Milwaukee Teams Building Succeeds with Diversity

Milwaukee employers can easily tap into the local market when recruiting for diversity and talent. Training staff for team projects can also be more productive because diverse teams are more 
successful. Milwaukee Team Building and training programs generally involve people with varied cultural backgrounds and viewpoints. 

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VIDEO: One way diverse teams grow stronger is to engage in corporate social responsibility projects. Cisco recently engaged in CSR for a Venture Up Team Building event in Milwaukee. During the 4-hour program teams assembled 3D Printed hands for kids born with symbrachydactyly, a condition in which hands are not fully formed. Venture Up ships the prosthetics to needy kids and hospitals overseas.

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They attack problem-solving games and challenges with more creativity than team members of similar backgrounds. 

Did the workplace change? Not really. Some tech companies say they cannot find qualified employees, but they have been criticized for the human tendency we all share of aligning with people much like ourselves.

 

“When teams lack diversity it kills innovation,” says Venture Up founder David Lengyel, who has worked with Milwaukee firms, such as Johnson Controls, SC Johnson, Rockwell, GE Healthcare and U.S. Bank. “Baby boomers and tech-savvy millennials make a great combination for work teams and in culturally diverse corporate training programs,” says Lengyel, whose company has been building corporate team relationships since 1983.

“When your team is filled with similar people, it leads group members to think they have the same information and the same perspective. But this mindset squelches innovation and creativity,” says Yuriy Boykiv, in an article for Fast Company.

Minorities make up 27 percent of the American workplace. Studies show diverse work teams are more innovative and productive with the right management and training. But what are companies doing to create diverse teams? Ever since a 2009 study showed tech companies hire only 6.8 percent minorities, Facebook, Google and other image-conscious brands went into public relations overdrive and gave major donations to high profile organizations affiliated with minorities and women.

Few American organizations take adequate steps to change, even when it means profitability. McKinsey & Co. research shows companies with more diverse work forces perform better financially.

Employee engagement is another challenge facing U.S. firms. Gallup research shows 87 percent of employees are not engaged. That is, staff are not devoted to the company mission, are unmotivated, and may be seeking jobs elsewhere. Retaining and recruiting staff costs companies needless millions annually, but they are slow to shift the corporate culture despite overwhelming research.

Engaging employees and improving the corporate culture are not objects you can buy. They are part of a fluid process with no end. You don’t “arrive” at corporate culture. A strong corporate culture comes from the top down. Strong leaders pay attention to their staff, survey their employees well-being on a regular basis and act on feedback. They stay involved and engaged with staff, from top brass to the front line.

Research also shows that employee engagement is strong when companies have a dedicated program in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Companies are better able to retain and recruit staff if the culture is diverse and employees are engaged in CSR projects allowing them to interact with the community on a personal level.

Just as diversity in teams brings more creativity to the workplace, successful CSR programs can keep teams engaged, and create company ambassadors who can serve leaders in recruiting new talent and keep the company afloat. But the leaders must drive the boat.