Diversity is a crucial issue for every modern company, but hiring individuals with varied ethnicities, nations, genders, and sexual orientations is not enough. In the workplace, everyone should feel accepted, secure, and free to be who they are. Focusing on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) at work will improve your company's bottom line and culture.

How can an inclusive workplace culture be established?

There is still more work to be done, even while many companies are working toward hiring a workforce that is more diverse and inclusive. As a business leader, you can encourage an inclusive workplace culture by following these easy measures. Proceed with the knowledge that the most important factors in encouraging diversity are involvement and communication.

1. Pay attention to inclusive hiring practices.

It's imperative to spread that mindset throughout the entire organization after the leadership of your company establishes the tone.

According to LinkedIn's head of human resources Alexandre Ullmann, "the great thing about creating a culture of belonging is that it can be fostered peer-to-peer, bottom-up and top-down."

Ullmann advises closely examining your organization's hiring practices to ensure that you're approaching the process with the intention of promoting inclusion and diversity.

"Cultivate your workforce, invest in the community as a whole, and amplify your company's future by making inclusive recruitment an integral part of your DNA," he advised.

2. Make sure your staffs has safe areas.

Workplaces that prioritize inclusivity go above and beyond to ensure the security and comfort of all workers, particularly those from marginalized groups. For instance, gendered restrooms may cause discomfort for transgender and gender nonconforming workers, particularly in light of the contentious "bathroom bills" that are currently or may soon affect the rights of transgender persons in some states. Having gender-neutral restrooms in your business is a simple approach to project an image of a progressive, welcoming environment.

More broadly, just spending time with each other can create inclusive spaces. Take into consideration throwing casual gatherings like team lunches and other get-togethers where staff members can mingle. If your business is larger, setting up an office network or support group for various staff members might be beneficial to them. Make connections with people who have similar experiences.

Miguel Castro, SAP's global lead for diversity and inclusion, stated that "employee networks can provide a safe, open environment to spark conversations and discuss the topics that are important to the community."

3. Commence at the top.

Leadership is the first step in fostering a sense of belonging in the workplace, just like it is in any other aspect of corporate culture. According to Tentrr creator Eloise Bune D'Agostino, the company's founders and leadership team must be willing to foster a diverse workplace and select employees who are receptive to working with people of varied nationalities, skin tones, genders, and sexual orientations.

She declared, "If diversity is not a company goal, it just won't happen." "People generally hire people like them, making them feel at ease and infrequently questioned. That's just how people are.

According to Unified CEO Jason Beckerman, a positive workplace culture led by leaders fosters a healthy business environment.

"We work hard to give each and every one of our employees the resources and abilities they need to succeed, and it all begins with showing your staff that, yes, you are welcome here as you are," stated Beckerman.

4. Provide workers with several avenues for submitting comments.

Ullmann suggested providing a platform for staff members to interact with one another and share their experiences.

Giving your staff a variety of channels to express their opinions, viewpoints, and tales through surveys, business all-hands meetings, or campaigns will foster an open discourse that may result in more fruitful solutions, he said.

Developing an inclusive culture is an ongoing process, and in order to foster a more accepting and varied workplace, you need regularly review your policies and initiatives.

"There's always room for improvement," he declared. "Make it the top priority of your organization to close any gaps and provide all employees with a sense of belonging and support to succeed."

5. Create mentorship initiatives to increase diversity.

Integrate inclusivity into the core elements of your hiring procedures, such as internship programs and university recruitment fairs, to ensure that you are assembling a varied candidate pool for your positions.  In actuality, only 15% of businesses have mentorship programs and dedicated college recruitment campaigns for women and minorities; nonetheless, the businesses that prioritize these kinds of initiatives see a 9–24% rise in the participation of minorities in management.

 Future leaders are created when meaningful mentoring is given adequate time.

Start by visiting campuses that effectively represent and support diversity in order to increase the recruitment of diverse candidates. As soon as you set foot on campus, your chances of connecting with more people will rise. It might become more valued and accepted the more establishments and institutions encourage one another for their variety. 

Hiring more diverse employees is one thing, but inclusivity—including individuals who might otherwise be excluded or stigmatized, like members of minority groups and those with physical or mental disabilities—must also be taken into consideration if you want diversity to truly stick. Diverse mentorship is one approach of achieving this. Compared to the average answer (27 percent), minorities (32 percent) are more likely to state that mentorship is "extremely important" to their careers, and keep in mind that such mentorship benefits more than just the staff members. Programs that provide mentorship have been shown to increase mentee retention rates by 72% in certain cases. Put simply, provide mentorship to your employees if you want them to stay on.

6. Provide managers with the option to participate in diversity training without using coercion.

People dislike having their beliefs dictated to them, and it frequently backfires when that happens. Giving your employees a choice (based on your advice) will produce leaders; forcing them to make a decision will produce followers. Researchers from the University of Toronto watched White individuals while they perused a pamphlet about bias against African Americans. When participants were coerced into accepting the information, it really increased their prejudice against Black people, but when they were allowed to form their own opinions, that prejudice decreased. 

Provide opportunities for volunteer diversity training rather than making it a requirement. This causes one to adopt a different perspective: "I am choosing to show up, therefore I must be pro-diversity, and “as opposed to” I am forced to learn about this."

7. Give introverts a platform to shine

It's no secret that extroversion is valued in traditional company cultures. The people that take initiative, speak out during meetings, and stand up for themselves are the ones who advance faster than their more experienced but reserved colleagues.

As part of your efforts to promote inclusivity, teach managers to create space in meetings for staff members who might be more likely to remain silent or who might feel uncomfortable voicing a critical opinion. Offer to pay for opportunities to provide nonverbal feedback via weekly pulse surveys and traditional suggestion boxes, as well as noise-cancelling headphones.

Lastly, set aside private areas for these intelligent, skilled employees to work and dine so they can refuel and continue to provide you with their finest job.

8. Use bilingual signage

Whatever language you speak , make sure you are putting up multilingual signage can let staff members and guests know right away that they are all welcome. Regardless of the language used in the workplace, it can also act as a gentle reminder to staff members that they are a part of a larger, more diverse world.

9. Verify that your workplace is accessible to wheelchairs.

Make sure your office is wheelchair-accessible, especially the common spaces like the kitchen and restrooms, to greet both staff and guests. Even if your facility complies with ADA guidelines, it might still be difficult to get around corners and corridors due to small steps or uneven flooring seen in older workplace.

Walk through all of the common spaces. If at all possible, rent or borrow a wheelchair and utilize it to get around office building. This will help you identify accessibility pain points, and make your workspace more accessible to all.