Diversity in the Workplace, Building a Better Foundation for the Future

psychological safety in the workplace

Today’s workforce is bigger and more diverse than ever before, with plenty of new perspectives, skillsets, and resources all ready to be utilized. As many business owners will know, diversity plays an important role in helping the workplace grow. By pulling from a larger talent pool and creating an inclusive atmosphere, you set yourself up to reap the benefits of a versatile team of employees that bring their own unique skills and insights to the table.

At Pivot HR, we know that creating a diverse workforce that’s well equipped to carry out the goals and vision of your organization can be challenging, even with the best intentions in place. Below, we’ll explore the importance of continuing to strive for more diversity in your organization. Read on to learn more!

What is Workplace Diversity
It’s no secret that the corporate world loves its buzzwords, and that “diversity” has been a popular term over the past several decades. Many businesses tend to associate a diverse workplace with one that hires team members regardless of age, gender identity, race, or religion. While this is certainly true, these qualifiers only scratch the surface of what diversity can, and arguably, should look like in practice. In today’s workforce, a diverse environment is one that includes representation from all religions, cultures, sexual and gender orientations, multiple languages, educational backgrounds, and a wide range of skills and abilities. As our understanding of social justice continues to develop, the corporate world has begun to see greater changes than ever before, with the active workforce shaping itself to reflect these shifts accordingly.

Why Focus on Diversity?

If you are part of a small or medium-sized organization, you may find yourself thinking that it’s difficult, if not unrealistic to achieve the level of diversity in employees listed above. Though this may be true, it’s important to remember that the overall goal of diversity is not to ‘check as many boxes as possible’ but to strive to have a complex representation of background amongst your team. In doing so, you stand to gain the benefits of a varied workforce, which include:

Enhanced Innovation

Great minds may think alike, but even better minds know how to challenge the status quo. By varying your team members and ensuring you have a wide range of backgrounds represented, you gain access to several unique perspectives and lessons learned from prior experiences. This diversity equips your workforce to think outside the box and stay creative, both of which are keys to long-term success.

A Boost in Productivity

Studies show that diverse teams are far more likely to be productive. Why? While human nature may drive us towards like-minded individuals, we thrive in environments where we have peers that challenge us in a positive sense. A diverse team is well equipped to rise to the needs of your business and adapt as needed, leading to a boost in productivity that’s sure to have positive results for everyone.

Better Employee Retention

Everyone wants to belong and feel included at their workplace, so it should come as no surprise that diverse workforces are far more likely to have workers that intend to invest in their organization for the long term. This level of commitment means you’ll spend less on recruitment fees and can build for the future with confidence.

Connect With Customers & Clients

Never underestimate the power of having employees that can naturally connect with your target customer or client base. Hiring team members from a vast variety of backgrounds increases your ability to appeal to a wider group of people and makes it easier for your employees to form meaningful connections with your key customers and clients.

Financial Gain

Enhanced productivity, lower turnover and better customer and client relations all translate to one thing: higher revenue intake. When you hire to build your team with new skills and backgrounds, you give yourself a stronger asset that’s sure to provide better returns for the whole team to profit from.

Handling Challenges

As we mentioned earlier, developing a diverse workforce isn’t always easy. For one, it can often be hard to see where diversity is needed, especially if you haven’t expanded your team in quite some time. Partnering with an HR consultant can make it easier to evaluate your current workplace diversity, as well as identify where you need to grow and any hindrances you may face in the process. Based in Vancouver BC, Pivot HR works alongside businesses to conduct diversity assessments, design and deliver focus groups, develop and review policy, and more. As your source for modern HR support, we’re proud to partner with you to develop a custom plan that works best for your needs. Contact us today to learn more!

What Our Clients say about us

“Robin and Mia were both exceptionally professional and responsive and understood our needs. Their work was of great quality. We are a small non-profit organization and we found them very easy and wonderful to work with. Great value and highly recommend.”

~ Joy Masuhara , Co-Chair Women Transforming Cities International Society

“Cindy is a remarkable professional coach, who goes well beyond expectations in supporting her clients’ development. She knows how to ask the right questions and uncover the real and deep issues that contribute to the limitations we put on ourselves. This type of personal exploration is tough work to do alone and remain committed to necessary change. Cindy’s approach and support made this process one of the most impactful experiences of my life, professionally and personally.”

~ Monique Cotton, Firm Administrator, JFK Law Corporation

“As a medium size business with over 100 employees working in very different areas of our operation, Pivot was able to quickly understand our HR needs and offer practical solutions. Robin and the Pivot team worked closely with our Leadership group to implement effective turnkey solutions on time and on budget. We will continue to use Pivot for our ongoing HR needs and would highly recommend their services.”

~ Adam Zubek, General Manager, Point Grey Golf & Country Club

Pivot HR Services provides personalized solutions for our organization’s human resources needs. By engaging their services, we have been able to successfully outsource our HR function, as the Pivot team has demonstrated their ability to understand the HR priorities of our workplace culture and industry.

~ Areef Abraham, Chief Executive Officer Community Power

“Robin developed our employee policy manual with the goal of engaging and retaining our current staff as well as attracting new ones in this highly competitive marketplace. Her in depth knowledge of current legislation and HR policies proved to be of significant benefit. I would highly recommend Robin and the team at Pivot HR Services.”

~ Christopher Soles, President, Nextgen Technologies Ltd.

“Robin has been and continues to be an outstanding resource for our organization to navigate HR issues as we grow. She always approaches problems with professionalism and a keen eye for our best interest. I’d certainly recommend Robin to anyone looking to elevate their HR processes.”

~ Karim Abraham, CEO, Kambo Energy Solutions

“Our firm turned to Robin for advice and guidance at a time when we faced a period of serious difficulty in managing our human resources. She assisted us through the process of putting our relationship with our staff on a stronger, more stable footing and helped us implement a complete overhaul of our human resources policies. We could not be more pleased with the work she has done and continues to do with us.”

~ Robert Janes, QC, Managing Principal JFK Law Corporation

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