Diversity and inclusion are important factors to consider when creating and maintaining a safe and welcoming workplace. A diverse workplace includes people from all cultures, religions, genders, ethnicities, and abilities, whilst inclusivity is considering how the diverse aspects and strengths in people can be utilized. We’ve put together a few simple and actionable ways to start building a more inclusive workplace: 

Create a sense of belonging for your people

This means making sure all your teams feel that they belong in the workplace. A way to achieve this can be by carrying out diversity workshops and cultural training. This is the start of educating your people on unconscious bias and the importance of inclusivity in the workplace. Another way to achieve this is by creating a strong feedback system that allows employees to have their own voice. You could also carry out a regular evaluation of the workplace which will give you an insight into how inclusive the workplace/work environment is.

Be empathetic

Diversity and inclusion is often seen as an initiative that needs to be owned by HR teams only. However, in order to make sure the work environment is truly diverse and inclusive, leaders must ensure they are following diversity and inclusion practices in an empathetic way. Leaders should ensure they are listening to the input of all the employees, taking them into consideration, and then including them in the work where possible.

Acknowledge and appreciate different cultures and religious practices

One way to acknowledge and appreciate different cultures and religious practices is by acknowledging different holidays and celebrations or even allowing a day off for them to celebrate. By doing this, your employees will feel accepted, included and supported. 

Note down the change

Leaders keeping a visible model of their commitment to diversity and inclusion encourages all teams to keep making changes. Keeping a visible model also allows the leaders to see what changes they have implemented and gives them an insight into how well they are working, or where they can reevaluate.

For more support on building an inclusive workplace, you can contact the team at EquallyPlaced.com.