An employer’s guide to creating an inclusive workplace
Contents Page
Section 1: Introduction 1
Section 2: What does an inclusive workplace look like? 2
Section 3: What are the benefits of an inclusive workplace? 3
Section 4: How can I create an inclusive workplace? 4
4.1 Consider what you want to achieve 5
4.2 Undertake an inclusion review 6
4.3 Create an action plan 10
4.4 Communicate and implement the action plan 38
4.5 Review policies, practices and informal working culture on a regular basis 43
Section 5: How will I know if I’m successful? 44
Section 6: Practical ideas for
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More employers are coming up with solutions to create and promote an inclusive workplace in order to maximise productivity, attract new talent and increase employee commitment. Organisations’ action on equality and human rights issues can have a significant impact upon their brand reputation, so inclusion makes good business sense.
Attract new talent
Working teams that are diverse in their make-up are able to come up with a wider range of solutions to business problems. Inclusive workplaces that openly communicate their values and strategies on equality, human rights and inclusion are capitalising on this as they are able to attract a wider pool of applicants and talent. Candidates from minority groups may be put off applying for positions in organisations that do not make their commitment to inclusion known.
Retain productive and committed staff
Inclusive workplaces that understand the needs of their employees and make staff feel valued and respected also have greater success in retaining staff. Having a range of policies and facilities in place to ensure that all employees are able to balance work with other aspects of their lives has a positive impact on job satisfaction, productivity and commitment. In contrast, in organisations where stereotypes persist and some groups of employees face barriers to success, these employees experience negative consequences on performance, health and wellbeing.
Create wider customer appeal and access to untapped
As diversity and inclusion gain more attention in the society, more research has been done on their impact to organizations. Not too long ago, organizations implemented diversity management initiatives, such as affirmative action and equal employment legislations, just to fulfill their legal requirements (Jayne and Dipboye, 2004). However, diversity and inclusion have since then become a business imperative.
Making sure equality and diversity procedures are followed in a business environment will impacts on overall success of organisation. By recognising the strengths of differences between individuals company can get a great advantage in terms of employee motivation and clients satisfaction.
Through Training and discussions are essential to raise awareness of diversity, equality and inclusion in any work settings. Discussion in meetings or group discussion among staffs play a vital role to raise awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion. The more they will engage in discussion or obtain trainings about this issue the more they will learn and be aware of and also they will be able and put them in their everyday’s practice.
I picked this topic because I find it very interesting. Diversity in the work place is an issue but there are more and more improvements on this every year. Now days it isn’t just women being left out of the workplace because people believe that women can’t do a man’s job, you see other issues like women companies who don’t hire men because of judgment. Diversity in the work place is a pretty big issue in this day but for companies to stay competitive with other companies then it is time for them to make some changes in their company. Now diversity in a company isn’t just men vs. women, it goes much higher then that like race, religion etc… Now in this paper I am going to tell you the benefits, challenges, and some tools that companies can
There are so many ways that equality, diversity and inclusion impact our own practice. Equality will directly affect the way we interact with our service users. We need to treat all our service users fairly and equally without concern for their age, gender, race, disability or sexuality, etc. We should not bring our own beliefs and ideas into the workplace. We should respect their beliefs and assist them accordingly.
Companies should include freedom from discrimination from recruiting, to hiring and during employment on the application, in the policy handbook and as staff meetings. Consequently, diversity in the workplace allows businesses to meet the needs of the customers as "diversity is not just the right
Practices that support diversity, quality and inclusion to reduce the likelihood of discrimination may include encouraging everyone to express their views and have them listened to which in turn helps us to respect and celebrate peoples differences, promoting good practice valuing their individuality enabling them to be fully involved not only in their own lives but everyone around them.
The organizations where I work promote equality, diversity and inclusion in both policy and practice. Staffs should regularly be reminded the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion in day to day practice. Staff should respect the choice, preference, ethnicity, origin, rights, and wishes of service users. Care staff should be allocated to service user to make sure that
Diversity and inclusion are critical strategies for any organization that wants to be successful in business. Organizations cannot expect for diversity and inclusion to appear and work smoothly within the workplace automatically. Diversity and inclusion is a journey that companies must take to reap the rewards of being a truly global business. There are eight steps that organizations can apply to their workplace that will make diversity and inclusion a smooth and fun journey. Organizations can start the inclusion process by first learning the eight steps to inclusion in the workplace.
The general line of reasoning is that if we learn to incorporate each other’s diverse traits and characteristics in the workplace, we can then use these differences to foster an innovative environment, which will give the company a competitive advantage over the competitors that do not accept workforce diversity. According to the Allied Academies International Conference, “Diversity is rapidly becoming a common practice among companies due to the increasing number of minorities entering the job market today. As these groups become more prevalent throughout companies, upper-level employees are facing numerous challenges when determining what changes must take place to create a positive working environment for everyone. Management is responsible for the development and implementation of effective policies directly relating to diversity to ensure the acceptance of minorities into the workplace and to aid in minorities’ success through equal opportunities and treatment.” (Marcia L. James, 2001, Academy for Studies in International Business Proceedings)
The discrimination-and-fairness paradigm is considered the “dominant way” of understanding diversity by most organizations. It attempts to remove discrimination and create employment equality by seeking to increase diversity among employees. Progress is measured by how well the company is able to meet its diversity number goals but avoids looking deeper at the reality behind the numbers. (Thomas & Ely p. 81)
In response to the growing diversity in the workforce around the world, many companies have instituted specific policies and programs to enhance recruitment, inclusion, promotion, and retention of employees who are different from the privileged echelons of society. The privileged groups may vary from one country to the next. The workforce of the world is a dynamic environment, and in order for this dynamism to be put to use for the benefit of organizations, they must develop an effective strategy for managing diversity. Global Diversity Management refers to the voluntary organizational actions that are designed to create greater inclusion of employees from various backgrounds into the formal and informal organizational
Managing diversity and equality effectively in the workplace is the core responsibility of any organization in the contemporary business world. Shen, Chanda, D’Netto and Monga (2009) conducted a survey whose results revealed the massive diversity within the British society in terms of ethnicity, nationality and religion. As a result, the Equality Act of 2010 was formulated and became law whose provisions focus on legal protection against discrimination based on gender re-assignment, marriage, civil partnership, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, pregnancy and maternity, sex and beliefs (Monks, 2007). Therefore, managing diversity in the workplace is critical towards the achievement of equality and discrimination free working environment. Bhatia (2008) observed that the ability to understand, accept, value, acknowledge and celebrate differences among people with respect to race, sexual orientation, religion, age, ethnicity and mental ability within an organization is crucial in eliminating discrimination. Discrimination refers to the tendency of denying equal treatment to people believed to be members of the same social group (Ozbilgin, 2009). In other words, discrimination in the work place is related to denial of equal treatment in terms of promotion, compensation, career development, training and empowerment. Therefore, managing diversity in the work place is crucial towards the achievement of a discrimination free working environment and the
Today's workplace is more diverse than it has ever been in history. While the workforce has made strides in the direction of equality, it is still far from attaining total equality in the workplace. A company must value diversity. The main objectives of valuing diversity include awareness, education, and positive recognition of the differences among people in the workforce. Organizations are increasingly emphasizing group work or teamwork as a source of competitive advantage in a diverse workforce. It has been suggested that such organizations must target their recruitment efforts at applicants who are both diverse and amenable to working in teams ( Rau, Hyland 2003).
Businesses are recognizing the need and importance of investing in diversity and addition as part of their inclusive talent management practices and to frequently challenge their organizations to make the connection between those values and their group performance.. Diversity is especially fundamental in today’s global marketplace, as businesses cooperate with