The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) states that inclusive workplaces have higher quality products and lower turnover rates. Many of today’s employers focus on ensuring diversity, but they forget that inclusion is necessary to create lasting change, not to mention a sense of wellbeing. How can businesses go about creating an inclusive workplace?
An inclusive workplace uses collaboration, support, and a respectful environment to increase employee participation and contribution. The goal is to remove barriers that can lead to discrimination and intolerance.
The inclusive workplace model is one where every person has a voice. It is the elimination of the top-down approach that has been part of business for decades. Today’s inclusive workplace relies on leadership support but encourages the grassroots energy that comes with inclusion.
Many factors go into the concept of inclusion, so the types can vary based on industry or community culture. A survey conducted by McKinsey & Company broke inclusion down into four factors:
Participants in the survey listed these forms of inclusion as the most important to them when considering employers.
Research by Deloitte shows that companies with an inclusive workplace are twice as likely to meet their financial goals and six times more innovative. Inclusion also keeps 42 percent of employees from considering changing jobs. Employees stay up to three times longer in businesses that make inclusiveness a priority.
Researchers at Limeade Institute and Artemis asked employees how inclusion made them feel. Twenty-eight percent said they were more engaged in their work, and 43 percent claimed to be loyal to their company because of their inclusive workplace.
Companies looking to be more inclusive can break the effort down into different components.
By taking steps to be fully inclusive, businesses create a sense of belonging for employees. That can affect everything from employee engagement to revenue.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, there are some effective practices. A good place to start is by hiring for merit and intellectual diversity. Encourage leadership to remain open-minded when hiring. They should be well-versed in the idea of inclusion and how to implement it. Each team leader should learn to seek diversity.
Provide each employee with a way to find their niche within the organization. Allow for cross-training and learning opportunities. Accept suggestions on ways to change both the culture and the operations. Offering holistic wellbeing and other community-building programs with an inclusive social component is another way to help employees connect with one another around shared interests and values.
Use surveys to track employee experiences -- good and bad. This allows company leaders to see where there is progress and what still needs work from the employees' perspective.
As with most things in business, some companies do inclusiveness better than others. Some excellent examples of businesses putting inclusive policies to work include:
Ensuring an inclusive workplace means you must recognize bias when it exists and commit to change. That starts with inclusive leadership, where all employees may speak up and be heard.
Companies must hold their leadership accountable for creating a workplace where everyone feels safe and included. It is the key to more profit and a better world.
When it comes to your company’s benefits, make sure that they’re meeting everyone’s unique needs. Your wellbeing solution should be accessible and offer content and programming that meets people where they are with respect to interests, goals, and abilities, while covering all dimensions of wellbeing. People want to see themselves represented in the tools they use and interact with, so make sure your vendors are committed to inclusivity in their product design and community resources.