Dissipating U.S. Racial Majority Not Translating to Business Profitability, Says Performia CIS CEO

CLEARWATER, Fla., April 29, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The United States is often characterized as a nation of immigrants, with a melting pot population originating from all corners of the globe—this will seem to become even more obvious as the 21st century continues. According to Census data, by 2050 the U.S. will have no racial or ethnic majority.[1] At the same time, many U.S. companies lag behind in encouraging diversity in their employee populations, despite evidence that both gender and ethnic diversity make for more successful companies (companies with diverse genders represented among executives are 21% more likely to perform above the national industry median, and 33% more likely with diverse ethnicities).[2] Profitable companies also have engaged employees. In fact, Vladimir Sidorenko, CEO of international recruiting management firm Performia CIS, has linked a company's profitability to the potential of its employees multiplied by their engagement. As a recruitment expert whose global experience is the definition of diversity, Sidorenko urges U.S. companies to make strides in diversity and inclusion if they want to engage current and future employees and record growth in their bottom lines.

Especially when doing business from a global perspective, diversity in employee makeup is perhaps the primary strategy that improves intercultural communication. For example, Spain's Real Instituto Elcano states that doing business in Japan has been challenging for Spain in the past due to "an inadequate knowledge of Japanese cultural values." Elcano clarifies that it's not only important to have a "superficial" understanding of another country's customs, such as the Japanese custom of bowing when greeting others, but also to understand "how cultural values shape business aspects like making connections and maintaining relationships."[3] Sidorenko asserts that only through fostering and committing to diversity that critical differences in cultural values from place to place and society to society can be understood—critical for the U.S. economy.

Perspectives like Sidorenko's are important in the U.S. because perhaps more so than other countries, U.S. citizens are less likely to experience themselves as global citizens (only about 15-20% of Americans consider themselves bilingual, as opposed to 56% of Europeans).[4] In an economy that continues to rapidly globalize, and a technological environment that erases more and more boundaries of distance every day, it's critical that U.S. businesses make a cultural shift, Sidorenko advises. "Diversity and inclusion, for reasons no less critical than profitability and survival, are necessary measures for companies to take now."

A 2016 Fenwick and West study reported that the largest 150 public companies in Silicon Valley averaged just 14% women directors and an average of only 0.8 women executive officers. And almost 58% of the main boards in the FTSE100 have no ethnic minority presence.[5] Benefits only come when a company is living and exemplifying its commitment to represent its location's population, and according to a Deloitte study, when employees think their organization is committed to and supportive of diversity, and they feel included the company's ability to innovate increases by 83%.[6]

Diversity and inclusion are critical tools in a business leader's toolbox to increase a company's profitability and adaptability in today's constantly changing world. And they're also key in another metric of company success: employee engagement. According to the Association for Talent Development, employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment that workers have to an organization, and can be measured by how they promote the organization, remain loyal to it, and strive to do their best to make the organization thrive.[7] Companies with a high level of employee engagement demonstrated a 19.2% increase in operating income, while companies with low employee engagement showed a decline of 32.7%.[8]

Sidorenko has had similar findings in relation to employee engagement, and has in fact built Performia's entire propriety recruitment strategy around finding employees who can be as engaged as possible. Sidorenko has developed what he calls the "Profit Formula" for any given employee: "Profit from an employee is equal to his potential times his engagement." He elaborates, "If someone has enthusiasm [for his work] and someone else does not, it means that someone's engagement is low. It's not enough just to fire him - you need to look at his potential, at what he can do. All personnel actions must be taken based on these two factors."[9]

Sidorenko also emphasizes the basic but not often highlighted personnel challenge of simply knowing how to manage people and foster their cooperation in working together, and here he cites policies and actions leading to diversity and inclusion as critical. "Often managers hire those who have a certain knowledge set," he says. "But that strategy doesn't take into consideration diversity of age, race, national origin or the softer skill sets of communication, intuitive thinking, teamwork, flexibility, etc. Therefore, lack of understandable, applicable and effective knowledge about people is put into play and the result can be employees who aren't a good fit or a contributing team member."[10]

About Vladimir Sidorenko:
Vladimir Sidorenko is Founder and CEO of Performia CIS, an international personnel management consulting company. Created in 2001, they specialize in effective solutions to personnel problems and technology for hiring productive employees and contributing to higher profits for companies.

He is a creator of original hiring and personnel management technologies that have made significant impact on the economies of Russian-speaking countries and are increasingly being adapted in the United States. His global knowledge of employee performance will engage workforce practices in the U.S. and ultimately the U.S. economy.

Sidorenko is a sought-after speaker at various international forums and conventions on topics of personnel management. Performia seminars on techniques for hiring productive and qualified team members have been attended by more than 13,000 business-owners, executives and personnel managers worldwide. Performia International is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and Performia CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) is located is Moscow, Russia. Get to know Vladimir Sidorenko at http://www.performiainternational.com

1.    Kerby, Sophia, and Crosby Burns. "The Top 10 Economic Facts of Diversity in the Workplace." Center for American Progress, 30 Jan. 2013.
2.    "Delivering through Diversity." McKinsey & Company.
3.    Garcia, Gloria. "Japanese Cultural Values in Business Relationships." Real Institute Elcano.
4.    Franklin, Lauren. "Americans Suffer from Inadequate Foreign Language Education." The Daily Texan, 6 Oct. 2013.
5.    Atcheson, Sheree. "Embracing Diversity And Fostering Inclusion Is Good For Your Business." Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 Sept. 2018.
6.    Ibid.
7.    "Foster Engagement With Diversity and Inclusion Training." Association for Talent Development, 29 June 2018.
8.    Ibid.
9.    Vasilevskaya, Anna and Yekaterina Zolotaryova. Generalniy. October 2016.
10.    Berdnikova, Valentina. Professia. July-August 2015.

SOURCE Performia CIS

Related Links

http://www.performiainternational.com