Diversity and Inclusion: A Business Imperative in Global Professional Services

Abstract

Diversity and inclusion is a critical success factor to win in the flat world. As global corporations begin operations from offshore locations and cater to clients across the world, they begin to recognize the value of a diverse talent pool. Differences translate into creativity, innovation, flexibility and better adaptation to a changing environment and enhanced understanding of customer requirements. Workplaces that explicitly celebrate differences encourage employees to draw fully on their individual potential contributing to organizational success. Infosys is an example of an Indian firm consistently augmenting cultural competency and intelligence of their workforce through training programmes, networking forums, experience sharing opportunities and other initiatives. With operations in 32 countries and employees belonging to 89 nationalities, the company strives to be an equal opportunity employer by leveraging on differences. It has designed scalable processes to acquire, engage, motivate and retain talent, one of them being the formation of employee resource groups. Today, diversity and inclusion has become a business imperative for firms of Indian origin in global professional service delivery to excel in the changing industry, optimize operational efficiency and maximize benefits.