Companies with diverse teams perform better

Business executives have identified developing cross-disciplinary and geographically diverse teams to be a primary contributing factor in boosting an organisation's success.

According to a new EY survey, 84% of respondents acknowledge managing teams is a key strategy for future competitiveness.

"Those who rate their companies as ‘excellent' at building diverse teams are much more likely to have achieved earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) growth of greater than 10% over the past year," the survey reported.

"The same correlation is true for companies with teams that have become more geographically dispersed over the past three years and increased EBITDA growth levels," it added.

Complementing this trend, 85% of respondents deemed "inclusive leadership", or the ability to encourage teams to voice diverse perspectives and dissent, as an effective means of improving performance.

However, the survey found half of the 821 respondents as having an insufficiency of leaders with the ability to manage and motivate these teams.

"Increasingly, a company's ability to form, lead and nurture high-performance teams will be critical to its long-term success. To achieve superior performance, tapping into the full range of diverse skills and expertise at their disposal is essential," said Mike Cullen, EY's global managing partner, talent.

The report also highlighted other characteristics, besides diversity, which high-performance teams are likely to have.

These include a shared vision and a commitment to quality and results.

"It's crucial for companies to define what they mean by high-performance teams and then to embed that in a more consistent way, transferring best practice from one team to another so that it evolves into a high-performance culture," Cullen added.

The report surveyed respondents across Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas.