Our experiences and upbringing shape our world views and what we have become today and how we act tomorrow. That is something we should be proud of and embrace going forward in life and in our careers.
When developing a business, strength isn’t always in numbers; it can be acquired through team diversity.
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Diversity doesn’t necessarily relate to age, religion, ethnicity or nationality. It can also encompass educational background, where and how the individuals were raised.
For example, a 35 year old who grew up in the Soviet Union had a drastically different development than someone who’s the same age but was born and raised in Canada.
Varied backgrounds, different upbringing – diversity within your business is a strength that should be taken advantage of. With variety, comes new visions and knowledge that can lead all of you to success.
Skills and Experience
We all pride ourselves on the abilities we posses and how we can apply ourselves in our workplace and life. Many of us, around the world have grown and honed our skills in different areas, while living in different regions while being surrounded by different cultures. That can prove to be a major advantage in any workplace.
Having a diverse work environment allows you to pool together talent from different backgrounds. What better way to gain some new perspectives and brand new insights than to bring people on board that have grown and been molded under their own unique circumstances.
Some individuals with incredible knowledge and talent are out there in search of a place that will allow them to express themselves.
This can give your business many new opportunities of broadening horizons and bringing on never-before-seen perspectives that can propel your business forward.
Breeds Innovation
Collaboration and the ability to exchange varying view points can lead to progress and innovation. Many new concepts can be created by bouncing ideas off of people from all walks of life.
Bringing people on board from different backgrounds, or age groups can really diversify your knowledge, view points and problem solving abilities.
Overcoming Challenges
Think of any challenges that you may face throughout your business growth and development. I am sure there will be quite a few that you and your colleagues will encounter.
Developing a product, honing in on a new marketing strategy, conjuring new relationships between clients and other businesses. All those things can benefit from a varied team coming from different backgrounds with their own select skill sets.
Think of your business as a nice stew; you need a variety of ingredients to really bring out the flavor.
Has The Potential To Improve Productivity
When you foster an all-inclusive environment for your employees, it can positively impact your overall productivity. If everyone is included and there is an aura of acceptance, people feel more comfortable working and expressing themselves.
Avoid High Turnover
Losing an employee can be a demoralizing experience. Replacing the employee that has left the organization can be a time and resource consuming process – finding, training.
It is in your best interest to keep the turnover low. It will provide the most optimal environment for productivity, keep the morale up and of course, reduce expenses.
Creating a community within your organization that is diverse and anti-discriminatory keeps people from jumping ship. If everyone, no matter their background or where they’re from is included in the process equally, work results will improve. Not to mention the increase in employee satisfaction.
Remote Teams
Having access to diverse talent has never been easier. With today’s technology that’s available, you can easily hire and manage remote teams.
That means you are able to access individuals no matter where they are. Different cities or even different countries are now no longer off limits for your business.
Startups in smaller communities can really appreciate this great benefit that comes with operating remote teams.If you can’t find competent talent in your community, you have nothing to worry about.
The digital age that we live in, there is no need to burden ourselves with proximity limitations. You can build a great and productive team with members who may not even be living in the same country as yourself.
Tools To Help Manage Remote Teams
If you do have remote teams or employees within your organization, you might want to consider implementing some tools to help manage them all.
There are a huge number of software tools that are meant for managing and collaborating with remote workers. The huge selection might make it hard picking out the one tool that works for you.
I have selected the best software to help you collaboration and manage workers from afar.
Huddle
Huddle is an all-around well developed program centered around managing tasks and collaborating with your team.
You can share files easily. Any documents stored on Huddle, can be opened up anywhere with your favorite software such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
Individual documents have their own comment section. Will keep any edits and suggestions organized in an easy to reach place.
All the communication happens on a safe and secure network. Don’t be afraid to share files among your group and your clients.
Function Fox
FunctionFox contains a medley of things to help your team with collaboration and task management to get things done quickly.
You have the ability to create and delegate tasks to team members. Project statuses are visible for you and your team, so you know how each task is progressing. You are also able to set up email alerts for any of the projects you’re doing, allowing you to stay informed of all the latest changes.
At your fingertips are a variety of multitasking capabilities. Your group can work for multiple clients on multiple projects all on the same platform at the same time.
Available options also allow you to track project expenses as well as view your budget constraints for each project. Staying on budget is essential for any team out there.
Global Impact
Individuals from different backgrounds and nationalities can be the bridge to new clients and development of business opportunities.
We life in a globalized society that’s becoming more and more intertwined with countless countries across the globe. Building and maintaining a diverse work environment will open up opportunities and help understand non-domestic markets.
What if you decide to expand your business into another market that’s alien to you. Breaking through the cultural barriers may pose a challenge to you if not for a diverse team you’re working with.
In The End…
Diversity is not mandatory, there is no rule book out there dictating the necessary implementation of a diverse team within your organization. We are here to discuss the ample benefits that can be enjoyed by a business where diversity is celebrated.
Have a look at your own business. Were you able to foster an environment that accepts everyone and allows anyone to express themselves and share their insights?