Why Supplier Diversity Strategy is Critical to Workforce Planning
As the nation prepares to celebrate the life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it seems fitting to examine one of the most powerful legacies his life helped to realize. King’s message of equality continues to help promote the unparalleled power of embracing diversity across all facets of society, including the business community. The strategic power of diversity in the workforce cannot be understated. Let’s examine the undeniable benefits of pursuing supplier diversity in the design of workforce plans.
Anyone who’s ever been successful in business will confirm, there’s absolutely no value in being wasteful with money. In fact, capital is the lifeblood that sustains operations in any industry. It is a precious resource and one to be exquisitely managed. That’s why it’s no surprise that investors are strongly advised to diversify their investment holdings – spreading their capital across multiple small investments. Diversification ensures that even if some positions fail, the overall portfolio will survive and from a statistical standpoint, winning positions will outweigh losing ones.
Just as investors are trained to apply diversification strategies to their investment capital, so too should workforce planners apply diversity strategies to the management of human capital. This is, in a nutshell, the advantage to pursuing a supplier diversity strategy. There are tangible benefits of engaging Small Business Enterprises (SBE), Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (MBE), and Women’s Business Enterprises (WBE). Just as the variation inherent in the wide array of small positions lends strength to a diversified investment portfolio, a wide array of diversity-owned staffing suppliers weaves a robust network of talent that strengthens business operations.
Pursuing diversity, suppliers promote innovation by opening the door to multiple channels for the procurement of services and drives competition between your existing large supplier base and the frequently more agile small diversity firms. Moreover, engaging diversity suppliers enables a company to take maximum advantage of opportunities for expansion as consumer needs shift with rapidly evolving demographic changes. Flexibility in this regard is a powerful demonstration of a company’s commitment to doing business in diverse markets and helps break into untapped new markets.
Additionally, supporting diversity suppliers has real, proven economic impact, helping transform disadvantaged locales by providing economic opportunities to under-served communities, forming a positive feedback loop of economic growth and expansion. Driving employment in disadvantaged communities has been proven to deliver far greater, faster economic growth than in less disadvantaged communities.
For more information on the benefits of a robust supplier diversity initiative and for expert help in deploying on in your organization, reach out to your nextSource representative today.
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