Companies are focusing on employee happiness more than ever before. The ultimate goal being to retain your staff and keep them invested in your company’s mission. Now that your company has taken steps to work on diversity and equity, what about inclusion? The moment a new hire starts employment, what do you do to make them feel welcome? The potential in a diverse staff is unlocked through inclusion.
Educate Your Leadership on Inclusion
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become hot topics throughout recent world events. Workplaces are now expected to incorporate these practices with the consequence of employees leaving if not done successfully. When the time comes to rolling out DEI efforts, leadership will be the front line to your workforce. Is it fair to expect your leadership to know what it looks like to create an inclusive workplace without proper training? Educate your leadership with examples of inclusive behavior and bias in meetings, performance reviews and other specific.
Rehumanize Work
There is a direct correlation between employee happiness and performance. If your staff does not feel appreciated or valued as a person, their output will decrease no matter if this person is your top employee or not. Provide employees with the appropriate platform to voice concerns and be heard. When differences are supported, accepted and addressed in the workplace, employees feel understood, supported and a deeper sense of belonging to your company. This will create a culture of equality and inclusion.
Celebrate Differences
Hiring a diverse workplace may be an easy item to check off the DEI list in your company. (Prospective applicants are protected by the law for this one!) How about once you get your staff in the door? What does your company do to celebrate the differences? Many of your employees may celebrate Christmas and other Christian holidays but what about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Chinese New Year? Planning a staff Christmas celebration will alienate those who do not observe the holiday. Or think about those that celebrate Ramadan. Planning a lunch meeting would be disrespectful to your Muslim employees who fast from dawn to sunset in Ramadan observance.
Examples of how to celebrate inclusion:
- Potlucks that encourage the representation of their family traditional foods
- A meditation or prayer room
- Access to HR for all employees no matter the shift they work
Think about the game of golf. Each player is diverse in their level of experience and skill. Golf courses aid in equity with putting greens for women, men and skill level. Players can embrace equity with a variety of tools to improve their game such as different clubs, tees and balls. Through embracing the differences, golf can be a very inclusive experience for many individuals.
Inclusion is the bow at the end of incorporating diversity and equity in the workplace. Neither of the DEI practices are fully supported until each aspect is truly embraced by company leadership and staff. Inclusion is the final missing piece to successfully maintaining staff, aiding in employee happiness and ultimately keeping your company above the curve in today’s new business expectations.
Does your company need help with celebrating inclusion? Contact Vinna Human Resources and we will provide you what we have learned from the continually changing laws and our experience in workplace inclusion. For more advice on DEI, check out our articles on diversity and equity.