Why Cultural Diversity is a Must in the Contact Center

Cultural diversity – it’s a concept that’s been permeating our nation for the past several days as minority groups fear a president-elect who has been touted as against anything other than white and male. As Trump lays the groundwork to demonstrate he’s not the extremist he’s been portrayed, companies everywhere are striving to achieve better diversity in their workforce to respond to the demands of a dynamic audience.

This focus in workforce management is important, not just because of the recent cultural debates that have entered our conversations, but because the nation is a diverse audience. Consumers are not just white, male, and middle-class – they are a variety of ethnicities, backgrounds, socioeconomic positions and so much more that need to be acknowledged and celebrated by brands if they hope to appeal to these segments of consumers. Therefore, cultural diversity in the contact center is a good thing.

While some will argue that simply offering diversity for the sake of bottom line numbers isn’t an act of diversity, there are few companies that will look only to the bottom line. It’s also important to have different perspectives in the contact center. One of the biggest mistakes companies can make is to stick to the way things have always been done as it leads to repetitive mistakes and wasted resources. Individuals with different backgrounds bring fresh approaches to problems that can produce better solutions and better outcomes.

Workforce management solution provider Monet Software (News - Alert) recently tackled this topic in a company blog, stressing the value of cultural diversity in the contact center. Aside from new perspectives, different individuals with diverse backgrounds also bring different skill sets to the business, which can help to drive greater efficiency. The same old way of doing things may be too heavy on the budget and a new perspective has the potential to shave considerable costs in the end.

Let’s not forget that the contact center will be interacting with individuals with diverse backgrounds as well. It’s important to be ready to interact with customers who speak a different language, those who have different concerns than the traditional customer, and individuals who want to use channels of communication that differ from the traditional approach. It’s important to be able to meet these customers where they are and respond with a level of service that meets their expectations.

Monet Software also suggests that more diverse workplace environments are also happier environments. Given that employee turnover is higher in the contact center industry, why not invest in strategies that help create more satisfied employees?

Edited by Alicia Young