‘Diversity’ is the new trend in workplaces worldwide. Still, the practical meaning behind it is more than just hype for equality and social movement.

Redefining Diversity

When speaking about diversity and inclusion, this is probably what most people would usually think about:

Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 – protest against racism

Or this. The #MeToo campaign to call for women’s right and gender equality

However, when it comes to workplaces, diversity is not only about having people from different groups of ethnicities or gender on the team, but also about how we synergize with colleagues who are different, from races and ethnicities, to age and gender, and even to the formal education background, work experience, living environment, sociopolitical viewpoint, hobby, etc. For people who speak the same language, there’s also a vast difference in their personalities and interests. And all of these differences contribute to workplace diversity.

The Importance of Having a Diversified Workforce

It would be much easier to hire and work with people who think the same. However, people with similar perceptions and methods would help the organization move forward fast, but risky! When everyone is looking in the same direction, no one will look at other ways. By doing so, they can overlook or compromise on bypassing minor problems that have the potential to escalate into a crisis in the future. But by having a diversified team, companies can be confident that they’re looking at the problem from many different angles to come up with a satisfying solution for many parties.

And it’s not just within the team. When working with international clients, we observed how Western and Eastern vary from each other, from the way they communicate with the agency partner to their way of making a decision. For clients who come from low power distance cultures, we are free to reach out to key decision-makers to discuss the marketing activities. While for clients who come from high hierarchy culture, we don’t usually speak with their decision-makers in daily conversation. It can require a little bit of time to finalize the plan. Despite the differences, EloQ’s open-minded approach toward cultural diversity has allowed us to successfully work with a diversified clientele, partners, and colleagues coming from more than 30 different countries.

Diversity in the PR Industry

For the public relations industry (where the public opinion matters!), understanding and respecting the culture of a specific group is a prerequisite to any successful global-scale campaign – and that’s where diversity plays its role. Having a diverse workforce can not only increase creativity, but also help PR agencies to understand a more varied client base, and cater campaigns for more people without being cultural insensitive.

“In general, PR an industry which I think is more accepting and welcoming of diversity than other industries, and I believe no matter what background, education level, demographics or disadvantage a person has, as long as he or she has the right attitude and determination to learn, they can excel in PR,” said Dr. Clāra Ly-Le, Managing Director of EloQ Communications.

To conclude, globalization has turned the world into a melting pot and shed light on diversity and inclusion. Having an open culture toward diversity not only helps employees feel comfortable and connected at work, but also allow an organization to be more flexible with what they offer to consumers and clients. For people working in the PR industry (like us, for example), being considerate toward diversity would help brands avoid ‘silly’ mistakes stemming from cultural differences.

Hanh Le, Assistant to Managing Director at EloQ Communications. Hanh is supporting EloQ in connecting and maintaining relationships with more than 10 partner agencies in Asia and other global PR networks to execute global projects, as well as to leverage service quality in the communications industry.

Read the full article with more details and examples on EloQ’s blog.