Why Diversity Matters
“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it.”
The success of a business is never down to just one person – it takes a team to drive results. Most FMCG businesses have a range of departments spanning the full supply chain and beyond, from manufacturing and engineering, to marketing and sales, to finance and HR.
Within those functions, you need colleagues with different skills to keep the business progressing, and it’s the combination of every member’s unique talent, mind-set and contribution that ultimately gets you to your goals.
This alone shows that diversity is a business bliss point. A diverse team bring a range of strengths and experiences to the table. They also have different backgrounds and perspectives that educate, stretch and challenge each other – which is the perfect environment for growth.
In my career, I’ve had a number of global positions that have led me to travel the world and work with people from many different cultures and walks of life. I’ll always be grateful for what I learnt in this time and the way it’s enriched my career journey.
All in all, our differences are powerful; they take thoughts, ideas and work to new levels. In fact, McKinsey studies have found that diverse companies are far more likely to outperform their less diverse peers.
An inclusive environment that embraces and celebrates diversity is also a huge contributor to job satisfaction. If you feel comfortable in your own skin at work, you have the freedom to do your best and achieve your potential. Imagine a business purely made up of people with the same age, gender, ethnicity and education. How far would that team push each other? What would they learn? And how interesting would their jobs actually be?
Diversity comes in many different forms and not only does it matter, but it’s integral if businesses, and the employees within them, want to thrive.
