Workforce Language Services

When the economy started going south, many thought that diversity initiatives and cultural competency trainings would go out the window as companies started to focus on the bottom line.  Yet Nixon Peabody LLP has found that having a diverse company does affect the bottom line:

“It has increased our ability to get business—there’s no question in my mind about that,” said Elizabeth Moore, a partner in the office. “Our clients ask about our diversity, and the students we recruit ask about our diversity.”

Added John Higgins, counsel at the firm: “There’s definitely a positive business case to be made for diversity, not just that this is the right thing to do.”

Nixon Peabody has won local and national awards for its diverse workplace. The company has a committee that develops unique plans for recruiting and retaining members of specific “affinity groups,” ranging from Asian-Americans to members of the gay and bisexual communities.

The Albany Buisness Review article also points out that businesses that may be struggling through this economy and putting diversity discussions on hold for now would be doing themselves a disservice by not building diversity initiatives in their long range strategic plans.