Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/34521
THE VALUE OF A DIVERSE WORKFORCE AND THE COST OF NOT HAVING ONE BY MICHAEL BENNETT views” that will allow today’s business leaders to adapt to a rapidly changing demographic. As Tanya Hall, CHME, executive director of the Multicultural Affairs Congress points out, “the ‘Browning of America’ is happening faster than researchers expected.” Hall is correct. The pre- vailing view just five years ago was that American would be majority minority by 2050; today some experts believe this could happen as early as 2035 or 2040. While Mary Schmich’s original “G TANYA HALL quote at the beginning of this story had to do with viewing art,my change of her eloquent words points to the prevailing view that diversity is a necessity most people agree is imperative for economic survival. Yet, after decades of philosophical discussions, diversity summits, studies and workforce diversity plans, some still have a problemimplementing the obvious. Most business ownerswill tell you the difference between a profitable business and one that operates in the red boils down to less than one percentage point in key areas such as customer attraction and repeat business. That half-a-per- centage point can leave a business facing bankruptcy or handing out year-end bonuses. But there’smore to the value of diversity than immediate financial reward. While it can be argued that the value of diversity is still all about themoney,and in truth that assump- tion is correct, the value of diversity also comes in the form 20 ood business is business that allows you to enter it from a variety of angles and emerge with a variety of views.” It is the “variety of of new ideas and perspectives, increased retention of valu- able employees, increasedmotivation and buy-in of employ- ees, which of course leads to greater productivity and effi- ciency and yes more customers and money. In this day and age of tight operating budgets a good business needs every advantage possible. Hall believes having “a diverse workforce should be viewed as an opportunity for your organization rather than a liability or nuisance…those companies that are not diverse or do not have a strong diversity platform, are the ones thatwill be locked out of contracts and procurements opportunities.” The tourismand hospitality industry should be leading the world in workforce diversity. No other industry is more dependent on leveraging cultural differences into positive results than tourismand hospitality. Most of us pay close attention to the nametags of those who serve us at various hotels or on cruise ships. Those tags usually have the person’s name and the country, city or state they are from. Talk about a conversation piece or an ice- breaker, that simple gesture puts a human face on the person on the other side of the desk and breeds a certain familiarity. Most people do business with those they know or can relate to. Unfortunately,what’s on the front lines still doesn’t trans- late behind the scenes. It’s no secret that the employment pyramid on the supply side is severely limited for minority candidates the closer one gets to the top. In the case of African-Americans, the squeeze actually starts more toward the center of the pyramid leaving little opportunity for career advancement. That leavesmanymak- ing a series of horizontalmoves as opposed to verticalmoves up the career ladder. This should be yesterday’s problem, but unfortunately it’s a festering wound that just won’t heal. According to the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8.8 per- Black Meetings & Tourism May/June 2011: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com