| Hall: Digital Blue is a midsized company and our diversity gives us a hip environment, which reflects who we are as a company. It’s the opposite of the “old boys network” kind of company. That’s what it takes to recruit people from diverse backgrounds, and it lets ideas flow more freely. So, we benefit from a lot of different backgrounds and experiences, which challenge our assumptions and don’t get stopped by layers and layers of people. |
| Watson: It’s also a tool of risk management. Risk management is the practice of considering all of the variables on the table and using those variables to make a decision that’s in the best interest of the company. When you have an organization that values the diversity of its workforce, that means that you have more information, more viewpoints. The benefit is that your risk management will be performed at a higher level. |
| Brown: Innovations to processes and to improve productivity occur when you have an inclusive workforce, because they offer different viewpoints and experiences. DiversityInc magazine annually ranks the “Top 50 Companies for Diversity.” They see market differences of those companies in the top 10. They find that they’re more profitable. Companies that pay attention to diversity care about their employees and are usually very well-managed. It’s the mark of a good company. |
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| Q: Doesn’t it cost more to be inclusive? |
| Brown: No. When you look at all the changes in demographic trends, it shows you that the workforce overall is increasingly Hispanic, Asian, African-American. That’s just the world that we live in. Practicing diversity really doesn’t have additional costs to it. |
| Hall : Not for us. We hire people who just embrace the concept [of diversity]. We need different perspectives. We have Disney games targeted to tweens and their moms, and the women on our staff have helped us better understand that market. We have hiphop products, and we have employees who understand that market. It gives us more insight into our customers. |
| Watson: I think it does, initially, depending on your company. You can’t have markets that you’ve ignored for years, and then think you can just penetrate those communities because you want to. If the diversification of your workforce is a strategic initiative, focused on benefit to your corporation, you need to invest in it. |
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| Join the conversation by e-mailing special.sections@newsweek.com. |
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| In recent years a number of progressive companies have elevated the role of diversity to higher levels in corporate America, making it an integral part of their business strategies. Their efforts are grounded in a much deeper understanding of the growing impact of a more diverse,global customer and employee base. A number of studies and books have chrononicled the business case for diversity including the fact that diverse teams out perform homegeneous teams and are more effective at problem-solving and innovation. |
| Additionally, as the war for talent heats up and as most professional schools are graduating more women and people of color, companies much develop strategies to attract this diverse talent. A growing consideration by job applicants is the demographics of the company at all levels and whether it adequately mirrors an the demographics of modern society. |
| Going a step further, if we look at the demographics of the global economy we soon realize the women, people of color, and immigrants will comprise a growing percent of the customers being served. These customers want respectiveful suppliers who are not only concerned with selling their products and services, but who understand and partner in solving issues and concerns important to their communities. |
| Issues such as social responsibility, sustainability, and human rights are growing in importance. These issues are becoming much more integrated in socially responsible investment strategies and as such we are seeing more demands for diverse and inclusive boards of directors and senior management teams from shareholders. |
| In the early evolution of diversity as a business imperative, much of the focus was on affirmative action and equal employment opportunty and rightly so. Race and gender discrimination was rampant. However, as we move further into the 21st century, those that are not compelled to address the needs and desires of a more diverse global market place will find themselves out of business, not because of governmental compliance, but because they failed to adquately recognize the desires and power of the new mainstream. |
| In the future, it will cost more not to be inclusive and diverse. |
Effenus Henderson
Chief Diversity Officer
Weyerhaeuser Company
Effenus.henderson@weyerhaeuser.com |
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