How Workplace Diversity Increases Employee Engagement

Research shows that workplace diversity causes more engagement, better performance and greater profits. To nurture diversity and inclusion, companies must first become great listeners, running meaningful, ‘always-on’ voice of employee programs.

Report after report shows that when organizations capitalize on the strengths and unique values of their employees, and actively leverage their differences, employees are more engaged.

As we all know, engaged employees perform better, resulting in better company performance overall. What many organizations don’t know, however, is that engaged employees also help them develop better products and get through organizational change more smoothly.

Anything that helps improve employee engagement will benefit your company. Diversity and inclusion programs do just that – and so much more.

These programs enable companies to recruit from a wider pool of talent, solve problems more creatively and take advantage of uncommon skill-sets that move the company forward.

Compelling Diversity Data

Workplace diversity directly affects a company’s performance. The plethora of research available on the topic today leaves no doubt.

• Companies with more women on the board statistically outperform their peers over a long period of time. 
• Inclusive teams outperform their peers by 80% in team-based assessments.
• Diversity and inclusions have been key drivers in Sodexo’s successful employee engagement program.
• Gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely and ethnically-diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform their peers. 

The Bersin by Deloitte 2015 High-Impact Talent Management research report uncovered even more startling evidence. Companies in the top performance tier (10%) were more focused on building an inclusive talent system.

Companies in the top two performance tiers (29%) experienced over two times higher cash flow per employee, plus an increased likelihood of being change-ready and becoming innovation leaders in their market.

Companies in these top two performance tiers were found to be more likely to be able to coach talent for improved performance, more able to deal with personnel performance problems, and more likely to identify and build leaders. And the smaller companies in these top two tiers had 13 times higher mean cash flow from operations.

Experts say that sustainable business performance today depends on a company’s ability to attract and engage a highly diverse workforce, and companies that build a truly inclusive culture will outperform their peers.

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The Key to a More Inclusive Workplace: On-Going Employee Feedback

Companies that manage employee feedback as a talent management tool are ahead of the curve today. Feedback is a critical element of a successful talent strategy that drives inclusion at every level.

From the products we buy to the services we receive to the places we travel, we can rate almost anything today. It’s no surprise that employees expect to be able to rate their employers and roles, too. In fact, employee feedback is transforming the employee experience in really positive ways at companies that embrace it.

When organizations have programs in place to develop, coach, reward and move people, employees become assets for the entire company. Those programs, however, require robust feedback systems in order to be successful.

Top level companies have open, transparent and secure feedback systems in place that help them gain perspective on the current state of their employees, teams and organizations. Feedback systems that build trust and encourage two-way dialogue. These feedback systems enable more honest and fair discussions about careers, performance, leadership and succession.

Conclusion

Stay committed. No company creates a culture of diversity and inclusion automatically. It takes months, even years, to form best practices. But once those practices are in place, secured by constant employee feedback, diversity can happen with a lot less effort that you might think. Before you know it, your workplace culture is thriving exponentially.

Read more about Employee Surveys.