Diversity and inclusion are always the buzzwords of the day. Companies want to be diverse, inclusive, and free from discrimination. The idea behind diversity is that everyone should feel like they belong in their company, no matter who they are or what they identify as. But if you’re not careful about how you go about building your culture of belonging, it could actually do more harm than good, so before you start on your plans for the new company this is what needs to be considered when creating a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Hold company-wide meetings with all department heads
If you want to do diversity and inclusion right it’s important that everyone knows why the company is doing this. Set up an “all hands” meeting with your team where you can explain the business case for diversity. Talk about what problems exist in the industry because of lack of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, outline how these issues are affecting the bottom line, and then tell people how a diverse and inclusive environment will help with these problems.
That being said, if you’re doing diversity just for the sake of checking a box it won’t work. Diversity for diversity’s sake is not going to create an inclusive culture that values everyone’s contributions equally. In order for this new culture to be successful, it’s going to require buy-in from everyone in the company. You can’t just hire a few people from different backgrounds and hope that they will carry the rest of the team with them. Everyone has to understand why diversity is important and what kinds of contributions it makes to the business.
Adapt and change company policies
It’s also going to require some changes to the company’s policies. Diversity is not just about hiring people from different backgrounds, it’s also about providing equal opportunities for everyone inside the company. You can’t hire someone solely because of their background if they aren’t qualified, so look at your current selection process and determine where you might be unintentionally discriminating against some groups.
If you’re going to have a truly diverse and inclusive environment, everyone has to have equal opportunities. So it’s important that you go beyond just hiring people from different backgrounds. You need to be willing to look into your company policies and practices, as well as the way things are done around there, and consider whether they might be unintentionally discriminating against certain groups of people.
What do you think makes someone belong?
When employees feel like what they contribute is valuable they will also feel like their place in the company is valuable. So when it comes to diversity and inclusion, what needs to be considered is what employees believe to be valuable and how employees value themselves.
Broad categories for identity can’t replace unique, individual thought. In order to avoid tokenism, categorizing people into broad groups should not be your main focus when working against discrimination. When hiring or promoting, you want to take each person into consideration as an individual rather than a group.
Inclusivity is also about how people feel. People need to feel like they can open up and share their thoughts, opinions, and ideas without judgment or fear of ridicule. They should be able to bring themselves to work in order to do the best job possible.
What will create diversity?
Internal survey data has shown that many employees are looking for diversity in terms of their co-workers. They want to be able to connect with others and develop friendships, not only with those who are like them but also with those who might have different backgrounds and experiences.
This is where it’s important to consider what your company values as something that contributes positively and how often these values apply to employees’ identities. This will also help to improve inclusivity since your employees feel that they are part of the group and that their contributions are recognized.
How can you encourage diversity?
There are several ways to encourage diversity within your company culture, but one way is to take a look at what’s important internally. What do you value as an organization? What are the things that you think bring your company together?
It seems simple but assessing what your employees say they value is a good place to start. People have different priorities and values so they might be looking for different things when it comes to their jobs. If you want diversity within your workplace then it’s important to take these differences into consideration when creating company values.
When employees feel as though they are part of the group and that their contributions are valued, they will be more willing to share expertise with those who have different thoughts and ideas. This sort of inclusion is ultimately going to help your company grow and thrive in a diverse environment.
What are you doing to promote diversity in the workplace?
If your employees have said that they want diversity within their teams, then take a look at how diverse your current workforce is. If there isn’t much diversity in terms of race or gender, maybe it’s time to widen your hiring scope and get people who better represent your company’s values.
Promoting diversity and inclusion is a step in the right direction, but making sure that all employees feel as though they belong is also important. Inclusivity does not only apply within the workplace either. If you have customers or clients who are different from those that populate your company now, then it might be time to think about ways to meet their needs when it comes to customer service.
No matter how you look at diversity and inclusion, there are many different considerations that need to be taken into account before creating a company culture of belonging. Make sure the categories that you use for hiring or promoting are not generalizing groups but rather recognizing individual thought processes.
