Why isn't your staff as diverse as your customers?

February 15, 2008

Suzanne DeVries (suzanne@diamondstaffing.com) is president and founder of Diamond Staffing Solutions, one of the jewelry industry's leading placement firms and an official American Gem Society sustaining member.

By Suzanne DeVries

As an owner or a manager of a jewelry store, you undoubtedly serve a wide range of clients: male and female, teens to seniors, thin to overweight, various races and nationalities, and so on.

Unfortunately, while the typical jewelry store clientele is a widely diverse group, many jewelry sales staffs do not reflect the diversity in their particular markets.

Consider the potential benefits of having at least one person on staff who shares the skin color, native language and cultural background of a large ethnic segment in your market. It is human nature for people to be most comfortable buying from a sales professional that looks like them or speaks their native language—someone whom they feel understands their culture. If these clients have a positive experience in your store, they will undoubtedly spread the word in the community and recommend your store to their friends and colleagues.

Given that your clients come in all ages, shapes and sizes, your staff should too. If you only focus on thin and young candidates, you could be missing out on top-notch professionals who have the ability to bring your business to the next level. Female clients buying for themselves are now a major part of most every jeweler's business. Many of these women are successful executives and seasoned shoppers with a strong sense of their own taste and style. They want fashion, elegance and sophistication in their jewelry wardrobe—and they are willing to spend their discretionary income to get exactly what they want. Chances are the majority of them are well beyond their 20s and not a size two. These elite clients most likely will feel more comfortable with sales professionals who do not look like they are still in high school. It is my experience, in most cases, that this influential group of women would prefer a more experienced and mature professional whom they can relate to.

There are all kinds of prejudices many of your current and potential clients have encountered at some point in their lives based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, weight and sexual preference, to name just a few. Offering a diverse staff helps develop and build client loyalty by sending a strong message to the community and your staff that you respect everyone's background, are sensitive to their needs, truly want their business and wish to service all of them in the very best way possible. Staff diversity also assures your clients that there is someone for everyone when they come into your store for their individual shopping experience.

Zero tolerance for discrimination On a related note, whether or not you are promoting diversity in your store, it is important to have a strict "no-tolerance" policy in place toward any offensive or discriminatory language or behavior in your workplace. As owners and managers, it is your responsibility to set high standards for your associates to adhere to, and to make it very clear in writing that there will be harsh consequences for this type of behavior. Why not have your entire staff take diversity-training classes if you think it will broaden employees' perspectives on the importance of diversity?

By not actively endorsing a "no-tolerance" policy toward prejudice, discrimination and insensitive or offensive behavior in your store, you are opening yourself up to the possibility of legal consequences.

No jewelry staff should be composed of associates who are all men, all women, all young, all senior, all slim, or all of one skin color. Clients appreciate shopping in a store that offers a diverse staff. It puts them at ease.

Diversity also helps make your staff more well-rounded and more understanding of your clients and your market.

So when making your next hiring decision, think about how you can diversify. It will make you and your staff stronger, I assure you.

Editor's note: This column first appeared in the February 2008 issue of National Jeweler.