Not only is variety the spice of life, but it also holds a lot of value for small businesses. Hiring a diverse workforce—a staff that’s inclusive of people from different cultures, capabilities, religions, ages, educational backgrounds, political affiliation, sexual orientation, and personalities—can bring new perspectives and insight to your company.

Advantages of Diversity in Your Business

Diversity means more than and has benefits far beyond being legally compliant with hiring processes that don’t discriminate based on age, race, gender, national origin, and disabilities.

Greater degree of creativity and innovation

When you have a team of individuals who come from different frames of reference, you gain fresh ideas. That can help spark innovation in product development, customer service, marketing, and sales.

Enhanced productivity

A diverse team can help improve your business's efficiency. Employees that feel included and happy in their roles will naturally focus better and produce quality work. Also, when staff members embrace each other’s individual strengths and collaborate on ways to pool them to improve processes, your company can get more done in less time.

Positive public image

While a number of factors will influence how the public at large views your business, positive P.R. from being known as an inclusive organization will further enhance your brand reputation.

More attractive to top-notch talent

Attracting high-quality employees is another advantage of being known for a company culture that embraces diversity. And employees that feel welcome and comfortable in their workplace have greater job satisfaction and loyalty.

Expanded market

With communities more diverse than ever and because technological advances have made it more feasible to do business globally, a diverse workforce can open the door to new opportunities. Having people who know different languages and understand different cultures can position your business to serve variable demographic and geographic markets more successfully.

Where Should You Turn For Help?

As you aspire to build a diverse working environment for your small business, contact SCORE to talk with a mentor. SCORE volunteers have experience in and knowledge about all aspects of starting and running a business. Besides offering valuable guidance and feedback, they can connect you with human resources professionals that can help you in your efforts to create an inclusive workplace.

Since 1964, SCORE “Mentors to America’s Small Business” has helped more than 10 million aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners through mentoring and business workshops. More than 11,000 volunteer business mentors in over 320 chapters serve their communities through entrepreneur education dedicated to the formation, growth and success of small businesses. For more information about starting or operating a small business, contact SCORE TriCounty. You can call 610.327.2673, email tricounty@scorevolunteer.org or visit the website at www.tricounty.score.org.

SCORE is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.