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It Starts from Within
Hiring and retaining a diverse workforce starts with building an inclusive workplace culture. By Randy Krebs
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BusinessCentral Magazine.com // J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5
Whether it’s finding and retaining qualified workers, reflecting your community and customers (internal and external), or growing your reach and revenues, the benefits of having a diverse workforce are well-known and well-documented. They are paramount to success in today’s ultra-competitive professional landscape — be that private, nonprofit or public. Achieving and maintaining a diverse workforce takes more than just talking about it at the annual strategic planning summit, developing a policy for pronouns, or thinking that legal compliance checks the box. Area professionals make it unequivocally clear that leaders who weave the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) mindset into their organization’s culture 24/7/365 are giving those organizations the best chance to succeed with their workforce, customers and communities. “Work hard and be nice people. That’s our motto, and it’s on our wall,” Susan Roberts, human resources manager at Eye-Kraft Optical in St. Cloud, said. “It’s really that simple. It’s all about how you treat each other.” “Hiring a diverse workforce is really great for companies,” according to Gina Acevedo, cultural sensitivity and health equity supervisor with CentraCare. “You have different voices, perspectives and experiences. The more diverse, the more bright ideas, the more variation. And when a company hires people who look like the community they are in, it builds trust. It’s important for organizations to know their communities and hire in ways that reflect that community.”