Home > Advice > Choosing a diverse company could be the key to your dream job

Choosing a diverse company could be the key to your dream job

diversity-in-hands

Diverse group of friendsFrom #OscarsSoWhite and #BritsSoWhite to tennis player Novak Djokovic’s I-didn’t-mean-it-that-way gender pay gap comments, diversity is a hot topic in the media right now.

But of course, as we all know: diversity is much more than a hashtag or fad, and rightly so.

While celebrities and sportspeople alike might be putting these industries under the spotlight, they’re only touching on the wider conversations that need to be had. Indeed, encouraging diversity isn’t something that can be tackled with a fleeting comment or a Twitter trend, and nor should it be. It’s a social, cultural and organisational commitment, and one that’s not being honoured widely enough.

So, what does diversity – or the lack of it – have to do with you landing your dream job?

Salary, leadership dynamic, and dissatisfaction are three of the most common reasons people leave their jobs. But what if it’s something else altogether – the diversity of your organisation – that connects the three and is actually the key to choosing your ideal employer?

Let’s take the contentious issue of salary first. According to McKinsey research, companies with high racial and ethnic diversity demonstrated increased salaries for employees. What’s more, greater gender diversity on a UK senior executive team corresponds to the highest performance uplift: for every 10% increase in gender diversity on the senior executive team, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 3.5%. In a competitive landscape, this is a significant salary skew.

Reap the benefits of a collaborative and creative environment

It’s a little known correlation, but diversity is proven to encourage more collaborative and creative work cultures. With a cross-section of minds and experiences coming together, many more solutions are likely to arise as each individual brings their own way of thinking, operating and solving problems to the table. While it’s known that diversity in the workplace, when not managed correctly, can also harbour conflict – it’s worth noting that the right type of conflict is productive to problem solving and coming up with the best possible solution.

A recent Forbes study onChoosing diversity revealed that it is a key innovation driver, and a critical component of being successful on a global scale, as it encourages different perspectives and ideas that foster innovation. It’s no surprise then that Apple subscribes to this notion and believes that “inclusion inspires innovation.”

Increase your job satisfaction

Knowing you’re doing the best job possible is, naturally, very closely linked to your job satisfaction. Working within an organisation that actively embraces all aspects of diversity, and actively promotes it, can help you to achieve this.

It’s a proven fact that a group of people from varying backgrounds tends to be more successful than one where everyone shares similar backgrounds. But diversity is not only about demographics, colour, gender, or age. Diversity is also based on informational differences; reflecting a person’s education and experience, as well as values or goals. For this reason, diversity has also been attributed to increased efficiency: bringing together diverse talents with a variety of skills and experiences to work together towards common goals ignites productivity within teams.

People tend to flourish in environments that stimulate their senses through new experiences. As our workforce and roles become increasingly global, understanding different cultures and viewpoints becomes very important – and so does working within a diverse organisation that affords you this benefit.

Think dream job, think diversity

So when planning your next career move be sure to place diversity high on your list of criteria. Because not only does it mean you’re choosing a company that puts its people and equality first, but it can actually help you tick off your other career priorities – bringing you one step closer to long-term job satisfaction, an attractive salary, and a creative environment headed-up by dynamic leadership. Dream job landed!

For more information on why Diversity & Inclusion is so important in the workplace, please visit: http://www.michaelpage.co.uk/minisite/diversity-campaign/

You may also like
Women Starting Their Careers
Nine best tips for women starting their careers
cv
Eight reasons to send your CV to small companies
university student
The five worst pieces of career advice given to students
I Feel To Old | Vinita Ramtri