Diversity means being composed of differing elements. In a workplace, diversity means that the workforce is made up of employees with different races, genders, career backgrounds, skills, etc.

Inclusion is the practice of providing everyone with equal access to opportunities and resources. Inclusion efforts in the workplace help to give traditionally marginalized groups, like those based on gender, race or even those with physical or mental disabilities, a means for them to feel equal in the workplace. Inclusive actions, like creating employee resource groups or hosting information.

Most Organisations that we interact with show that Diversity & Inclusion is a good thing. There’s widespread agreement on the need to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace. However Organisations’ find it easier said than done.

How do Organisations built D&I into their business strategy and how do they clearly articulates why D&I is vital to its execution. How do they establish accountability for employees all levels for demonstrating decency and respect in their interactions, without exception.

Multiple research studies indicate that diverse & inclusive Organisations are able to tap from wider pool and attract better talent, demonstrate good practices to nurture and grow talent and increase employee engagement.

According to the Harvard Business Review, promoting and measuring inclusion among employees is extremely difficult. First, leadership must come up with a well-rounded definition of “inclusion”. Then, People teams must consistently gather feedback from all employees regarding their current or proposed efforts. This is an incredibly important step because you can’t have inclusion without having the opinions of all employees. Then, D&I leaders can take some of the following actions to promote inclusivity in the workplace:

• Have leadership undergo training in unconscious bias and active listening
• Form an inclusion council that plays an active role in goal-setting, hiring and retaining your workforce
• Create spaces within your office that highlight your diversity. For example, you can have a mother’s room for new mothers to breastfeed in private or you can install a prayer room for your employees to have the privacy to practice their religions.
• Create Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that give employees safe spaces to get together and talk about common interests. For example, you can have LGBTQ+ groups, groups for new parents, groups for women in sales, groups for certain religions, etc. These groups give employees the chance to get together and share what they are going through in a safe, non-judgmental way. These groups can also be excellent teachers to the rest of the employees, where they can host company-wide talks on topics that are important to them.

Building Capability :

Organisations can create a framework around : Aware; Adopt and Apply.

Aware–Start with mindset shift orientation sessions for leaders. Offer training on importance of D&I. Initiate the discussions around benefits to individuals, teams and Organisation. Start building core skills, including conflict resolution, problem solving, active listening, and empathy.

Adopt : Create conscious and deliberate practice forums that will help the employees remain connected to the concepts and will help them adopt.

Apply : Create opportunities where managers and employees are able to apply the framework, concepts into their businesses.

At Exponentia Learning Solutions Pvt Ltd we can assist Organisations build capabilities around D&I for Leaders, Managers and other Employees.