Diversity and inclusion have been a hot topic during this millennium and all the experts always talk and urge organizations to hire diverse people. While most companies are now in on this trend, the question is ‘do they really provide a safe working environment for their diverse workforce?’ This is especially essential as it has come to light that one of the most famous film industries, Hollywood, has had to react towards sexual harassment cases against mostly female actors. Now, if you are worried about providing a ‘safe space’ for minorities in your company, do not fret, we got you!

Onboard the leaders

The first step is to start at the top. As an organization, you have to make sure that the leaders within the organization are open to have a diverse workforce. This includes the founders of the company and the top leaders. The main idea is that they must be open to have diverse individuals and drive that culture of acceptance and openness within the organization.

Inclusive policies

So now the leaders and the founders are on board (yes!), what’s the next step? Create a culture that fosters inclusion within the company. How do you do that? By providing policies within the company to create such an environment. You, as the organization, have to create rules and regulations that will not only foster inclusion but also provide a diverse inclusive environment.

Communication

While you might be able to get the right policies, it still takes more to support employees from minority groups by providing open and effective communication as well as clear channels of communication. This creates an environment that allows management to quickly adapt to any changes that need to be made. It also provides a net of protection for employees whenever they feel that they are working in a hostile environment.

Offer training

The workers within your workplace need to have the tools to be able to deal with the news, this is why training is crucial within organizations implementing diversity. Change is always difficult for anyone and your employees are no different. The only way you can prepare and support them during this shift is to provide them with sufficient training. This allows them to adapt in collaborating with leadership towards the same direction of inclusion.

Re-evaluate the policies and benchmark

It is crucial for companies to understand that providing an inclusive environment is an ongoing commitment. This point is really crucial. Companies need to understand that they have to constantly check on their diversity policies as inclusion is not an overnight success. They can also check other companies on what they are doing in order to be more inclusive. This helps them to develop as providing inclusive environments are always changing. Twenty years ago, the struggles of the LGBTQ society in the workplace were different than what it is now in some countries. So always keep yourself current with inclusive policies by benchmarking with the companies that are doing it well.

While these are some of the main activities a company can partake in making sure their workplace is inclusive, there are many other ways you could do it. You can also get assistance by clicking here.