Years ago, the concept of “diversity” in contingent workforce management (CWM) was unfortunately too often a supplier-related aspect that was meant to certify specific suppliers as part of wider federal or business mandate to include organizations that were owned by groups in the women, minority, veteran (or service-disabled veteran), LGBT+, neurodiverse, and disabled demographics. Although “supplier diversity” dates back to the 1950s, for far too many organizations, it was merely another box to check and another quota to meet when it came to supply management.

Over the past several years, however, diversity and inclusion have (thankfully!) broken out of the box of mandated initiatives and thrust into a truly strategic stratosphere. That is not to say that there weren’t many businesses that already considered these initiatives as strategic and impactful (and kudos to those organizations, of course), it is that the conversations around D&I have broken out of supplier-based discussions and into the Future of Work movement. In fact, there are several key reasons why D&I initiatives must be considered core tenets of the Future of Work today, in 2021, and beyond:

• Businesses building progressive corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives benefit from D&I strategies. Whether it is the drive to support local businesses or contribute to enterprise CSR strategies, D&I initiatives help boost the overall allure of a business when it comes to attracting new customers AND new talent. A commitment to not only sustainability, but also dedication to cultural, gender, and racial equality, bolsters the enterprise’s devotion to ethical causes and positions it highly amongst the competition.
• “A diverse talent pool is the deepest talent pool.” I’ve often repeated this phrase when speaking at industry conferences, on webinars, and frequently on the Contingent Workforce Weekly Talent pools have revolutionized the way businesses structure their recruitment and hiring strategies, curating segments of candidates that are typically more “known” (i.e. silver medalists, alumni, retirees, etc.) for inclusion in greater enterprise recruitment streams. Diverse talent pools that are inclusive in nature are more apt to offer the top-tier level of skillsets and expertise required to complete complex projects and manage intricate initiatives. A diverse talent pool is most certainly the deepest talent pool (there, I said it again!).
• The Future of Work movement thrives on innovation, and diverse workforces bring exactly that to the modern business. As business competition becomes more fierce (especially in 2020 and 2021), innovation is what will drive organizations to truly thrive in an increasingly globalized corporate world. How this relates to D&I is quite simple: the more diverse voices within a business, the more opportunity for new ideas, new strategies, and new approaches towards product development, sales and marketing, internal operations, and, of course, innovation.
• Inclusion is the foundation of the 2021 workforce. Inclusion also includes the concept of flexibility. Companies have learned that remote workers and the “work-from-anywhere” approach foster just as much productivity and output as traditional workforce structures. As the global pandemic taught us, this type of environment can be advantageous when faced with uncertain circumstances. What it means for 2021 (and beyond), however, is that businesses can (and should) be more inclusive of candidates that require flexibility within their roles. At the end of the day, if strong and robust business outcomes are the key objective, then inclusion is the pathway to getting there.