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. Further, businesses that strive for diversity in the workplace often report improved employee job satisfaction leading to better performance 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 that 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 and procedures, and taking intentional actions to include everyone.
While most companies have diversity/equity/inclusion strategies, belonging is often a missing component. A sense of belonging plays a major role in creating an inclusive workplace where all employees can truly thrive – even more so for employees who may feel isolated and anxious. Belonging is the true sweet spot for employee engagement and productivity because an employee who knows they are respected and cared about will be able to flourish in the organization and perform their best work.
Ten Ways to Foster Belonging Through Inclusivity
Developing a culture of belonging through inclusivity is something that happens over a longer period of time. However, there are many immediate steps organizations can take to help foster a truly inclusive environment.
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.
Offer an Inclusive, Accessible Well-Being and Mental Health Platform
Consider how your current well-being and mental health offering promotes belonging and builds community around mental health. Evaluate if your current vendor offers resources that align with how your employees want to access care – either one-on-one, in a group setting, or on their own with self-serve resources. Some solutions focus only on one-on-one care and lack spaces for communities to collectively share their lived experiences and heal. If the solution does have a group offer, consider whether it is just a form of group therapy or if it provides truly safe spaces designed for diverse communities and allies to find belonging around mental health in the context of their social identities.
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.
Prioritize Inclusivity and Diversity Training
No one is expected to be an expert in 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.
Reflect diversity in committee leadership
If your workplace has committees, it is important they are led (not just attended) by employees from different cultural backgrounds. This will ensure that different voices are heard, valued, and can help promote positive changes for everyone.
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 learn about and celebrate important holidays and events that are representative of their diverse staff.
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.
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.
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.
Check-in with Staff and Act
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. When those results come in, don’t sit on them. Create and execute a corporate action plan that will strengthen the organization’s commitment to inclusivity and belonging and really make an impact on engagement.
Download our HR Toolkit to help you reduce employee isolation and build a culture of belonging in the workplace.
Article sources
Kazoo HR: 15 tips for building a more inclusive workplace in 2021
Applicant One: What is inclusivity and why does it matter?
Forbes: 8 reasons why diversity and inclusion are essential to business success
Rider University: Using inclusive language – guidelines and examples
Training Industry: Beyond diversity – the science of inclusion and belonging
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