"Special Report: Debunking Diversity" - LatPro Weighs In

A recent article for Smart Business written by Jessica Tremayne, examines how diversity inclusion in the workplace can be a means to a better bottom line for diversity-conscious companies.

LatPro's Vice President of Sales, Rob Steward shared his expertise on the subject matter, along with Amparo Bared, vice president of human resources and talent management at Ryder Systems, and Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, chair and associate professor at Nova Southeastern University.


Special Report
Debunking diversity
Don't exclude inclusion as a means to a better bottom line.

By Jessica Tremayne
Smart Business South Florida | April 2009

The million-dollar question about making an invest6ment in diversity is: Will it pay back?

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Since the country’s demographics are continually changing, a failure to branch out and move past your comfort zone when hiring and communicating with employees will ultimately result in financial punishment for the business.

“Consumers want someone they can communicate with,” says Rob Steward, vice president of sales, LatPro Inc. “LatPro.com is a niche job board for Hispanic and bilingual professionals — we post positions and network so employers and those seeking employment can connect. These types of sites are increasing because the population is changing in the U.S. Don’t stop recruiting even if there’s a hiring freeze. Gather a group of diverse candidates you’d like to employ — and be honest with them, noting your interest in connecting in the future.”

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“If you have a Spanish-speaking customer base or want to reach a specific demographic, it would be smart to have staff that can effectively communicate with them,” Steward says. “With Web sites being used so frequently for daily business function, companies can do business anywhere they want. Having a diverse team will provide insights to reaching people around the globe. Age diversity is equally important. In an interview, you’re not allowed to ask a person’s age, but they’re gender and race are very apparent. Try not to allow age to have a negative impact on your decision because your customers are old and young.”

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If you’ve established affinity groups within your company, they can also help with recruiting. They may be able to give you suggestions that will help your business attract more diverse candidates and offer ideas of where to post positions.

Starting an affinity group is easy.

“Once you have a diverse team, you’ll want to utilize their skills,” Steward says. “Having affinity groups is the best way to encourage brainstorming among employees. You can provide employees with a specific project that you need help in reaching the customer. In an affinity group, employees may feel more relaxed to speak their ideas, too — then as a group, they can present the consensus on how to approach the issue, which makes employees feel they’ve helped their community and employer, while the company can potentially profit.”

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You can read the entire article here: http://www.sbnonline.com/Local/Article/16612/459/0/Debunking_divers...