Creating an Inclusive Workplace: Simple Steps to Build a Diverse, Welcoming Culture

Why Inclusion Really Matters

The idea of inclusion is to ensure that everyone at the place of work has equal consideration, they appreciate the esteem of the company and organization, and can fully express themselves. It is about creating a team where everyone has a say and diversity is a strength not an afterthought. The analyses performed by Shore et al. (2018) prove that people diversity makes a team more efficient and creative. That said, the dream of creating an environment that is tenable yet innovative, creative and full of life remains hard for many organisations to achieve. Well, how does an organisation encourage full inclusion? Now, it is important to present simple and easily implementable steps which can be used by any organization to create the conditions when people work happily.

The Challenge: What’s Holding Us Back?

Many organizations today experience common challenges that constrain effective realization of integration. Challenges such as implicit prejudice, absence of diversity, and cultural rupture pose a high challenge when constructing an inclusive culture. To many companies, diversity is not just the case of recruiting people from different backgrounds but also the notion of having people in an organization feel they are accepted as they are (Guillaume et al., 2017). When it isn’t, diversity attempts become academic at best, and can even have a negative effect on employees. 

Why Inclusion Is Good for Business 

It is also a fact that when people feel like they are part of a team, they perform at their optimum – more can be accomplished, and there will be less turnover. Research evidence shows that diversity characterized organizations increase productivity, enhance employee satisfaction as well as the overall group performance. Striking, the authors revealed that leaders who embrace inclusion create more morale among individuals, thus enhancing respect within a certain demography (Bass, 1985).

Steps to Build an Inclusive Culture 

1.     Get Leadership on Board

Inclusive leaders lead to inclusive workplaces. If you want everyone else to follow, then top leaders need to visibly support diversity. Most companies can tell you that when your leaders, including your CEO, roll up their sleeves and actively promote inclusion— it tells people that diversity isn’t a policy or a cute fluff piece—it’s a priority.

2.     Make Hiring Fairer

Building a diverse team means small changes can go a long way in the hiring process. For example, through "blind" (no names or other identifiers of applicants on resumes) recruitment methods can reduce the possibility of bias. Even Unilever uses AI to make fairer process by focusing on skills and experience. This helps the company to see past other trends of hiring bias to bring the best talent to the company.

3.     Invest in Training 

Through unconscious bias training, everyone is taught to become aware of the assumptions they may not be aware that they’re making. Starbucks followed that with bias training across all of its stores after a well publicized incident. In doing so, it also set the new standard in how to approach diversity issues since it demonstrated to employees that the company cares about respect and sensitivity in its interactions (Davis et al. 2020).

4.     Encourage Open Conversations 

If people are comfortable speaking up, they will flourish in inclusivity. This type of safe space is the Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that create a place where people of similar backgrounds have a space to connect, share experiences, and feel heard. For instance, IBM has been an ERG champion for a long time in order to provide a platform to less represented groups and foster inclusion at IBM (Travis, 2016).

5.     Measure and Adjust 

Organizations need to track if it’s working well in practicing diversity efforts. Deloitte — and other big companies — use metrics to measure their inclusion initiatives, and refine them based on what the data demonstrate. Regular checking in on these metrics keeps companies flexible and able to change as needed (Ravishankar et al., 2018).

Weighing the Benefits and Potential Challenges

The benefits of an inclusive workplace are clear: more so, diverse teams are more often innovative, engaged, and productive. But it’s important to make sure diversity efforts are authentic. But some fear that diversity programs can be thought of as fake culture change, that they're box ticking exercises. There’s also the risk that people will simply be 'tokenised' merely due to it seeming like the right thing to do — nothing more. The solution is to focus, not on statistics, but on real, meaningful inclusion (Gotsis & Kortezi, 2013). 

How Companies Across Industries Are Embracing Inclusion

But organizations in all the different industries are making strides in creating more inclusive cultures. For example, Facebook and Apple are both working hard to boost representation, particularly in executives positions. For example, the American Medical Association works in healthcare to ensure doctors and nurses are from the population they serve to improve patient care. In the finance sector, an otherwise less diverse sector, JPMorgan Chase has developed programs to support underrepresented employees at progressing in their careers (Nishii, 2013).

Conclusion: Making Inclusion Part of the Culture

To build a truly inclusive workplace, the commitment exists, along with consistency and an ability to listen. Diversity and inclusion aren’t about merely placing different people in the door—it’s about making every single person feel like they’re valued when they’re within the door. Investing in these values causes companies to develop a culture where people want to be, and where people want to thrive.

In the end, creating an inclusive culture is about more than just good business. It’s about building a place where every employee feels respected, heard, and part of something meaningful. Taking steps toward inclusion isn’t always easy, but it’s a journey worth pursuing—for employees, for the company, and for the future.

 

References

• Ashikali, T., Groeneveld, S., & Kuipers, B. S. (2021). The role of inclusive leadership in fostering inclusion. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 31(2), 263–280.
• Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.
• Behfar, K., Kern, M. C., & Brett, J. M. (2017). Managing team conflict. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4(1), 161–185.
• Davis, A., et al. (2020). Starbucks’ response to diversity. Diversity and Inclusion Journal, 6(3), 45–52.
• Gotsis, G., & Kortezi, Z. (2013). Ethical considerations in organizational politics. Journal of Business Ethics, 112(3), 447–462.
• Guillaume, Y. R., Dawson, J. F., Otaye-Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(6), 770–791.
• Nishii, L. H. (2013). The benefits of climate for inclusion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 351–362.
• Ravishankar, N., et al. (2018). Diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Organizational Behavior Journal, 12(4), 197–209.
• Shore, L. M., et al. (2018). Inclusion and diversity in work groups. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(6), 730–747.
• Travis, D. (2016). Employee Resource Groups. Diversity and Inclusion Journal, 9(1), 27–31.