What is an inclusive workplace?
An inclusive workplace is one where all employees feel valued, respected, and supported regardless of their background, identity, or other differences. It’s a place where teams embrace and celebrate diversity. An inclusive environment typically promotes a sense of belonging among employees, encourages collaboration and innovation, and promotes equal opportunities for all members to succeed. This strategy generally includes creating policies, practices, and culture that accommodate and support employees’ diverse needs and perspectives.
Why inclusivity in the workplace matters
An inclusive environment encourages employees to express themselves freely, boosting their confidence and involvement. When employees feel appreciated, they’re typically more engaged and feel better about offering their insights. Inclusivity empowers employees, enhancing their autonomy and efficiency and increasing productivity and independence. Promoting inclusivity can also help attract and retain top talent, improve morale and team dynamics, and enhance company-wide success.
Traits of an inclusive workplace
As you work towards inclusivity in your organization, understanding how people perceive inclusion and the characteristics of an inclusive environment can be beneficial. Below is a list of traits that can impact your employees and the company’s success:
Ensuring your employees feel heard
Encouraging employees to voice their opinions can foster a culture of openness and inclusion. You can make this easier by performing surveys, scheduling regular check-ins with department heads, and hosting staff meetings. Managers addressing diversity and inclusion openly and without judgment are typically more receptive to employee concerns. Rewarding employees for their honesty and efforts to promote inclusivity within the organization can become an integral part of your company culture.
Celebrating uniqueness and belonging
Celebrating employees’ individuality can involve recognizing and valuing their strengths and experiences. When someone feels disconnected, they may disengage and leave your organization, impacting retention rates. You can foster belonging and uniqueness by acknowledging and celebrating the distinct contributions of each employee while promoting a positive work environment.
Valuing your employees
When employees feel like you appreciate their opinions and individuality, they generally value their work and take more pride in it. You can prevent your employees from feeling undervalued by treating each one respectfully and acknowledging their achievements.
Providing learning and development opportunities
Learning and development opportunities can show your employees that you value their growth and aspirations. Implementing initiatives such as mentoring programs, ongoing training, and enrolling in conferences can encourage employee engagement and specialization. You can use e-learning tools or external trainers to enhance skill development if you don’t have internal training professionals. By investing in employee development, management can demonstrate inclusivity and build a skilled workforce, driving organizational growth and success.
Fostering a collaborative environment
Fostering a collaborative environment across all roles and departments can promote organizational inclusion by breaking down silos. In a collaborative environment, your team members can use their strengths to support each other. Methods to create collaboration can include asking for employee input, using team messaging tools, and organizing cross-departmental meetings. Building trust can involve resolving conflicts promptly and promoting open communication to prevent mistrust and resentment.
Giving employees equal access to resources
Support from managers or diversity groups can help your employees feel appreciated, signalling your dedication to their growth and well-being. Providing extensive health and wellness benefits to full-time staff can demonstrate this commitment. Giving them access to training, company policies, and external support can further reinforce their well-being. Empowered with these resources, your employees can use their strengths to benefit your company.
Strategically aligning with inclusive practices
Strategic alignment can involve communicating the importance of an inclusive workplace model to leaders, managers, and employees, enabling them to implement strategies more effectively. Integrating inclusive practices into all company processes can encourage employees to embrace and celebrate differences. When inclusivity becomes ingrained in your company culture, it can demonstrate a genuine commitment to inclusivity and is typically more impactful than issuing top-down directives.
Adding inclusivity to your core values
Regularly revisiting your company’s core values can be a wise business decision, especially during significant changes. If your values don’t promote an inclusive culture, collaborate with your leadership to update them accordingly. To ensure effectiveness, ask for input from employees across the organization, particularly if leadership and HR lack diversity. Incorporating different perspectives can enhance your efforts and gather support from all levels of the organization.
Valuing equity and equality
Equity can involve recognizing employees as individuals with distinct needs. Acknowledging these differences and appropriately responding can nurture equity and inclusion. For instance, accommodating an employee with hearing difficulties by offering remote work or a quieter workspace can demonstrate sensitivity to their needs. Similarly, providing extra professional development opportunities for younger employees who may benefit from additional help reflects a commitment to fair treatment and support.
Using inclusive communication in the workplace
When you communicate with your employees, use language, tone, and methods of communication that are accessible and considerate of diverse perspectives. This approach shows respect and includes everyone, regardless of background, identity, or characteristics. It can also build trust, collaboration, and understanding among team members, leading to a more positive and productive work environment. For example, in all professional communications, you can model inclusive language. Use “partner” or “spouse” rather than other traditional terms when referring to someone’s significant other (especially when you don’t know their gender). These terms work for non-married couples, too.
Fostering an inclusive workplace culture can involve enhancing connections among employees beyond immediate teams. Encourage kindness and interactions through informal gatherings such as company-wide lunches, happy hours, cross-team activities, or volunteer days. These opportunities enable employees to build relationships with colleagues outside their usual circles, promoting inclusivity and camaraderie across the organization.
Motivating employees to act inclusively
Creating an inclusive workplace can require participation from all staff, from part-time staff to department heads to address issues effectively. Encourage inclusive actions by sponsoring cultural events and providing diversity and inclusion training. You can also foster an enhanced team culture by involving employees at every level and promoting awareness and accountability.
Being transparent when making workforce decisions
Being transparent when making workforce decisions typically involves ensuring that employees understand the criteria and expectations behind those decisions. When you provide clarity about how you perform evaluations and what factors you consider, employees feel less uncertain or excluded. Transparency can encourage ethical decision making, as employees trust that processes are fair and based on objective standards. It can also provide opportunities for employees to voice concerns or questions, leading to inclusive communication in the workplace.
Supporting and embracing change
Remaining flexible and responsive can help ensure the success of your inclusion program. Regularly assess employee feedback to identify areas for improvement in your policies and procedures. Company resources typically reflect and promote your current approach to inclusivity, allowing for ongoing adaptation and refinement to encourage a more inclusive culture.
Why taking action matters
The International Day of Pink began in 2007 when a teenager endured homophobic bullying for wearing a pink t-shirt at a Nova Scotia high school. The students who saw this take place organized a day to wear pink as an act of solidarity with LGBTQ+ communities. Every year, on the second Wednesday in April, this day of action prompts people nationwide to wear pink shirts to fight for acceptance and equality and build more diverse and inclusive schools and workplaces.
Showing solidarity, empathy and understanding for LGBTQ+ employees is an important measure for any business. Fostering a safe and accessible workplace is an ongoing responsibility employers should accept in order to break down barriers in the workplace.
