Whether You Are Remote, Hybrid, or in the Office, You can Build an Inclusive Culture

We hear the phrase “inclusive culture” thrown around a lot, but what does it actually mean, and how do you build it? 

An inclusive culture term of the workplace is an environment where every employee feels valued and respected, regardless of race, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation. There's no room for discrimination or prejudice.

Aside from being the right thing to do, there is a strong business case for building an inclusive culture. Employees who feel more comfortable going about their daily tasks, knowing they are not being judged for any reason are more productive. They feel safe relaxed and satisfied with their work environment. Because of that, it's not surprising that 78% of workers choose an inclusive workplace over other companies' offers.

How to create an inclusive culture in the workplace?

So now you know what an inclusive culture is and why your business can benefit from having one, how do you actually create an inclusive culture? 

Here are 3 things to do:

Make it Accessible

Always ask the question, is this accessible? 

For example, make sure that all employees with disabilities have designated parking spots and can easily access facilities in the building such as the bathroom. 

We work with lots of start-ups and small businesses who find themselves growing and in need of bigger office spaces. If you find yourself in that position, access to facilities is something you definitely need to consider. Next time, you visit a potential office, ask yourself is this accessible?

Also remember, that work social events should be accessible too. Venues should be accessible and activities should be too, that means making sure that events are not all in the pub when some people might not drink or in the evening when some employees might need to organise childcare. 

If you work remotely, you still need to make sure the virtual workspace is accessible. 

What can you do? Talk to your employees. Find out if they need any help with work-related equipment or if you can do anything to support them. For example, if one of your employees has ADHD, they might benefit from a certain software to help the manage their tasks or benefit from flexible working hours. This brings us nicely to our second point.

Open the conversation

There is something to be said about the benefits of having a conversation with employees about their needs. Everyone can get a much better understanding of each other's background and needs.

It’s important not to put all the responsibility on the employee to ask for help, instead offer suggestions of ways you can support them as well as taking suggestions. Also, remember, you need to be careful not to overstep any boundaries and ask questions that are too personal or insensitive, even if you didn't have that intent. 

If the thought of running these meetings sounds quite daunting to you, don’t worry because helping you organise and run those meetings is something we can do at People Management Partners. In some cases, we set up an inclusion committee.  This helps to create a plan, which is owned across the business that is focused on tackling specific barriers to inclusion.  We can help set these up and get them running so that the plans that are developed have the right impact. So if you’re looking for a professional HR team to support you effectively open the dialogue, we would love to have a conversation with you.

Organise diversity training

This type of training is the perfect way of bonding with your coworkers while educating them about unconscious bias and their own approach to employees with different backgrounds. 

You can discuss creating a positive atmosphere, phrases or questions to avoid, and their general behaviour in the workplace. Having this training in place is crucial to creating an inclusive workplace that will allow you to hire and retain the best talent.

If you need some help organising diversity training, get in touch with us and we would be happy to help. We run unconscious bias training in-house and help set up other types of diversity training via our carefully selected partners.

Don’t forget

The fact is that when employees feel liberated and open to sharing their thoughts and where their backgrounds differ, companies can grow stronger and more innovative. 

To do this effectively you might need some assistance from HR professionals. You can get guidance from our DIY HR Kit to set you up for hiring success or you might need some more hands-on support which you can get with our HR partnership offering. 

Whatever is the right option for you remember that your business will be stronger if you take the time to build an inclusive culture.