How to develop inclusivity and belonging in the workplace

How to develop inclusivity and belonging in the workplace

The importance of diversity in the workplace is indisputable — when you hire employees of diverse backgrounds, your business will reap the benefits of improved creativity, unique business perspectives, and well-rounded skill sets. Furthermore, businesses who strive for diversity in the workplace often report improved employee job satisfaction leading to better productivity overall.

First comes diversity, then inclusion and then belonging

It is not simply enough to build a diverse workforce and let your employees get to work. Businesses who have taken steps to build diversity in the workplace must then do the real work of creating an environment where their employees are included – this means developing policies, procedures and taking intentional actions to include everyone.

Once an inclusive workplace has been established, employees will gradually begin to feel a sense of belonging – the feeling that they are a vital part of a whole and that they matter. Belonging is the true sweet spot for employee satisfaction and productivity because an employee who knows they are respected and cared about will be able to perform their best.

How to foster belonging through inclusivity

Developing a culture of belonging through inclusivity is something that happens organically over a longer period of time. However, there are many immediate steps organizations can take to help foster a truly inclusive environment.

1. Establish a diversity and inclusion working group
Diversity and inclusion working groups are a small committee of people who share a passion for creating a diverse and inclusive workspace. Having a group in place that is sponsored and supported by the executive team will ensure your employees have the opportunity to share their ideas on how to improve inclusivity, or address current issues. It also sends a clear message to staff that inclusivity is valued.

1. Create a safe space
In order for staff to feel as though they can be their authentic selves at work, they must be given a safe space to work in. This means having clear policies that prevent workplace harassment, and access to leadership support and external resources if they feel unsafe or threatened at work.

3. Prioritize inclusivity and diversity training
No one is an expert at diversity and inclusion since we all have our own biases. To support the learning process, provide a training program to educate employees, managers and the executive team about diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This type of training course can also be built into onboarding to help set the tone for all future employees.

4. Model behaviours and inclusive language
Leaders and managers should be models of inclusive behaviours and language. For example, if an employee has identified they would prefer to be addressed by certain pronouns, managers should work to make sure they are always addressing them appropriately. Or, they should make a point to celebrate important holidays and events that are representative of their diverse staff.

5. Embed inclusivity into your corporate language
Develop a workplace diversity and inclusion policy and make sure your corporate language is free from phrases or language that might be offensive to members of marginalized groups.

6. Add pronouns to your signatures
A small step you can take immediately to indicate workplace inclusion is to add preferred pronouns to your signature block. Not only does this ensure that you are being addressed by your preferred pronouns, but it opens the door for those with pronoun preferences to advocate for what they prefer in a more subtle way.

7. Celebrate your differences by expanding the holiday calendar
Ask staff what holidays they would like to celebrate, or what days of recognition are important and meaningful to them. Look for opportunities to hold team-building activities around events like Pride, or non-secular religious holidays.

8. Check in with staff
It’s one thing to try and foster inclusivity, but you need to check in with staff to see if your efforts are working. Consider sending an annual diversity and inclusion survey to staff to ask them how included they feel and if they have any suggestions for improvements.