Establishing DEI policies that are truly inclusive takes time and energy, but can improve employee retention rates as well as help organizations expand into new markets.
Employees prefer working for companies that place an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion – that’s why setting SMART DEI goals can help set an environment conducive for employees’ career development. Goals may include: a.
1. Creating a Culture of Inclusion
An inclusive culture in a workplace helps attract and retain diverse employees who can contribute to its expansion and innovation, as different employees bring unique perspectives into play when solving problems creatively. Such an environment makes the business more competitive in the marketplace.
One of the best ways to foster an inclusive workplace culture is ensuring all employees feel secure and supported. This may mean providing gender neutral bathrooms, lactation rooms for new mothers or quiet workspaces to accommodate introverted employees who can become overwhelmed by open floor plans.
Companies that prioritize inclusion must have leadership who is dedicated to its cause. This means educating leaders about diversity and inclusion benefits as well as creating clear purpose statements stating their dedication. They should then communicate these goals across their enterprise so that every employee understands that commitment.
Companies that prioritize inclusion should go further than creating safe spaces: They should emphasize its value through marketing materials. This can attract employees they might otherwise have overlooked and increase competition in the job market. Furthermore, training must also be provided on diversity and inclusion so employees know how to make their organizations more inclusive.
As part of creating a culture of inclusion, companies should also encourage employees to be open-minded and empathetic. This may mean encouraging employees to use preferred pronouns when speaking of others; celebrating differences among cultures and religious practices; celebrating differences in heritage shared between coworkers; or accepting all feedback without taking offense at negative or insensitive comments made within their workplace. Lastly, companies must foster an environment of inclusivity by being accepting of feedback without taking offense when necessary – something many employees are used to doing!
Accenture stands as an outstanding example of a company that prioritizes inclusion. They strive for equality in all aspects of their company, such as race and pay equity, LGBTQIA+ visibility and disability justice. Accenture promotes belonging by offering programs like unconscious bias training and inclusive leadership training and being transparent about diversity initiatives – helping employees feel connected with one another which ultimately increases effectiveness of work performance.
2. Creating a Culture of Equity
Most people’s conception of diversity centers on gender, race, religion and sexual orientation – yet its benefits extend far beyond these groups. Inclusive diversity is essential to business and societal success and allows us to better understand one another from different perspectives – leading to increased empathy and a more connected global community.
As part of your commitment to inclusion, it is crucial that you implement policies and training programs which promote equality. This may range from ensuring equal pay among employees to providing unconscious bias training to your workforce – the ultimate aim is creating an environment which provides all with resources needed for their growth and wellbeing.
Companies that prioritize diversity and equity can enhance their image by drawing more customers and potential employees to them, as well as building their reputation as responsible employers. Furthermore, more workers want to work for organizations which value diversity; according to a 2021 CNBC/SurveyMonkey study 80% of respondents indicated their desire to join a firm which promotes equity.
Establishing an inclusive and equitable workplace culture can be a challenging undertaking in large organizations with multiple stakeholders. To begin this process, it’s crucial to articulate why diversity should be included as this will allow you to identify gaps and obstacles to your DEI efforts and then set realistic goals accordingly.
To foster an environment of equity in your organization, you need a strategic plan with adequate resources to implement it. Some of the most effective ways to do this include setting performance goals, identifying key barriers and developing action plans; even simple things such as making sure your company website is accessible to those with physical disabilities can help or providing unconscious bias and inclusive leadership training to all employees can make a significant difference in creating an equitable culture.
At the same time, it’s essential for businesses to remain visible within their community by supporting organizations that advocate for DI. Doing this will show your employees and locals alike that your company values diversity – something which they may take notice of and appreciate as part of an equal opportunity employer and neighbor. Furthermore, being visible gives employees a sense of belonging – their contributions matter!
3. Creating a Culture of Recognition
One effective strategy to foster an environment of recognition is by making all employees feel valued; this helps drive employee engagement and productivity.
Leaders play an essential role in creating a culture of recognition. Leaders should prioritize recognition behaviors that align with company values and goals, being visible role models of recognition practices themselves – this allows employees to see just how essential a culture of recognition is and how they can participate.
Leaders should encourage a culture of recognition through peer-to-peer initiatives. This may involve regularly sending praise or thanks to team members or creating a formal peer-to-peer recognition program with publicized individual successes. Peer-to-peer recognition also fosters collaboration and teamwork – leaders can help to foster this by publicly acknowledging efforts of their teams at All-Hands meetings or 1:1s.
Companies should include their commitment to diversity and inclusion in their mission and value statements to ensure all stakeholders, such as employees and customers, understand their stance on these issues. Furthermore, companies should include data on their current progress toward diversity and inclusion goals such as percentage of women or people of color in leadership roles or gender pay gap figures.
Companies should create an environment conducive to discussing Diversity & Inclusion issues, such as providing training on unconscious bias, holding difficult conversations, or running inclusive meetings. Employees can share their experiences regarding D&I at work while making suggestions for improvements.
Though cultivating a culture of diversity and inclusion takes time, its development is essential to the success of any business. According to research, companies that prioritize D&I are more likely to outshone their counterparts. By setting diversity goals and creating an atmosphere where employees feel valued and appreciated – organizations can create vibrant workplaces where each member feels included – leading to increased productivity and greater success for everyone involved in the organization.
4. Creating a Culture of Accountability
To foster an environment of accountability, leaders must be willing to make changes that could potentially alter their business’s trajectory and demonstrate an ability to take responsibility when things don’t go according to plan.
To accomplish this goal, they need to establish a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) framework which outlines their desired diversity goals as well as measures of success for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. This will allow them to monitor progress while simultaneously identifying gaps for which action plans need to be put into place to close them.
Effective DEI statements connect directly to a company’s mission and values, giving employees more motivation as they see how company goals align with their own. Furthermore, statements should be clearly worded so everyone understands exactly what needs to be done to meet company goals.
For example, the YMCA has an outstanding statement that emphasizes their commitment to building an inclusive workplace by emphasizing caring, honesty, and respect.
As part of setting realistic and measurable goals, it’s also vital that companies set reasonable pledges that are achievable and realistic. Overly ambitious promises may lead to feelings of doubt among employees; to avoid this pitfall, companies should try focusing on specific objectives instead of general categories. Finally, communicating the goals as well as celebrating any success that has been reached is also key.
Establishing a culture of accountability requires intentional attention and continuous effort from organizations that want to see results. If they’re willing to put in the work, organizations that establish strong DEI foundations can create more inclusive environments that benefit employees, customers and communities alike.
For more information on creating a culture of accountability in your organization, download The Ultimate Guide for Establishing a Culture of Accountability – it contains everything you need to know to build one sustainably that can improve performance now and into the future.