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Diversity, equity and inclusion have become critical components of business success. While these concepts are often viewed through the lens of social justice and morality, there is also a compelling business case for promoting diversity and creating a culture of inclusion in the workplace. From attracting top talent to fostering a more collaborative and creative workplace, the benefits of DEI are clear.
Below, Forbes Business Development Council members share the reasons why diversity, equity and inclusion are essential to business development success and how promoting diversity can lead to a more innovative and productive workforce, help companies better understand and serve diverse customer bases and improve overall business performance.
1. To Build Stronger Teams
As a sales and marketing leader, I believe that diversity, equity and inclusion are integral components of a successful business development strategy. Embracing and valuing differences helps us build stronger teams, foster innovation and better serve our customers and communities. - Kuldeep Bhatnagar, Fusion Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
2. To Foster Collaboration
By prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), organizations can create an atmosphere that is open to multiple perspectives and fosters collaboration, problem solving and innovation. Embracing DEI also builds trust and a sense of belonging among employees and customers, which is essential to creating a positive work environment and can lead to increased engagement, loyalty and profitability. - Jeffrey Alpaugh, Marsh McLennan
3. To Leverage The Best Talents
Instead of "checking the box" by appointing a figurehead of a new DEI division, true diversity means you are leveraging the best talents across age, ethnicity, race, culture, sexual orientation—and moreover—everyone's life experiences, unique expertise and fresh perspectives. Equity brings everyone to a level playing field. Inclusion says you belong. Success comes naturally when this happens. - Claudia Lin 林詠涵, HUB International
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4. To Ensure The Production Of New Ideas
Businesses that fail to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion are shooting themselves in the foot. When approached and implemented properly, diversity can be the lifeblood of an organization, ensuring there are always new ideas and perspectives to explore. The best way to achieve that diversity in thought is to first prioritize having equitable and inclusive structures in place. - Dave Merkel, Expel
5. To Create A Welcoming Environment
A focus on diversity, equity and inclusion serves the dual goals of creating a welcoming environment for all and increasing the likelihood of commercial success. Companies with diverse workforces typically outperform their peers, as they are better able to understand the needs of a broader customer landscape and can therefore develop offerings with more widespread appeal. - Darby Green, Reorg
6. To Make Employees Feel Valued
Diversity enhances problem-solving due to a broader range of perspectives. Equity builds confidence that growth opportunities are possible for everyone. Inclusion improves psychological safety and employees feel more valued. These are a few of the numerous DEI benefits that empower business development teams to increase collaboration, engagement and productivity. - Matthew Rolnick, Yaymaker
7. To Perform Well And Achieve Success
Time and time again, data shows that diverse teams perform better than non-diverse teams. When every member of your revenue-generating team can bring their whole self to work and contribute to a culture of belonging, their performance is going to benefit and lead to success. As managers and leaders, it's our responsibility to prioritize DEI and set the tone for the entire team. - Hayden Stafford, Seismic
8. To Increase Retention
A focus on DEI makes business sense in today's diverse and interconnected world. Evidence from reputable sources and studies supports the notion that DEI is key to business development success, as it contributes to innovation, talent acquisition, retention, access to diverse markets, reputation and brand image, employee engagement and performance and mitigation of legal and reputational risks. - Quyen Pham, Swoon
9. To Make Critical Decisions
The best business execution is only possible with ideas, thoughts and execution strategies from varied sources and minds. Critical business decisions are best made by including thought processes from opined and debated and considering all vantage points. This is only possible with the inclusion of diverse talents, ensuring equitable representation of thoughts from all multiple facets of teams. - Bharath Yadla, Workato
10. To Increase Business Development
Diversity, equity and inclusion significantly affect the team's performance level in the area of business development. The better a team works together and holistically considers how multiple perspectives would translate to better decisions, will result in better business outcomes. - Gabriel Tan, GUAVA Amenities
11. To Build Trust Among Employees
Organizations should look for every opportunity, both internally and externally, to reaffirm the values underlying DEI commitments, how these map back to business goals and how the tactics being used will actually drive change. Ultimately, this builds trust between leadership and employees, and, when treated as a long-term, sustainable initiative, facilitates better work for the organization. - Javier Molina, Starburst
12. To Avoid Stymied Progress
To only have a singular or even a dominant perspective of any kind—whether race, gender, creed or otherwise, means that your business outlook is missing an essential aspect. When you multiply that aspect across all the areas of your company operation—including business development success—the missing aspect creates an unacceptable chasm of knowledge and understanding which limits productivity and progress. - Peter Schravemade, REACH ASEA
13. To Engage With Customers
Diversity provides the opportunity to make better decisions through a broader and more varied knowledge base. It affords the chance to engage with customers and consumers in a way that is more representative of their needs and wants. And it allows for differences in values and beliefs that can lead to greater creativity and ideation. - Michael Smith, Sonendo
14. To Enhance Productivity
I have learned through experience that prioritizing DEI is key to achieving success. A diverse team brings new and innovative ideas while creating equal opportunities for growth and fostering inclusivity leading to a more engaged and productive workforce. DEI is now an essential component of any B2B strategy, as customers and clients expect businesses to prioritize social responsibility. - Oscar Chavez, Growthly Group
15. To Attract Top Talent
Prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion allows you to formulate a team and working environment that embraces varied skill sets and backgrounds. You want to create an environment that attracts the most talented people, and this starts with making your employees feel like they are welcomed, valued, engaged and recognized based on their talents and what they bring to the organization. - Jim Mizouni, Sage Dental
