Diversity is strength. Financial experts know that a diversified portfolio is the best way to build wealth, and business experts know that a diverse candidate pool is the best way to build a staff that will provide the maximum performance and results.
“Study after study shows diversity creates a positive impact on businesses,” says Tracey de Morsella, who produces the Multicultural Advantage, a Web site with resources to help employers increase their effectiveness in diversity recruiting. Miami-based Convergence Media Inc., runs the site and publishes multicultural-focused directories.
“Studies show diverse companies increase productivity, creativity and develop new and more varied products and services,” de Morsella says. “Most new business owners think, ‘I’ll deal with that later.’ Diversity seems out of reach, but there are benefits to doing it right away.”
Just don’t confuse diversity with representation, says Roosevelt Thomas, CEO of Roosevelt Thomas Consulting & Training in Atlanta, Ga., and author of Building on the Promise of Diversity (AMACOM Books, 2005, $27.95).
Plan to Manage Diversity
“Most companies who think they’re talking about diversity are really talking about representation,” Thomas says. He defines “representation” as a workforce that racially and ethnically reflects a company’s customer base.
“The main benefit to a representative workforce is that society expects it,” he says.
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