diversity in the typical Australian workplace

 

Today in Australia, workplaces diversity is a norm and it happens across all cities in each state of the country. There are 28% of the population was born overseas; another 20% have a parent who was born overseas; about 20% of our population speaks a language other than English at home.  To put it in one way, we can say that almost half the population is either first generation or second generation Australian. In our workplaces, most of us would accept cultural diversity as part of everyday life.  If we were to think though about why embracing or being explicit about celebrating diversity matters, I think we can put it in the following terms: it is about capturing talent, it is about boosting innovation, it is about encouraging productivity.

Inevitably, embracing cultural diversity will bring forth various advantages to a company, here are the 5 mains advantages:

1) Increased productivity through collaborative workforce Encouraging work force collaboration through mutual respect for colleagues, without regard to culture, work style or ethnicity is another way to foster appreciation for diversity. The Diversity Vision Statement of Foothill-De Anza Community College aptly describes the result of a diverse workplace: "We believe that culturally diverse teams yield more creative, synergistic and effective outcomes." A collaborative work force can result in a more productive workplace, which in turn, translates to greater organizational success. 2) Improved Customer Engagement Workplace diversity can affect your organization's global appeal and expand your customer base by virtue of your work force talent. In the university's Mission, Vision & Value statement, the University of Pennsylvania's Purchasing Services notes one its values as: "Workplace diversity to embrace various backgrounds and perspectives in our work force so we can best serve our broad customer base." If your business objective is globalization, a diverse work force can help you achieve that goal. 3) Reduced Employee Turnover A company that embraces cultural diversity in the workplace would immediately entices a wider pool of candidates for its job vacancies. Higher-educated candidates who experienced diversity while at university may feel that a diverse company is more progressive and therefore will want to work there.The more candidates that applied for a job with a company, the company would generally enjoy a larger pool of candidates; the company is than spoil for choice.

4) Increase company reputation

When your business demonstrates an appreciation within the workplace, your reputation in the business community can improve. If your business goals include becoming an "employer of choice," you may experience a more diverse pool of applicants who can bring a great deal of talent to your organization. Your company may also be viewed by stakeholders and other professionals as an organization that values integrity and ethical business practices. Business consultant Paul Taaffe of Hill & Knowlton states: "Reputation matters, and the reputation of the company is based on far more than just its financial performance and the quality of its products and services." A solid business reputation is another advantage of workplace diversity that can improve your standing as an industry leader.  5) Increase range of skills

When companies hire a more diverse workforce from all backgrounds, these employees inevitably bring their own specific skills, that can be often just as diverse.

Having a wider range of skills and knowledge available to them, these companies often enjoy a more diverse and adaptable range of products and services that they can offer to their respective markets.

Diversity in cultures means diversity in skills and therefore products and service offerings.