London Inc. Summer 2022 - 34

SPECIAL EDITORIAL SECTION CAREER TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
A diverse workforce can help a
company improve its recruitment,
sales and profits
IF YOUR WORKFORCE doesn't reflect the community it serves,
your business may be missing out on the chance to find great
employees and break into new and growing markets, both
locally and globally.
In short, diversity makes good business sense.
This is especially true when it comes to hiring good talent.
The exiting of baby boomers from Canada's labour force is
making it harder for businesses to hire skilled workers. This
means business owners need to be more creative to meet their
recruitment needs.
Immigrants represent much of Canada's population growth
today. Indeed, by 2032, they will account for up to 80 per cent
of Canada's population growth, while one in four will have been
born in another country, according to a BDC study.
While successful recruiting means making your company
attractive to this target group, only six per cent of business
leaders surveyed by BDC rely on immigrant workers to fill their
skilled needs.
IMPROVE YOUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
A diversity strategy improves your company's capacity to
compete globally. If your employees come from a part of the
world where your company does business, you're more likely to
be able to get closer to these foreign markets.
The same logic applies to hiring people who speak different
languages. Having a workplace with multilingual employees
sharpens your competitive edge in foreign countries.
In fact, several studies have found that companies with an
ethnically diverse workforce perform better financially than
34|londonincmagazine.ca|SUMMER 2022
those with a more homogeneous staff. Research also suggests
that diverse teams are more effective, produce higher quality
work and have deeper engagement.
NEW MARKETS AND CUSTOMER GROUPS
Employees of diverse backgrounds bring knowledge of their
markets and cultures to a company. A firm that hires within the
East Asian community, for instance, may get easier access to
that market. Word can spread that the firm's employees share
their background, while the firm's employees will have ready
insight into the needs of this group.
If you're targeting a specific audience with advertising, you
need to understand exactly what resonates with this market
and find the right tone, visuals and messages.
FOUR STRATEGIES TO BUILD A MORE DIVERSE
WORKPLACE
Clearly, a winning recruitment strategy in a tight labour market
will include embracing diversity in your company and reaching
out to immigrant workers.
Here are four strategies to build a more diverse workplace.
1. Reach Out to Specific Communities
Business owners should be sure their recruitment strategies
pinpoint specific communities. Long gone are the days when
companies simply ran help wanted ads. Recruiting has become
increasingly specialized, with specific publications, sites and
vehicles easily available for reaching just about any group.
And don't stick to just posting your job ads on LinkedIn
and the large jobs boards. There are also jobs websites aimed
London Inc. Summer 2022

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