We’re increasingly told that we should be striving to achieve a diverse workplace – but what does diversity mean… why is it important… and how can you achieve it? Let’s break down a few myths: Diversity is only about giving people a fair go. Wrong. Diversity is also about building successful businesses that are more able to innovate through creative thinking, deep analysis, and debate. It’s often cited, for example, that boards with a mix of genders will do better than single-sex boards. My workplace will be more cohesive and innovative if I employ people with similar academic and demographic backgrounds that really ‘get’ each other. Wrong. Research has shown that the most innovative companies comprise staff and customers from diverse cultures and ethnicities, genders, sexual orientation, education and industry backgrounds. Why? Because they bring their different knowledge, perspectives and life experience to the table and that helps to find new solutions to existing problems. A team of the brightest individuals will always trump a team of people with mixed expertise. Wrong. A group of the brightest individuals will almost always come up with an initially better solution, however, a diverse group will build on the solution much more effectively and ultimately outperform the high-performance group, ending up with a close to optimal solution.1 When I need someone to fill a job, I’m best to find someone who already really knows the industry and even the organisation. Wrong. Look to employ someone with adjacent industry knowledge and you’ll probably find that within weeks, they’ve solved a problem you’ve had your team working on for months… Why? Because they bring fresh thinking and a new perspective based on their knowledge from outside your industry or business. Grow Your Team and Your Tool Kit It’s a fact…Encouraging diversity in your workplace can introduce new skills, knowledge and expertise that will lead to greater innovation, increase productivity, and even help you reach new markets. One of the greatest ways to introduce diversity is by engaging contractors on a temporary basis. In doing so, you can find the diverse skills and expertise you need to help grow your business at a particular moment in time. What’s more, the contractors you hire will be able to help upskill and even challenge the thinking and habits of your existing staff. We can help you manage your contractors With over 20 years managing contractors on behalf of businesses, the Ayers Group can reduce the burden of managing contractors and minimise your risk of legislative compliance. Our long-standing team of experienced contract managers, coupled with our sophisticated processes and software solutions, will make your life easier and help you build your business. Talk to an expert from the Ayers Group today.