Diversity and Inclusion
10 minute read · Jul 25, 2023

Building an Inclusive Workplace

Creating an inclusive workplace takes more than just policies

An “inclusive” workplace is one where all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success. Creating an inclusive workplace sets the conditions for a diverse workforce. A diverse workforce has many business benefits: a deeper talent pool, more innovation, increased team productivity, and overall higher financial performance.

There is a perception that inclusion is created through inclusion-focused company policies and training initiatives. While policies play a role, there are many ways to take actions that demonstrate the workplace is inclusive. Let’s look at things we can do in 4 areas to promote inclusion.

Leadership: Set an Example of Acceptance

The most effective way to ensure inclusion is for leaders to act and speak in ways that include and support everyone.

Hiring: Think Outside the box

Hiring is the first contact an employee has with a workplace, and it’s the step where the workplace first makes decisions about who is included and how they are treated. The most common missed opportunity at hiring is setting overly narrow standards for candidates. Having many pre-requisites for a position tends to attract candidates who are similar to people who already work there. That’s not an inclusive approach because it’s not providing opportunities to more kinds of people.

In many cases requirements can be relaxed. This gives an opportunity to interview and learn about candidates who may not have the obvious education or experience for a position, but nonetheless have talents, passion, and ability that can quickly adapt to suit the role. They will also bring new cultures, backgrounds, interests, and personalities with them.

With a hiring that does not focus on pre-requisites, more effort and attention can be placed on finding candidates who are passionate, motivated, and like the workplace’s unique values and culture. That’s good for finding employees who will be happy and stay.

Benefits: Create Opportunities

Benefits are more than just part of your compensation for employees. Inclusive benefits can help some candidates and employees to join your team or grow in their career. Inclusive benefits include:

Culture: Empower Employee Passions

Peoples’ interests are one of the greatest sources of variety and differences in the workplace. They range across sports, music, cultural appreciation, arts, literature, pop culture, outdoor recreation, collectibles, games, and thousands of other things. People who pursue their interests with passion make great employees. They “get into” things and enjoy success at new pursuits. The best way to foster an array of passionate people in the workplace is to empower people to be themselves in all the things they like. Here are some easy ways to support that:

Through these actions in hiring, benefits, culture, and leadership, a workplace can create a clear sense of inclusion in the workplace. This leaves employees feeling like the workplace likes them the way they are and they can be their genuine selves at work.

Building an inclusive culture is an important step in creating a great workplace. Amazing Workplace can help on the path with our Employee Happiness Survey. Our survey provides important, accurate, actionable measurements of inclusion, recognition, equity, safety, and leadership. Learn more! Send us an email at info@amazingworkplace.com.