverse companies tend to come up with fresh ideas and provide more innovative products and services that fit the current needs of emerging customer profiles. Furthermore, companies that employ diverse teams of workers can also communicate more efficiently with customer bases from specific communities with regional and cultural differences.
The realities of emerging markets and changing workforce environments have prompted several employers to take inclusion seriously. Today, several companies are embracing the culture of inclusion and are implementing an enterprise-wide awareness that goes beyond senior leaders. In return, this brings a positive impact on the overall brand perception as an employer while still impacting the company’s capacity to stay on top of the industry ladder.
