diversity
Bottom Line Boost
USING TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL
EQUALITY CAN INCREASE OVERALL COMPANY PERFORMANCE
Discussion of workforce diversity is officially a “hot topic”
in corporate boardrooms, cubicle farms and company
cafeterias around the globe. However, often lost in the
discussion around workforce diversity is its potential for
great economic benefit.
McKinsey Global Institute, which has been studying the issue
of gender equality in the corporate world for more than a decade,
predicts that narrowing the gender gap by doubling women’s con-tribution
to the global labour market could add up to $15.6 trillion
or 11 per cent to global GDP by 2025.
The good news is that when it comes to talent management, it
is entirely possible for organizations to take advantage of modern
data technology to make positive changes that can help promote
gender and ethnic diversity and contribute to an improved overall
company performance. This can even be achieved at a global scale.
According to a recent study from the U.K.-based CIPD,
there is a strong connection between the use of people analyt-ics,
culture and overall business performance in modern business
organizations. In fact, the CIPD says there is a rapid rise among
corporations around the world to deploy workplace technology
that is able to track individuals’ behaviours and provide deeper
insights into their performance, productivity and well-being.
The CIPD goes on to say that the use of data in organizations
to drive business and employee outcomes is expected to continue
well into the future as technology further influences the world of
work and as more stakeholders show interest.
In this age of big data, large-scale organizations have never had
a better opportunity to make well-informed, data-driven decisions
about virtually every aspect of their business, including ensuring
that their personnel are provided with a fair and equitable envi-ronment
in which to see their careers thrive and to contribute in
a meaningful way to the success of the business. However, under-standably
the effort to boost inclusion and equality requires a
commensurately large effort to do it right.
Before an organization can take any steps toward improving its
commitment to a diverse workplace, it first must have a realistic
picture of where it currently stands. In order to set any goals for
improvement – and to be able to measure and track the results of
By Sebastiaan Bos
bowie15 / 123RF
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ NOVEMBER 2018 ❚ 43
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