New Research From Bain & Company Shows Workplace Inclusion as a Key Factor in the US Latino Population Choosing and Staying at a Job

Bain & Company’s findings focus on how feelings of inclusion are different for each group and how that can be applied to the diverse US Latino population

The Latino population is one of the fastest growing demographics in the US participating in the labor market at higher-than-average rates. They accounted for approximately 80% of workforce growth from 2010 to 2017, and they are expected to represent nearly one in three working-age Americans by 2050. Bain & Company research has found a culture of belonging and feeling included at work key to employee retention and success, but only approximately 25% of Latinos say they feel fully included at their workplaces.

Feelings of inclusion drive Latino workers employment choices from evaluation of a prospective employer, where 70% indicate this is a highly important factor to retention at their current job. Latino workers who do not feel particularly included are approximately two times more likely to quit than those who feel fully included, and nearly 45% of Latino workers who don’t feel completely included are actively seeking new jobs (compared with approximately 25% of those who do feel fully included), according to Bain’s Inclusive Organization Survey.

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Prioritizing inclusion for all including Latino employees is crucial to the success of companies throughout the workforce, especially as they look to grow in the years to come. Determining how to successfully execute inclusion for a population is a harder problem to solve. Additionally, the Latino population is racially diverse, including people from over two dozen countries, many of whom speak different languages and have different experiences based on when their family came to the US and how long they’ve been here.

“Bain & Company’s research found with such a diverse population, it is important to bring an intersectional lens that captures a multiplicity of identities (such as geography, gender, race or ethnicity, and seniority within the organization),” said Naiara De Leon, a Dallas-based partner and member of the firm’s Latinx at Bain (LATBA) affinity group. “This allows companies to identify with the greatest precision what enablers will most likely increase inclusion for specific populations.”

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For example, by breaking down the Latino population with a multiplicity of identities, Latina women prefer behavioral enablers (grounded in everyday behaviors) and Latino men are more likely to be motivated by systemic enablers of inclusion (involving organizational processes and systems).

“I find team-building exercises to be a critical enabler of inclusion,” said Saber Sherrard, a Dallas-based partner and global lead of LATBA. “More specifically, I always look forward to case team events as ways to learn people’s stories. These discussions can foster authenticity and inclusivity, creating both a more engaging team environment and a higher-performing team.”

With the Latino workforce rapidly growing, it is beneficial for companies to reflect on what enablers are being used to encourage feelings of inclusion and to make changes. Additionally, Latino leaders have an opportunity and a responsibility to push organizations to do the hard work of discovering what behaviors and systems will create more inclusion, and to ensure they are executed.

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