Abstract
The objective of this analysis is to confirm that Service Source is using diversity to its fullest potential. It will discuss it’s abundance of diverse individuals within the organization and the groups they have formed to expand awareness. However, there are areas where SSI could improve such as expatriates sent overseas to global stations and the training therein. With specialization of the strengths and targeting the weaknesses listed, Service Source could uncap a more effective business model that would increase the bottom line.

Analysis of Service Source International Diversity Businesses see the turnover rate every month leading people to believe that it’s just circumstantial. That an employee will leave because of personal reasons. However, there are several trends in turnovers within a company and they all focus around diversity. “The turnover rate for blacks in the U.S. workforce is 40 percent higher than the rate for whites, and turnover among women is twice as high as for men,” (Robinson & Dechant, 1997). What if SSI was able to hone in on encouraging diversity to maximize the current talent available? The argument has shown before in other studies that companies who practice this have increased profits.
Diverse Employees
While at SSI, you cannot find two employees exactly alike. Whatever definition of diversity you choose to accept, SSI matches it. The diversity of the employees already has long reaching affects. SSI has a massive referral rate for employees, potential client markets are coming in closer contact with SSI and overall satisfaction in the workplace, free of harassment has a huge impact on the business.
The Ideal Condition Indirectly SSI has been setting the ideal condition for diversity to start working for the business. With the vast diverse culture of the company and the rapid growth, SSI is ready to start an initiative similar to that of Lou Gerstner of IBM. “Rather than attempt to eliminate discrimination by deliberately ignoring differences among employees, IBM created eight task forces, each focused on a different group such as Asians, gays and lesbians, and women,” (Thomas, 2004). IBM was able to effectively use employees as a double resource. One for the day-to-day duties of employment and the other was to expand the business’ situational awareness of potential markets and cultures within.
Internal Groups SSI can start this double resource right now. It already has growing internal groups that are initially built by employees as a support structure for whichever group they represent most. SSI acknowledges these groups but does not sponsor nor utilize them as it could. “The cultural understanding needed to market to these demographic niches resides most naturally in marketers with the same cultural background,” (Robinson & Dechant, 1997). With a little sponsorship and guidance these internal groups could sprout think tanks for markets unique to their identity. With these understandings SSI can start targeting different and more unique markets like IBM. “In 2003, IBM did business worth more than $1.5 billion with over 500 diverse suppliers, up from $370 million in 1998,” (Thomas, 2004).
SSI is already ahead of IBM in that these groups are not limited to executives. They are mixed with high and middle management with more entry level personal than the former two combined. The mixing and the influence from these groups (that are diverse within themselves) will have an impact in the future as well. As more of the world is changing their views on differences, SSI can be ahead of the competition. “Business opportunities will grow as countries around the world implement similar legislation,” (Thomas, 2004). Companies will need to adapt quickly to meet these “new” niches within the market that SSI will have the blueprints for.
Taking Diversity Overseas “Most managers accept that employers benefit from a diverse workforce, but the notion can be hard to prove or quantify, specially when it comes to measuring how diversity affects a firm’s ability to innovate,” (Hewlett, Marshall, & Sherbin, 2013). How can we tell that diversity is actually working? An easy way is to show how understanding our peers and comrades overseas can increase profitability more than ignoring them. However, diversity is something that is both inherited and learned just like “cultural intelligence.” Companies that have “leaders exhibit at least three inherent and three acquired diversity traits as having two-dimensional diversity,” and “firms with 2-D diversity are 45% likelier to report a growth in market share over the previous year and 70% likelier to report that the firm captured a new market,” (Hewlett, Marshall, & Sherbin, 2013). This thus shows that diversity can have an enormous impact on the business’ profits.
Lack of Expatriates SSI does not use its leaders based on their diversity skills but for their technically ones. When SSI sends a liaison over to a different (foreign or domestic) office, they naturally “assume that the rules of good business are the same everywhere,” (Black & Gregersen, 1999). Diversity training is at a minimum compared to “what thought is best”. Best way to explain it is everyone thinks their section, location or department is the center of the universe and everyone should adapt to them. However, based on SSI’s current issues, this stance has proven weak and the root cause of many issues. SSI does try to send liaisons, not expatriates, to other offices to overcome temporary issues. Never focusing on the long term goals or affects, but to “patch” the problem up quickly. If SSI would instead assign locations “to people whose technical skills are matched or exceeded by their cross-cultural abilities,” SSI would start to feel the positive affects of having expatriates. More so they would need to understand that the time and training of these indispensible people would be required before, during and after their “tour”.
Diversity Training This has been recommended before and should be spoken about again with more growth globally for SSI. Training needs to catch up to our growth and that training should be focused on understanding and appreciating differences. Employees do this on their own everyday with working with opposites. They have to adjust and conform into new people to get the job done. “It is human nature to gravitate toward the familiar,” (Black & Gregersen, 1999). Cultural differences are just the same. Training is required to push past the familiar to the unknown. That’s where adaption and exploration is and that’s also where better communication, understanding and profits are. Training should assemble international functions of selected individuals from throughout the company. Cultural trainers should be consulted and hired to teach on their identity to help bridge the gap. Cultural intelligence can be grown but only through these types of programs.
Conclusion
To summarize, SSI is yet again at the cusp of the perfect opportunity to grow in ways that will put them above the market. Double resourcing the employees, focusing the efforts of internal groups are quick changes that will have an affect on the short and long term. However, without expanding our training and “making the world” smaller SSI would only being utilizing diversity half way. This simple idea of diversity is now something that many employers are realizing is financial multiplier.
References
J. Black & H. Gregersen, (1999). The Right Way to Manage Expats. Harvard Business Review. (March - April), pp.52-62

S. Hewlett, M. Marshall, & L. Sherbin, (2103). MHow Diversity Can Drive Innovation. Harvard Business Review. (December), pp.30

G. Robinson & K. Dechant, (1997). Building a business case for diversity. Academy of Management Executive. 11 (3), pp.21-31

D. Thomas, (2004). Diversity as Strategy. Harvard Business Review. (September), pp.98-108