Listen to Julia Moulden’s original full interview with Yash Kapur:
In this interview, Yash Kapur, a DiverseCity onBoard roster member, speaks eloquently about how inclusion impacts customer service, which, ultimately, has a positive impact on an organization’s bottom line and the communities they serve.
Yash is a professional engineer who worked with the United Nations for more than twenty years. Born in India, he came to Toronto in 1990. Though officially retired, he is busier than ever, serving on a wide range of boards in the municipal, provincial, and not-profit sectors across the GTA.
Serving on boards has been important for Yash for many reasons. In particular, he’s found that “generally people who are not involved [on boards] are still not very confident that immigrants are given importance in managing the affairs of Toronto. But after being on a board, I realized that it’s not true. We are given equal importance. We have our say. It’s really an experience to be a part of that team, and contributing something to the diversity of Toronto, and Canada, in general.”
Yash credits DiverseCity for helping him build the confidence he has to sit on boards, lead organizations and ensure that the voices of diverse communities are present at the decision-making level.
Visible representation of communities is essential, especially in public- and community-serving organizations. He describes the impact: “Clients feel comfortable to see that someone like them is on the board. It gives me confidence that some of the issues our people are facing are able to be reflected in board meetings and make them aware of the particular situations that minorities and new immigrants are facing.”
Ultimately, for Yash, it comes down to providing excellent and impactful client service: “Organizations need to know what types of clients and communities they are serving. One of the ways to get this information is to ensure that they have input from representatives of these groups in their organization’s leadership. Once they know community needs, they can be more responsive, they can better design their programs to more effectively serve their clients.
“In the end, clients and communities are happy. The organization is happy. They’re able to meet their organizational goals and mission.”
Related:
