Melissa Merkel, vice president and associate general counsel for Aramark

Diversity is essential to the success of an organization, but are companies willing to look beyond the numbers game and take a public stand on diverse issues on a national level? The answer should be yes.

On July 3, 206 of the world's leading companies (representing 7 million workers and $5 trillion in revenue) joined an amicus brief to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to apply federal job discrimination protection under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to sexual orientation and gender identity in three LGBTQ discrimination cases. Currently, Title VII bars discrimination based on sex, race, color, national origin and religion, but does not specifically address sexual orientation or gender identity.

The amicus brief argues that nondiscrimination and inclusion at a federal level are actually good for business and improve operations. So how do the arguments made in the amicus brief translate into realistic and obtainable goals for an organization?

Modern companies looking to succeed in today's marketplace recognize that a diverse employee base is representative of society at large. A key factor in delivering on an organization's economic success is to attract and retain great talent. In order to achieve a productive and diverse workforce, one must engage talent in a variety of methods that are inclusive and comprehensive. Targeted recruiting strategies ensure the ability to attract the broadest, most qualified candidate pool. Partnering with organizations like Philadelphia Diversity Law Group not only provide the organization with a diverse candidate base for employment, it provides insight into why diversity and inclusion is so important and allows the organization to remain current with cultural initiatives or social and economic issues. Encouraging a network of diverse current employees to help recruit new employees by utilizing a robust referral program is also a great way to obtain diverse talent.

Recruiting and developing great diverse talent leads to a more productive, loyal workforce and a broader client base. Have you ever been in a meeting where the diversity of the participants drove great conversation, insight and innovation? How does an organization encourage these types of interactions?

One of the multiple employee programs that can be used to advance diversity and inclusion is the creation of Employment Resources Groups or ERGs. ERGs are typically made up of volunteer employees who share a common interest, background or demographic factor and their allies to act as a conduit for its individual members to network and drive business results through the collective efforts of the group. ERGs are able to educate and support both the organization and the broader global corporate environment on subject matters and ideas that are important to creating an inclusive environment for the organization's employees. The Aramark PRIDE ERG was the driving force behind Aramark's support for the amicus brief mentioned above as well as the amicus brief filed in 2015 by Aramark and almost 250 other businesses supporting marriage equality.

Organizations can develop more formalized programs, such as a diversity advisory board that includes executive sponsorship, and other resources available to foster professional development, training/education and mentoring opportunities associated with diversity. These programs should be available to the entire employee base, and include various ways and access to the materials (emails, internal website, hard copies at local locations, etc.) and versions in multiple languages depending on the employee population.

Strong leadership and empowerment for employees to drive these ideas create a natural "right to win" and a sustainable competitive advantage with current and potential clients. Especially in a service industry where client understanding and alignment is crucial for a successful relationship, those employees play a vital role in winning and maintaining business in a global marketplace. Open dialogue and formal feedback from clients strengthen these relationships and fosters conversation on diversity and inclusion. Examples of tools for an open dialogue and formal feedback include client advisory committees, client operational reviews, consumer surveys, etc.

Overall, diversity and inclusion are critical to business success within corporate America and organizations will benefit from incorporating these concepts into their internal practices and through formal support of legal efforts intended to continue progress in this area.

Melissa Merkel is vice president and associate general counsel for Aramark. Merkel is a board member of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group and member of Aramark Women's Business Resource Network.