Business Best Practices
Benefits of Working with a Diverse Supplier
Jul 16, 2018
Written by Breck Newman, Senior National Business Development.
Woman-owned since 1995, HireLevel, supports clients from the small business level to MSP and Fortune 500 companies across the nation. Their strategy for growth relies on aiding current and new clients in innovation and strategic growth and working with organizations committed to diversity in business.
HireLevel works with several large corporations who have a supplier diversity program, and is continuously pursuing opportunities geared toward innovation in diversity initiatives. In our experience and through the relationships we’ve built, the benefits of working with diverse businesses have shined through.
What is a diverse supplier?
A business that is atleast 51% minority-owned, women owned, veteran owned, LGBT-owned, service disabled veteran owned, historically underutilized business, and Small Business Administration (SBA)-defined small business.
Doing business with diverse suppliers
- Innovation– Many diversely owned companies are small and medium size businesses. Small and medium sized businesses with niche products or services bring different perspectives and backgrounds. Innovation creates competition, generating efficiencies, therefore decreasing costs. Innovation is the lifeline to small and medium size businesses. If we can’t differentiate ourselves, we have hundreds of other competitors who are always innovating and winning business doing so.
- Business Values– Having a commitment to supporting diverse and small business speaks to the culture of a company. These values not only align you with what is, also, important to the suppliers, but can align you with the values of clients and prospective clients.
- Flexibility– Small businesses have the ability to build custom solutions for larger corporate clients. Large customers become a priority for the small business and they will do what it takes to deliver. There may be less hoops to jump through to deliver, therefore timelines for a completed project may be shorter.
Supplier Diversity Programs increase revenue $3.6:1M
“On average, supplier diversity programs add $3.6 million to the bottom line for every $1 million in procurement operation costs,” writes Lindsay Clark, referencing a 2015 study by The Hackett Group. The cost saving potential is profound, but many other benefits of working with diverse suppliers are on the horizon. Diverse suppliers are an important thread in the fabric of enterprise business.
HireLevel as a diverse supplier partner
President and CEO of HireLevel, Teresa Katubig, is in constant pursuit of taking her dream to the next level, working smarter and reaching higher. Katubig inspired a mission, now backed by over 80 employees, to bring more people with diverse backgrounds together, creating opportunities and growing a stronger community and workforce. She is recognized as both a leader in business and in community.
Teresa takes pride in the time she takes to build relationships with employees and the people around her, including those she does business with. That is the #HireLevelDifference. Your bottom line matters, but you increase it by placing value and attention in people first.
When you choose to do business with HireLevel, you get a tactical and strategic partner who is dedicated to increasing the value of your investment in your team. Just think of us as your does-it-all, makes-it-easy, keeps-it-simple best friend in business.
