1. INTEGRATED TEAMS
MANY
RENTER LIFESTYLES / MARKET: NEW ORLEANS / DESTINATION: AUSTRALIA / INDUSTRY INSIGHT: DECLUTTERING
Magazine of Worldwide ERC®
March 2015
DIVERSITY
OF RELOCATING EMPLOYEES
MANYINTEGRATED TEAMS
CULTURAL CHALLENGES IN
EMERGING ASIAN
MARKETS

2. SPECIAL
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
AND ASIA-PACIFIC SCHOOLS

4. CONSIDERING
DIVERSITY
When Relocating Employees
Diversityis the art of thinkingindependentlytogether.
— Malcolm Forbes
The workplace is a reflectionof our largersociety.
As the demographicsoftheU.S.shift,diversitywill
continue to grow in the workplace—encompassing
not only raceandsex, but alsosexualorientation, age,
ability status, socioeconomic background, educati onal
level,andpersonalitytype.Today,workforcediversity
is intendedtomeaneverythingfromracialdiversityto
diversity between generations in the workplace.
WhenI beganmycareerinthe relocationindustry,
I workedwith a gaywomanofAfricanAmericanand
Native Americanancestrywho was legally blindin
one eye. Employees who addto the diversity of an
organization may not fit into neat packages. It is a
formidable undertakingtoreachastageofworkforce
diversitywhere,asJosefaIloilo,thelatepresident
ofFiji, expressedit,“differencesanddiversityare
notseenassourcesofdivisionanddistrust,butof
strength and inspiration.”
Manyoftoday’s leadingemployersarecommitted
todiversity,andalmosthalfofallorganizationshave
an officialmission statement devotedto it. But are
those companies considering the value of diversity
when relocating an employee or group of employees?
This article will explore howthe goalof creating a
diverse workforce shouldbe a consideration when
deciding whom to relocate.
DIVERSITY AND PERFORMANCE
Ifyou’re readingMobility,chancesareyou’reaware
of the reasons why companies relocate employees.
The mobility function can help create a more diverse workforce
and lead to greater success

5. change, motivating, managing, and maintaining
and increasing productivity.
ResearchersattheHarvardBusinessSchoolsurveyed
250 businesses andfoundthat those with a diverse
workforce made 18 to 69 percentmorenet incomeor
operatingrevenue.Thestudyalsofoundthat91percent
Those reasons include the need to address imbalances
in the workforce,hiringnewemployees fora specific
location,developingamorewell-roundedemployee
to enhancetheir career path,andcorrecting errorsin
selection andplacement of an employee. Whatever
the reason, the ultimate goalof any relocation is to
increase the effectiveness of an organization.
However, there is one reason thatis notusually
addressed specifically—to relocate an employee in
ordertoeffectamorediverseworkforce.Although
the endresult of relocations may result in a more
diverse workgroup, this is not usually an initial
consideration for the relocation. Yet, both employee
relocationanda morediverse workforce have the
potential to increase a company’s performance.
The benefits of a more diverse workgroup
have been substantiated in a number of stud-
ies.Sangeeta Bharadwaj-Badal,leadscientistfor
Gallup’s EntrepreneurshipandJobCreationini-
tiative, notes that a Gallup study of more than 800
business units from two companies representing
two different industries foundthat gender-diverse
business units have better financialoutcomes by an
average of 57 percent over those dominated by one
gender.Gender-diverseworkgroups achievebetter
financialperformancebecausedifferentviewpoints
of men andwomen leadto better problem-solving,
allowing the company to serve an increasingly
diverse customer base, andgender diversity also
helps companies attractandretaintalentedwomen.
Research supports the benefits of generational
diversity as well. For example, an AARP study
highlights the fact that this is the first time in
American history when four generations are
working side by side. An age-neutralworkplace
supports realcommunication andunderstanding
across allages andbuilds on the unique values and
strengths of each generation. Businesses that pay
attention to intergenerationalissues will see an
impact on their bottom line in a number of areas,
including recruiting, building teams, dealing with
ofcompanieswitha diverseworkforcereportedgreater
customer satisfaction. In addition, organizations with
diverse executive teams had better sales performance.
According to a 2009 study, “Does Diversity Pay?:
Race, Gender,andthe BusinessCaseforDiversity,”
publishedin the American SociologicalReview, sales
revenues are much higherat workplaces that have
diversityamongemployees.Thestudyfoundthatthe
businesses with the most racialdiversity broughtin
15 times morein salesrevenue than companies with
the lowest levels. Theaverage numberofcustomers
for the racially diverse companies was 35,000annu-
ally, compared to 22,700 for nondiverse companies.
Acompany’s business image improves with
a diverse workforce because it is appealing to a
largercustomerbase.
Stockperformance is likely to be affectedby
workplace diversity. In a study from Covenant
Investment Management, the annualized stock return
for StandardandPoor’s 500 Companies with low
diversitywas anaverageof7.9percent,comparedto
18.3percentforcompaniesthatpresentedthemost
equal employment opportunities.
DIVERSITY AND THINKING
The measuredgains in productivity, performance,
andcustomersatisfactionfromincorporatingamore
diverseworkforceshouldcomeasnosurprisewhen
one considersthebenefitsofworkplacediversity.Scott
Morgan of DemandMedia notes that workers from
various culturalandsocialbackgroundsallowformul-
tiple perspectives on internalandexternalissues and
are more likelyto generatenewideas. By broadening
its reach,a companylookingto hirenewtalentstands
a betterchanceoffindingtop-qualityemployeeswhen
it recruitsfroma morediversesetofcandidates.
The CenterforAmericanProgressstatesthatthe
U.S. economy— particularly at the entrepreneurial
level—risesintandemwiththe numberofwomen,
minorities, and gay and transgender workers enter-
ing the workforce.
Creativity increases when people with different
ways of solving difficult problems work together
74 Mobility | March 2015

6. towarda commonsolution.Colleagueswhocome
from other cultures can offer insightful alternatives
Americansmightnothaveconsidered.This is atre-
mendous advantage.
Newattitudes arebroughttothebusinesstableby
people from diverse cultures.
Jobseekersaredrawntocompanieswithdiverse
workforces becauseitis evidentthatthecompanies
do not practice employment discrimination.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, takes the benefits
of diversity one step further. In an open letter to
Bloomberg Businessweek in October, Cookstated
that although he was treated no differently for
being gay at Apple, “being gay has given me a
deeper understanding of what it means to be in the
minority.” Andit has “provideda window into the
challenges that people in other minority groups
dealwith every day. It’s made me more empathetic,
which has ledto a richer life.”
Researchers callthis “two-dimensionaldiversity.”
One dimensionis aninherenttrait,suchasbeinggayor
black. Thesecondis anacquiredtrait,suchas learning
tounderstanddifferentculturesfromforeigntravel.
DIVERSITY AND CHALLENGES
As outlined above, the results of having a diverse
workforce are extremely positive. However, working
within a group with diverse backgrounds, issues,
worktogether.Toillustrate thispoint,considera
hypothetical workgroup consisting of:
• Americanmale,age55—Babyboomerwhohas
difficulty embracing new ways of doing things.
• Americanfemale,age25—Millennialwith a dis-
trust of traditional hierarchies.
• Chinese female, age 40 — Sees punctuality as a
virtue;the meetingagendamaynotbeadheredto.
• Arabmale,age45—Punctualityis lessimportant;
expect delays.
• Brazilian male, age 35 — Personalinquiries are a
way to estimate trustworthiness; punctuality is not
seenassomethingthatcanbecontrolled.
• Dutchmale,age50—Reservedandquiet;uncom-
fortable askingoransweringpersonalquestions;
punctuality is taken very seriously.
Considerthis workgroupwhenreviewingthe fol-
lowing potentially negative effects of a diverse work-
force citedbyGregoryHamelofDemandMedia:
Teamworkmaybe difficultif workers areuncom-
fortableworkingwithotherswhohavedifferingsocial,
political, andeconomic viewpoints. It maybe easiest
for certainworkerstorelate toandcommunicatewith
otherswhosharesimilarbackgroundsandviews.
Adiverse workforce can bring abroadrange
ofopinions andideas tothetable,whichmaybe
beneficial when brainstorming or troubleshooti n g
problems.Butdivergentopinions canalsoleadto
unproductive arguments.
Discriminationmayariseasworkerslookforways
toworkwith others similartothemselves.
A diverse workforce could cause customer ser-
vice problems ifcertainworkers areuncomfortable
with or unable to relate to or communicate with
certain customers.
UNIQUE ROLE OF MOBILITY
Time,a well-defineddiversityplan,management
awareness, and adequate training should minimize
the potentially negative effects of incorporating
a diverse workforce. The mobility function has a
unique abilityandopportunitytoincreasediversity
andbusiness performance by taking into consider-
ationthe diversityoftherelocatingemployee(s)and
the diversityoftheworkgroupoftheirdestination.
M
andinterestscanbechallenging,especiallyinthe
beginning stages of the workgroup and/or assign-
ment. Conflicts can anddo occur whenpeople with
different needs, viewpoints, and ways of doing things
76 Mobility | March 2015
John Lambo is Director, Global Business
Development at Paragon Relocation. He ca be
reached at jlambo@paragonrelocation.com and at
475.239.9000.
REPRINTEDWITH PERMISSION FROM THE MARCH 2015
A company’s business
customer base.

7. ISSUE OFMOBILITY,PUBLISHEDBY WORLDWIDE ERC®