How well does your business support inclusion and diversity?
We currently face a tough market to attract employees and retaining staff is crucial. It is important that you cast the net as widely as possible but to do so successfully it is important to take stock of what your current staffing looks like and whether any changes might be needed to ensure your workplace is welcoming to all.
Most business owners and managers will be driven to create a workplace that is welcoming. To achieve this it is important to reflect on how you would ensure this is the case for someone who is in one way or the other different to the majority of your employees. This could include gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity, family situation, neurodivergence, disability to mention a few. Whilst, hopefully, no one would set out to make some-one feel uncomfortable or unwelcome – workplace norms that have developed over time may unintentionally have this effect.
Take for example a workplace where the majority of employees are 20 somethings and single or don’t have family commitments. You employ a 35–40-year-old single parent with young children. Everyone is friendly and welcoming and have no issues with the fact that this person is a parent, they might even be understanding that they require more flexibility in working hours or location. However, what if all the opportunities for staff to bond take place straight after work and/or staff functions are held in the evenings? This new employee might find it hard to join the team for these events and end up feeling excluded and unable to bond with the rest of the team. So, what to do? Certainly, not everything will suit everyone but a simple first step is to be aware of staff differences. In this situation perhaps a simple conversation that you are planning a staff function and would love this employee to be able to be involved, how can you help with that? It might be they have a friend who will help them out if there’s time to plan, or you could contribute to a babysitter, or even arrange a lunch function during work hours so that they are involved.
Whatever the aspect of diversity is, the key is to be aware of this but not afraid of it. Our country is diverse and therefore a diverse staff is more likely to be productive and connect with the community and a wider customer base. Take stock of your staff, aim to hire for diversity, but when you do be mindful to ensure you are being actively inclusive. If in doubt, ask them, there’s no need to shy away from it – it’s most likely that if they are the only person in the workplace that is a man, gay, from a different ethnicity, religious etc. they will be well aware of it and by opening up the conversation you are showing that you want to make this workplace their place too and that you take inclusion seriously and are willing to walk the talk.
For more advice on how to actively encourage diversity and inclusion at your workplace, get in contact with the team at EASI NZ.
