Most employers will tell you that they seek to have an inclusive environment for their employees, customers and visitors to the workplace. However, despite what are often good intentions, most workplaces still fall short.
It might be that those facing discrimination feel like they have no one to turn to for help or support, or that the very values the company is founded on are non-inclusive by design. Without a clear policy on dealing with discrimination, or a lack of active participation from all levels of management, an inclusive environment quickly becomes a ‘nice to have, rather than an integral part of the structure of the company.
The tragedy of this isn’t just personal. Studies have found that even when a company is hitting its diversity targets by hiring a wide range of people from a mixture of backgrounds, experiences, lifestyles and abilities if those people do not feel included and equal, they are not likely to want to contribute their diverse ideas and experiences to the team.
This is further proven by extensive research which has found that businesses that fully embrace diversity and inclusivity are proven to reap a host of economical and productivity benefits as a side product of a happy and inclusive team. When it’s done right, it’s a win-win situation.
Gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to outperform their peers and ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to
Inclusive companies are 120% more likely to hit financial goals
Companies that have a highly inclusive culture notice 2.3 times more cash flow per employee.
Companies with more women on the board outperform their peers over a long period of time
Inclusive teams outperform their peers by 80% in team-based assessments
Put simply:
“Companies that build a truly inclusive culture are those that will outperform their peers”.
Josh Bersin, “Why Diversity and Inclusion Has Become a Business Priority”
In this article, we’ve put together some concrete steps that employers can take to help them build an environment that is inclusive for everybody, irrespective of race, age, gender, religion, physical ability, or sexual preference.
Creating an inclusive environment and addressing any claims of discrimination will be a challenge if those at the top of the company hierarchy do not hold diversity and inclusion as a priority. Company leaders need to be educated about its value both for employees on a personal level and as a business strategy if a positive and anti-discriminatory environment is going to thrive.
Education could happen through diversity and inclusivity training, unconscious bias training, the adoption of analytics tools and the implementation of diversity metrics. These practices ensure that those who hold positions of power are not promoting or rewarding people in an imbalanced or unfair way.
Some other ways to get C-level management directly involved:
Elect a member of the executive team to plan and execute on the inclusion and diversity program
Set out diversity metrics which leaders are accountable to
Offer training in similarity bias, structural bias, and self-rater bias for all C-level employees
Implementing D&I strategies in recruitment, performance management, leadership assessment and training
In the Belonging Barometer study, more than 1,000 working adult Americans were asked to define belonging; what makes them feel excluded or like they belong in the workplace. Interestingly, when the group were asked what makes them feel the greatest sense of belonging at work, the top answer across all respondents was having regular check-ins.
Daily, weekly or monthly check-ins between managers and team members are a vital opportunity to connect, identify potential issues early, and adapt to changes in personal or professional circumstances quickly.
From a business perspective, check-ins have been found to significantly increase employee engagement, while for the employee a check-in gives them a designated time to get personalized feedback or address private concerns. Giving team members the space and time to discuss experiences, feelings, and mood demonstrates not just care and concern from the side of management, it also recognises the realities of each employee’s emotional state, which in turn can lead to more thoughtful and positive action.
When implementing regular check-ins with employees, it’s important to:
Block off time in your calendar
Have specific discussion points at hand
Ask open questions and listen carefully to the answers
Make notes so you have something to refer back to in future sessions
Make sure the candidate knows you are taking them and their concerns seriously
Encourage a two-way dialogue
Follow up any concerns brought up in the session with concrete action as soon as possible
If issues that are raised are left hanging, employees will quickly come to see their check-ins as a box-ticking exercise, rather than a genuine attempt at making positive changes towards creating an inclusive environment. Building a relationship that fosters a sense of trust and mutual support will lead candidates to feel like they not only belong but are being listened to and understood.
A safe space is a place that enables employees to share their thoughts, ideas or concerns without fear of repercussions, and live their unique identities without facing judgement, discrimination or harm. It’s a space where difficult, awkward and important conversations can take place, with the aims of all involved parties to be both understanding of the others in the space and to take accountability for their own actions.
Ensuring that the workplace is a safe space for every single employee to come to won’t happen overnight; it’ll take work, as well as some hard and fast rules. Here are a few ways that HR leaders can work with management to ensure the psychological safety of employees:
Ensure the company values include a commitment to learning about, understanding, and supporting employees
Acknowledge the impact of sexism, racism, ethnocentrism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, antisemitism, and ableism on the lives of each employee
Recognise and value the experiences, abilities, and knowledge each person brings to the company
Conclusion
We hope you’ve found these simple steps a useful starting point to creating a more welcoming, inclusive and anti-discriminatory environment at your workplace. It’s important to remember that building an inclusive workplace can only happen with a systemic and top-down approach, supported by company values that are implemented consciously by every member of the team with kindness, understanding and decisive action.
