Diversity is a critical aspect of building a successful startup. A diverse remote team brings different perspectives and experiences to the table, fostering innovation, creativity, and problem-solving.
Some business owners may wonder why remote work and diversity are so important, given the virtual nature of the job. You could be forgiven for wondering, “if I never physically meet my remote team members, is there any need to create a diverse workplace?” The answer to this question is an emphatic “YES!”
In fact, A remote company may benefit even more than an office-based business by having a diverse group of freelancers from all over the world. Not only is your startup opening itself up to new ideas and perspectives, but you are also encouraging potential clients from outside your usual locus to do business with you. In addition, your company is now productive for more than eight hours a day, helping you to serve customers better and gain a significant advantage over your competitors.
In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of diversity in freelance teams, common barriers to building a diverse company culture, critical strategies for finding diverse talent, and the advantages of having an inclusive workplace for your startup.
Why diversity is essential for remote teams
Diversity has numerous benefits for freelance teams and no downsides. By investing in a virtual team with remote employees from all over the globe, all employees, whether short-term or full-time, feel motivated to perform at their best.
Diversity fosters innovation and creativity
A diverse team brings a range of perspectives and experiences, leading to more creative solutions and ideas. When team members with different backgrounds work together, they can combine their unique skills and expertise to create new and innovative solutions.
Talented freelancers generally aim to upskill and love sharing new ideas with clients. When you add diversity into the mix, you enhance employee engagement exponentially.
Diverse teams better understand and serve customers
When your freelance team represents a range of backgrounds and perspectives, they can better understand your customers’ needs and preferences.
Think about it. Your client base is likely to be a diverse section of society. By having a diverse team, you can tailor your products and services to a broader range of customers who will vibe with your company’s brand voice. A homogeneous communication strategy will likely narrow your client base, whereas a plurality of views will do the exact opposite.
Diversity drives competitive advantage
A diverse remote team can help you stand out from the competition. By leveraging diverse perspectives and experiences and utilizing ingrained company resources, your inclusive workplace can create more innovative products and services, develop stronger customer relationships, and better serve a broader range of clients.
Building inclusive workplaces takes effort
Despite these benefits, building a diverse freelance team can be challenging and requires complete buy-in from your existing team and other stakeholders. The following are some of the challenges companies face looking to incorporate creating an inclusive culture.
Unconscious biases
Despite many reports from top recruitment firms that unconscious bias is receding in the modern workplace, some hiring managers may still unconsciously favor similar candidates, leading to a less diverse team. Ongoing training from recruiters and those involved in hiring is required to identify and eliminate unconscious bias so it doesn’t play a part in how you build your virtual team.
Limited access to diverse talent
Some industries and geographic locations may have a limited pool of diverse talent, making it harder to build a diverse team.
That said, remote workers in almost every industry come from all walks of life. Opening your startup to the possibility of hiring outside of your geographic area broadens the option of diversifying your workplace. Finding the ideal hire is more likely when you have a greater talent pool to source candidates from.
Discrimination
Discrimination can prevent qualified candidates from being considered for freelance positions.
This way of thinking must be updated and has no place in the modern world. Inclusive workplaces invest in high-quality diversity training, team meetings, and remote team-building activities to eliminate intentional or unintentional discrimination.
An Inclusive culture requires a clear strategy
Overcoming these barriers takes effort, but it’s well worth it. Take a look at some great strategies for promoting a diverse workforce in your remote team.
Make diversity a priority
Put diversity at the forefront of your hiring process. Emphasize the importance of diversity in all your job postings and communication with candidates.
Once a candidate is hired, ensure their onboarding outlines the clear inclusion policies you have set up. Encouraging employees to work together across time zones promotes efficient communication and equal opportunities for all team members.
Expand your search
The best thing about starting a remote team is the ability to hire from anywhere. By casting a wider net when searching for freelance talent, you positively impact nearly every part of your business operations.
The hiring process can be a hassle, so try these ideas to liven up your search for the perfect candidate, wherever they might be.
- Use job boards and recruitment websites that cater to diverse communities.
- Attend industry events and conferences to network with a more diverse pool of candidates.
- Try outsourcing companies with a track record of sourcing top talent worldwide.
Train your hiring team
Provide training to your hiring team on diversity and inclusion. This can help them recognize their biases and make more inclusive hiring decisions.
Of course, every team member should partake in the sessions as well. Just because you have a software developer or copywriter that does their work remotely shouldn’t mean they are exempt from training that will enhance their professional development in the future.
Partner with diversity-focused organizations
Build relationships with other startups that promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace. These organizations should have robust company policies, employ diverse talent, and share resources for building a more inclusive team.
A diverse workforce is a productive workforce
Now that you know how to build a diverse freelance team, let’s look at the advantages of having one for your startup.
Innovation and creativity
By leveraging a range of perspectives and experiences, your diverse freelance team can create more innovative solutions and ideas. Other team members will benefit from their presence via weekly meetings and the sharing of stellar work.
Customer understanding and communication
A diverse team can help you understand your customers’ needs and preferences, no matter where they are from, leading to better communication and tailored solutions.
Any strategy that is beneficial to the productivity of a business is one worth pursuing. Considering the areas many founders spend their money with no return on investment, embarking on establishing an inclusive workplace is well worth the money.
Competitive advantage
A diverse remote team can help you stand out from the competition. By leveraging diverse perspectives and experiences, your team can create more innovative products and services.
Every founder is looking for a point of difference to add value to their offering and outpoint the competition. Having diverse remote team members may have the effect of drawing in more prospective business.
Improved problem-solving
A diverse team can bring a range of problem-solving approaches, increasing the likelihood of finding the best solution to a given problem. A team with different backgrounds and experiences can bring fresh ideas to the table and challenge the status quo.
If every team member on your staff comes from the same town, is the same ethnic background, or is predominantly one gender, how can you expect to serve your clients to the best of your abilities?
More inclusive workplace culture
Diverse remote team members create more inclusive workplaces, leading to increased employee satisfaction, better collaboration, and, ultimately, better business results.
When employees feel that their company cares about them, there is a marked increase in their overall effort.
Quickly Hire: Sourcing the best remote workers from all over the world
As you can tell from reading this blog, the team at Quickly Hire consider inclusive workplaces essential for building a successful startup. That’s why we have access to dozens of talented freelancers on every continent ready to help you out.
We have seen firsthand the value of incorporating a company culture that welcomes people from all walks of life.
Whether it is enhanced innovation, improved customer understanding, competitive advantage, or improved problem-solving, an inclusive workplace culture leads to sterling productivity.
Are you are a small business owner or startup founder looking to build an inclusive work environment? Do you want to expand your current talent pool with talented freelancers? If so, be sure to get in touch. We’d be delighted to help.
