Surprise, but not too much: diversity (of culture, origin, color, gender) not only does not slow down business but is an excellent card to play to broaden horizons. The operational ones of the company, but also the financial ones. Give stimuli and efficiency. In short, it can be a real bargain. So much so that analysts in the sector, and of course those of the companies most devoted to innovation, are quickly embracing the new creed: Diversity Management has the ethical heart but, and there is nothing wrong with it, the mind centered on revenues.
The basic idea is precisely that the diversity of human resources contrasts discrimination but is also useful for better personnel management and business growth. As in the case of investments in the environmental sector or in microcredit, it is possible to increase earnings by doing the right thing, improving the world in which we live, bringing profit and human values together. Tool of this business becomes so the implementation and valorisation of the human differences of the employees: gender, physical abilities, ethnicity, nationality, somatic characteristics, class, culture, age, sexual inclinations.
Conceived in the USA in the 80s, in relation to the typical needs of a multiethnic and multicultural society, has developed under the pressure of globalized markets and the cultural and social evolution taking place on a planetary level. From American multinationals it has spread to large and medium-sized companies all over the world, fueled by demographic and workforce changes, by the ethnic and cultural diversification of the markets, by the progressive introduction of anti-discrimination laws.
The value of diversity is increasingly perceived by companies as ethical orientation but also as a growth factor, competitiveness and also business. Diversity has become a central point of reference for corporate policies, in terms of external communication, human resource management and productivity. “Inclusion is increasingly a necessity and this not only for ethical reasons, but also for business reasons” confirms Aldo Bisio, CEO of Vodafone Italia.
"The management of diversity in the company has become an essential necessity in an increasingly complex, globalized and interconnected world" observes Marella Caramazza, general manager of Istud Business School. According to Claudio Colzani, CEO of Barilla, “promoting diversity and inclusion does not only mean doing the right thing, but also supporting the growth strategy. A diverse workforce and inclusive culture increases engagement and takes into account a deeper understanding of society, leading to stronger decision-making."
So let's see the most important aspects of the challenge.
Diversity is a development opportunity, on many points of view. The most relevant:
- improvement of the external image (towards customers and institutional interlocutors) and internal (towards employees and trade unions), thanks to the conformity of actions with respect to a widely shared value;
- acquisition of diversified cultural and experiential skills, capable of effectively interacting with globalized markets, both at a strategic level of Top Management and at an operational level (in particular for the customer, communication and logistics sectors);
- attraction of qualified personnel from minorities present on the global market, interested in an inclusive and open working environment;
- increase in innovation and creativity, in relation to the dynamics of relationships between employees with different cultures and experiences;
- increase in financing opportunities from investors who are progressively more attentive to Diversity & Inclusion profiles.
Inclusion increases collective well-being and the quality of personal interaction, creating better professional collaboration and unleashing the potential of each individual. The CEO of Vodafone Italia, Aldo Bisio, has no doubts: “Socially, any way of acting that is not based on criteria of meritocracy cannot be accepted and for a company to have a non-inclusive approach involves an enormous waste of talent. This is why we have defined a Vodafone Inclusion Agenda which provides for a series of measures to promote diversity and inclusion in the company”.
It is inevitable to proceed in this direction, because the law requires it and the markets require it, in terms of job offer, productivity and competitiveness. Also on this point Aldo Bisio's thought is peremptory: "In the world we live in today, diversity is extremely fragmented and if we, as a company, fail to become a mirror of society we risk not interpreting it correctly". The same conviction for Yolanda Conyers, Head of Diversity for Lenovo: "Diversity and inclusion allow us to make our own the best and most innovative ideas, as well as allowing us to better understand the needs of our customers".
In short, there are no alternatives, unless, in compliance with legal constraints, one does not operate in a closed and rigid market sector, indifferent to social and cultural dynamics; that is, in a monocultural, mono-ethnic context marked by prejudices and foreclosures, suffering from a progressive marginalization in the changing world. Limit situations, difficult to find.
Of course, the inclusion and integration of people belonging to minorities can create difficulties and tensions in particular business realities, especially in the phases of organizational transition and cultural adjustment; but it is equally evident that these tensions must be faced as elements of an evolving corporate context and managed precisely within the context of Diversity Management.
Compared to the individual companies, the parameters for understand if there is a diversity deficit, apart from the legal constraints and the ethical principles of non-discrimination and inclusion, are inherent in the relationship between business activity and the profit potential of diversity and inclusion. The more the company operates on an open market, characterized by heterogeneity of competition and customers, the more it has the utility or need for diversified contributions, in order to be able to compete and interact effectively. Ultimately, if the company is completely globalized, ie active on a global level, there is no doubt that it must have such diversified personnel as to be able to manage and understand the multiple realities of people and companies around the world.
In everyday life, diversity is achieved by opposing all discrimination and promoting inclusion, but also with concrete initiatives. So a big company like Vodafone has smart working doubled for mothers and fathers returning from maternity or paternity leave; has set up a Maternity Angel for employees on maternity leave (a person within the company who keeps them updated to facilitate their return); predicts "solidarity holidays", which people can choose to donate to colleagues in case of special health needs; recognizes rights and welfare for civil unions, from the marriage license for same-sex couples to the extension of supplementary health coverage; favors it exchange of mutual knowledge between generations; promotes the valuing the different background cultural within the company through courses dedicated to new hires and through initiatives for understanding and simplifying internal languages.
The evolution towards diversity naturally requires pay attention to costs, which essentially concern the costs of dedicated personnel, time for communication and training, organizational and legal consultancy, possible inefficiencies related to friction between non-homogeneous subjects, ad personam work benefits. The benefits can be assessed on the medium-long term corporate climate, on the corporate image, on the turnover from innovation and competitiveness, on strategic skills, on personnel productivity.
Based on the available studies, companies that invest in diversity have a useful return towards its customers, to the point that quite a few advertising campaigns are centered on diversity and that many large companies compete for the best positions in the indexes that evaluate the degree of inclusion of personnel. At the same time these companies are more efficient, because they have better decision-making capacity and connection with the market. In essence, they grow and earn more than homogeneous and non-inclusive companies.
Not only. Beyond the promotional return, through diversity it is possible to implement innovation and creativity. Context analysis and decision-making processes conform to the prevailing culture in the corporate context, especially as a function of hierarchical relationships and individual interests in the stability of internal relationships. Corporate conformism can therefore hinder or prevent potentially useful unorthodox ideas from entering and being processed. On the contrary, if the corporate culture is open and dynamic, the social space is created for innovative and creative proposals, to the full advantage of corporate competitiveness.
At the same time, diversity in the company improves decision-making processes. Attention should not be focused on the most comfortable way to reach an agreement in work meetings, refusing interaction with ideas and people who can bring unorthodox contributions. The goal is to find ways to have more competent decision-making processes connected to reality. And diversity is a means to achieve that goal.
In pursuit of diversity, many companies implement one incoming and forward selection based on quotas, reserving some positions for individuals belonging to minorities: this system is the most guaranteeing, from the point of view of Diversity, but may involve choices that favor diversity over merit. This effect, which may appear negative, must nevertheless be evaluated in the light of the general utility that the company derives from guaranteeing adequate quotas of diversity upon entry and advancement. Alternatively, there are companies that carry out synthetic judgments of candidates, during recruitment and promotion, assessing merit together with the condition of belonging to a minority: this system, undoubtedly more complex and questionable, can in theory constitute a valid means of reconciliation of different needs.
From an ethical point of view, there is no doubt that the company is aimed at profit. But it is a fact that corporate social responsibility constitutes an increasingly important element of corporate culture. In a logic of synergy between ethics and business: companies with greater social responsibility are usually able to achieve better economic results, due to the possibility of achieving a competitive advantage from the ability to legitimize themselves socially, have dedicated financial supplies, ethically motivate personnel, suppliers and customers.
In Italy attention to diversity and inclusion in the company has grown over time (an important step was the presentation in 2009 of the Charter for equal opportunities and equality in the workplace). The limit encountered by the Italian productive fabric was dimensional. Large companies have the means and resources to support Diversity, understanding the related economic potential. SMEs have difficulties or express resistance, both in terms of costs and management implications, squashing themselves on a predominantly defensive attitude, centered on compliance with the law, the need to protect the corporate image, and avoiding problems with personnel or trade unions.
The consequence of this approach is that the management of diversity, on the basis of data from the European Commission, concerns predominantly women (two thirds of the shares) ei Disabled (a quarter of the initiatives), with issues relating to the issues remaining in the background cultural and ethnic discrimination (10%), sexual orientation (7%), religion and personal opinions (2%). However, the increase in foreign workers and the growing sensitivity to anti-discrimination are pushing towards a progressive opening up of SMEs as well to all the issues concerning diversity and inclusion.
The latest Randstad Workmonitor report offers a snapshot of the Italian situation: we are at the top for the desire to work in a company that pays attention to social responsibility, but only 50% of companies are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion . In short, there is room and opportunity to grow.
