Why diversity in the workplace matters

Google attracted plenty of headlines recently when it disclosed what many people have long suspected: that its workforce is 70% male and more than 60% white. Ditto for LinkedIn – its workforce currently 61% male, 53% white. Both companies aspire to achieving greater diversity and inclusion and consider this transparency a major step towards this goal. But given that over the past decade, Google has consistently proved to be one of the S&P’s top performing stocks, its largely white and predominantly male workforce doesn’t appear to be doing it much harm. Why then are companies around the world increasingly concerned with achieving diversity in the workplace?

The cynic would say that this preoccupation with diversity strategy is a US-led fad, a sop to the battalions of political correctness. And in my personal experience, a good proportion of senior executives see it that way. But there’s a wealth of convincing data out there to support the case for diversity because of its measurable impact on operating margins, customer satisfaction and productivity. Research also shows a clear link between the diversity of an organisation’s employees and its ability to innovate. In an ever more crowded and global marketplace, diversity is becoming a key ingredient for sustained and increasing success.

But what does this diverse workplace look like? Its definition will vary from organisation to organisation, depending on the nature of the business and its target customer base. The ideal is an environment where employees are recruited and advance through the organisation not because of their age, race, sex, sexuality, religion, working pattern or any other “diversity”, but rather as a direct result of their skills, their contribution and their results. But that workplace should also mirror the environment in which it operates and the markets which it serves. Because, in a free market environment, the consumer prefers to buy their goods and services from organisations whose values and behaviours appeal to them and to which they can relate.

So, consider that women drive roughly 80% of all global spending decisions. Or that the buying power of the LGBT community in the US is rising year on year. Or that by 2051, the populations of England and Wales will be as diverse as the multicultural London of 2014. Facts and figures like these paint a picture of ever-shifting demographics of economic and political influence that organisations ignore at their peril. They need to reflect their target markets if they are to truly understand them.

One of our clients recently invited us to join them at a conference of senior HR professionals from some of the world’s leading brands who were debating this very issue. We were delighted to contribute to the debate. Why? Because, used well, I believe that automated video interviewing can make a significant contribution to a successful diversity strategy at the same time as driving up the quality of hire. How?

Barriers of time, distance and expense are eliminated

• It can be used by organisations of every size, and regardless of recruitment budget, to consider candidates from across the world.
• Equally, candidates who meet the application criteria can apply for a position, regardless of where they are in the world.
• Disabled applicants can be screened and their suitability evaluated. They are more likely to be willing to overcome the challenges of attending a face-to-face interview if they can see that they have passed through a robust evaluation process and that their application is being serious considered.

The process enhances transparency and fairness

• More people within the recruiting organisation can be involved more effectively in the screening process. They can rank an applicant’s performance at video interview without influencing or being influenced by others. And because every applicant is asked the same question and given the same time to respond, reviewers can quickly and accurately compare applicants’ abilities and aptitude.
• The process can be audited to ensure that decisions were fair and free of discrimination. Conscious or unconscious bias can be identified and mitigating actions taken.

As I have already said, automated video interviewing is only one of the elements of diversity strategy. But it has the potential to play an important role by enabling applications to be considered from a wider and more diverse applicant base than ever before.  And that matters. Because, to quote Google’s recent blog post: .