Diverse teams are an important factor for business success. The 2022 study "Diversity Wins - How Inclusion Matter" by the consulting firm McKinsey confirms this: The profitability of companies with a high level of gender diversity is 25% more likely to be above average.
And yet, in many industries, one gender or the other still dominates. Regular surveys by the German Federal Employment Agency, for example, show that the proportion of women in STEM professions (mathematics, information technology, natural sciences, technology) has stagnated at around 17% for years.
The construction industry presents a similar picture: Here, women are heavily underrepresented at only 13%. By contrast, female colleagues are much more common in the care sector: With a share of 77% (June 2021), the health and social care sector was and remains the industry with the most women.
It is therefore high time that HR decision-makers sharpen their diversity awareness and align their recruiting strategy accordingly. Diversity in the team, also in terms of age or cultural background, brings important advantages. We will show you five of them in this article.
Advantage 1: Mitigating the shortage of skilled workers
Hardly any industry is not currently groaning under a shortage of skilled workers. More diverse recruiting can help you fill your vacancies successfully and faster. Therefore, target people who have not been in the focus of recruiting so far, or who have been less in the focus. Break through conventional thinking patterns and consciously give lateral entrants or women a chance, especially if your industry has so far been dominated by men.
Also, expand your search radius and recruit professionals from other regions or from abroad. Be creative and try new ways - because diversity can help you as a HR decision-maker to address a broader spectrum of professionals and win them over more quickly.
Advantage 2: Increase in customer satisfaction
Diversity and interculturality lead to an increase in customer satisfaction. Where people with different backgrounds, cultures and skills come together, customers feel better understood. Diverse teams also find it easier to adapt products and services to customer needs, as they can better understand their needs together. Companies gain a deeper understanding of their customers and (new) markets through diversity.
Advantage 3: Increase inproductivity
As the McKinsey study mentioned at the beginning of this article shows, a diverse working environment also leads to an increase in productivity within the company. Heterogeneous teams with different views, experiences and ideas find it easier to work together to find new ways to solve existing problems and challenges faster and better and to drive projects forward.
An open work environment where all employees - regardless of origin or gender - feel safe and welcome leads to more productive teams, as everyone is happy to contribute and get involved.
Advantage 4: Increased innovative strength
Companies that recruit diversely and also act accordingly in their day-to-day work promote creativity and the development of new ideas within the company. Different cultural backgrounds and diverse know-how accelerate the development of new products and services. Thanks to international networks and resources, it is also easier to tap into new markets.
This is also confirmed by studies conducted by the Technical University of Munich & BCG and the University of St. Gallen. They conclude that diversity creates competitive advantages because diverse teams have more varied perspectives and broader knowledge. This, in turn, helps reduce the complexity of problems and ignite potential in innovation.
Advantage 5: Attractive employer brand
Diversity strengthens corporate culture and thus employer branding. If companies create a culture of openness, inclusion and respect, they can build a healthy working environment in which all employees feel comfortable. They will tell friends and acquaintances about it and leave positive reviews on online platforms. This contributes to more professionals being interested in a job with this company. Thus, strengthening employer branding was identified as the biggest benefit of diversity management, which includes diverse recruiting.
Companies that promote diversity and thereby make a tangible commitment to social justice gain a better reputation. A positive image will attract more applicants and ultimately increase recruiting success.
Conclusion
Diversity in recruiting or diversity management is thus an inevitable part of modern personnel management. There are many reasons why you as a personnel decision-maker should introduce diverse recruiting. With a diverse team you benefit from extensive know-how, diverse perspectives, exciting ideas as well as far-reaching networks and thus generate great growth and innovation opportunities for your company.
A diverse recruiting strategy enables you to fill vacancies more easily: on the one hand, by expanding the search radius and, on the other hand, by increasing your internal/external employer attractiveness, which attracts more applicants to your company and, in addition, binds existing colleagues to your company.
Do you need support in building a diverse team? Our experienced personnel consultants will be happy to support you:
Sources
- https://www.mckinsey.de/news/presse/2020-05-19-diversity-wins (as of 02/26/2023)
- https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Frauen-und-Maenner/generische-Publikationen/Frauen-Maenner-Arbeitsmarkt.pdf?__blob=publicationFile (as at 20.02.2023)
- https://www.bauindustrie.de/fileadmin/bauindustrie.de/Media/Pressemitteilungen/13-22_FrauenBau.pdf (as at 20.02.2023)
- https://www.bcg.com/publications/2017/people-organization-leadership-talent-innovation-through-diversity-mix-that-matters (as at 20.02.2023)
- https://ccdi-unisg.ch/was-ist-di/ (as at 20.02.2023)
- https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1226931/umfrage/vorteile-von-diversity-management-fuer-die-wahrnehmung-von-unternehmen/ (as at 20.02.2023)