Employers need to make diversity and inclusion strategies so that workers of all kinds are valued. In order to do so, a good brand is to have more developed policies.
These can take the shape of a code of conduct, training courses and workshops, mandatory training, or some combination thereof. Ideally, all employees should have access to these and know that they confirm your company’s stand on various features of culture.
Invest in Training
While the goal of inclusion might be to create a culture where employees feel like they can bring their ‘whole selves’ to work, policy makers need to realise that inclusion requires a commitment to training and awareness of how best to support a more diverse workforce. Inclusion initiatives might include providing manager training (or team leader development plans) to develop working practices that will benefit workers in a culture that commits to providing success for all workers. They produce better solutions to problems by thinking out of the box and come up with more creative solutions, and promote diversity of views so companies don’t waste money on making big mistakes when they release new products or services. Diversity and inclusion can play a role here too, as it is generally accepted that employees and candidates are increasingly seeking diversity when choosing an employer and, according to research by StrategyR, people who are included in the work environment are more likely to stay longer in their jobs and are also more likely to recommend it to others – this retention approach is a huge coup for any business wishing to expand its workforce and remain competitive in its marketplace. Businesses need to invest in diversity and inclusion as part of their ongoing growth strategy.
Create an Inclusive
Culture Not only is creating a culture of inclusion the ethical thing to do, it’s the smart thing too. Companies that foster this type of culture are better at innovation, they can adjust faster to the demands of their customers, and they’re better at hiring and retaining talent. And while building an inclusive business environment requires time and attention, the payoffs in terms of performance are evident: firms that work hard to be inclusive in recruiting, bringing in stakeholders or reaching out to employees reap high rewards. Foster an environment of little or no hierarchy where employees are welcomed as the stakeholders that they are. Schedule one-on-ones and interviews, or conduct anonymous employee surveys, workshops or other initiatives that afford employees the opportunity to provide feedback. Consider offering flexibility around cultural holidays or with family leave so that your employees feel able to bring their whole selves to work – and in turn produce for you and your team the desired results: greater profitability for everyone.
Recruit Diverse Candidates
A crucial initial step in shifting to a more diversity-conscious and inclusive set of practices is widening the pool of possible recruits. Firms that, for example, hire only from a few elite schools (with disproportionately male student bodies) could be failing to bring valuable human capital into the professional fold, and need not. Finally, in your company culture audit checklist, you want to make sure that it is accessible to all people who work for you. Part of this is simply creating an environment where you make it easy for people to express how they feel, for example, via employee surveys with open-ended questions to elicit true and real answers. You might even want to ask an outside party to administer the survey to feel less exposed and open to critique. Change your work policies to be more accommodating for religious holidays or local community events. It might be something simple like allowing for a flexible schedule, but these kinds of initiatives show that your firm was created with a lot of different people in mind, and that you’re willing to go out of your way to hire individuals with diverse experiences. Your job-listing candidates will notice!
Involve Employees
Just like any corporate initiative, top-down messaging about DEI will ultimately fall short if employer engagement isn’t part of the planning. Employees will be far more likely to get on board with DEI initiatives if they feel like they’ve been bought in from the very beginning; they want to feel like they’re being listened to, that something is being done to make them feel valued and heard, not just because it’s coming down from on high. Another aspect of motivation is to create clear policies and send periodic reminders. So, including information about the importance of corporate practices on paperwork or training materials can remind and remind employees fully aware of what is expected in order to keep the company’s operations running smoothly. Enabling your employees also means offering them educational opportunities on cultural differences or creating workshops, or celebrating cultural days along with them. But it could also mean having a policy that allows employees to take time off for voting or certain cultural and religious holidays.