Embracing inclusion: Navigating the complexities of diversity in business

We have passed the era where the traditional approach to recruitment, where a cookie-cutter questionnaire for potential employees, is sufficient for success. Now companies look forward to acquiring talent where people add value and assets to a growing business. It’s time to challenge the status quo and embrace diversity as the key to thriving in turmoil. 

Beyond mere functional skills, constructing teams that encompass a range of backgrounds and perspectives is essential. Deliberately driving diversity can unlock the potential for innovation, adaptability, and resilience. Creating a transformative journey and exploring the power of diversity and its impact on shaping a prosperous future is essential. 

How We See Diversity Matters 

The conversation about diversity usually revolves around gender and race. For instance, the World Economic Forum article on MENA noted that barriers faced by women in the region resulted in an estimated loss of $575B annually. This figure is problematic, and highlighting the importance of gender diversity could significantly address this issue. 

The vital concept is that diversity must go beyond gender and race and encompass different approaches. For instance, organisations can create diverse teams by combining people with unfamiliar ways of thinking, different perspectives and insights, and approaches to problem-solving. Teams consisting of individuals with similar backgrounds and education tend to get stuck in the same place, while diverse groups are more likely to produce fresh ideas and overcome obstacles. 

Creating teams with people from diverse backgrounds is also known to boost productivity and increase profitability by 70%.  

Driving diversity by embracing individual uniqueness 

Teams composed of people with similar educational backgrounds generate similar ideas and perform well in consistent and predictable situations. However, unprecedented situations and unpredictable scenarios demand innovative solutions that only a diverse group of people can bring to the table. 

The increasing dynamism in the business world warrants people who can be devil’s advocates and are willing to look at diverse perspectives bringing their uniqueness to the fore. GSK Gulf, a renowned player in the healthcare sector, seeks to promote diversity by combining science, technology and talent. It acknowledges that collective success is achieved through embracing individual uniqueness. 

Personality assessments can be valuable in evaluating how well someone interacts with others and their problem-solving approaches. These insights can be used to drive diversity in teams deliberately. 

Why do diverse teams outperform others? 

Diverse teams outperform homogenous groups, especially in complex and rapidly changing business situations. Homogenous groups tend to create echo chambers where similar ideas are reinforced, leading to blind spots and potentially disastrous consequences for decision-making. 

Incorporating contextual diversity within teams can significantly enhance task performance. By combining individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences, teams can access broader perspectives, improving creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities, particularly in challenging and innovative tasks. 

Promoting diversity in the workplace has a direct correlation with financial performance. For example, increasing the representation of women in the workforce is not only a matter of ethics but also yields tangible benefits to the bottom line. This conclusion is supported by an expanding body of evidence compelling companies and governments worldwide to act. 

PWC’s Women In Work Index – Insights from the MENA survey surveyed over 3,000 individuals comprising both women and men in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and Egypt. The survey offers valuable insights into the regional labour market and areas for enhancing gender diversity. 

Embracing Differences: Overcoming Diversity Hurdles  

It is one thing to preach having ‘different ways of thinking’ but altogether another thing to practice it because of the tendency of people to gravitate towards the ‘company culture.’ This aspect can dilute efforts to drive diversity because it leads to people refraining from expressing what they truly think. Hence, leaders must create an inclusive culture, encouraging people to think and express their ideas freely. 

Embracing diversity requires leaders to work harder to create an inclusive environment where individuals can share their minority viewpoints and different approaches. For example, Roche Diabetes Care creates an inclusive workplace where everyone feels equally involved and supported. This feeling of psychological safety stimulates divergent thinking and leads to better solutions. It is also essential to prevent the gradual erosion of diversity by encouraging leadership styles that actively listen to different ideas. 

Getting Started 

To get started with a People First approach and create strong, diverse teams, consider the following guidelines: 

1. Recruit individuals from diverse schools of thought with unfamiliar perspectives. 

2. Foster an environment where people feel safe to share multiple different viewpoints. 

3. Take a humble approach, actively listen to different ideas, and guide decision-making. 

By driving team diversity, businesses can thrive in complex environments and remain competitive in global markets. It’s a People First approach that is good for individuals and the business’s success.