Facility staffing is a delicate process that is difficult for many managers to master. Seeing the whole picture of how your facility functions, and how to correctly place people in the right positions, can take years to fully understand. This problem has stumped and inspired countless leaders, and led to a great amount of research on team development. Today, there is a wealth of information available on how to optimize teams for every business structure.
In 2017, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) ran a study to identify the key factors that lead to innovation and business success. They found that a diverse staff was one of these main drivers, and could lead to a 19% increase in revenue as opposed to companies with a homogenous staff. BCG concluded that diversity led to a more thorough understanding of the target market, and more varying perspectives on problem-solving and innovative strategy.
Studies from the Harvard Business Review and company Coverpop have both found that diversity also leads to better decision making. A white paper from Cloverpop discovered that diverse teams within a company can outperform individual decision-makers 87% of the time. This shows that while leadership skill is necessary for any business, collaboration is equally valuable in making your facility a great place to work.
So, the research tells us that diversity is essential to create a thriving business and company culture. But, how do you practically implement this into your hiring and team-building?
Diversity comes not just from someone’s age, gender, or nationality. These are important, but they’re not the only thing that differentiates your staff. Choose employees from a range of career backgrounds, experience levels, personality traits, and leadership styles to create a team that is truly diverse and cooperative.
Having a range of experiences means that the younger , up-and-coming employees can find mentors and those that have been with your company for years can help train the next generation. Diversity of personality types and leadership styles will ensure that your team doesn’t develop a stifling groupthink mentality and neglect new perspectives. And of course, diversity of age, gender, and nationality will help you create a customer experience that relates to all types of people.
A diverse staff is the first step in creating a successful facility. For more information on facility management best practices, visit the MaintenX blog.
